USPSA – Handgun & PCC Matches

The Southwest Pistol League, the Practical Shooting division of the Gopher Flats Sportsmen’s Club, is a member of The United States Practical Shooting Association and The Steel Challenge Shooting Association. The Southwest Pistol League (SWPL) is the originator of Practical Shooting. Each month, SWPL hosts a USPSA Handgun & PCC (Pistol Caliber Carbine) Match and an SCSA Steel Challenge Match open to members of all the clubs at our range and to the general public.

In USPSA Shooting, you’ll draw a handgun from a holster, pluck it from a table, or swiftly raise your carbine from a ready position, then walk, run, crawl, dive, and climb through varying and challenging courses to score hits on cardboard and steel targets. You can…Stand still. Go slow. Go fast. Go left. Go right. Sit. Stand on one foot. Stand on the other foot. Hop. Kneel. Reload. Don’t Reload. Change hands. Anything goes…as long as safety rules are followed. With few restrictions on how targets can be engaged, it’s up to each competitor how to complete a stage. If merely hitting targets wasn’t enough…all courses are timed. If you haven’t tried practical shooting before, it’s an entirely different game. You can shoot a centerfire revolver, semiauto handgun, or a PCC. Bring a holster to carry your handgun, or a rifle slipcase to carry your carbine. Add spare magazines, moon clips, or speedloaders to feed your handgun or PCC…and lots of ammo! Here’s How to get started in practical shooting the USPSA way.

SWPL 2021 USPSA Schedule

SWPL USPSA Announcements

On the fourth Sunday of each month, SWPL hosts a USPSA sanctioned handgun & pistol caliber carbine match. Paper registration and score sheets are quaint artifacts of a bygone era and scoring is done entirely in the Practiscore App. At least a week before a match, Pre-Register on the Practiscore website and familiarize yourself with the Practiscore App on your mobile device, or risk becoming an artifact yourself.

COVID-19 Safety Precautions

1. While on the range, practice Social Distancing by staying at least six feet from anyone not from your household. If you are in close proximity to others outside your household, wear a  face covering for their protection, whether in the registration line, in the bays, walking between stages, or whenever near anyone outside your household.
   
   
2. Due to safety considerations, while on a stage, face coverings may be lowered or removed while Shooting, RO’ing, Scoring, Resetting Steel, Pasting targets, etc…. anywhere breathing through a face covering may fog shooting glasses and impair vision. Just remember that there are others close by during a stage.
   
   
3. ALL REGISTRATION IS ON PRACTISCORE. There will be NO WALK ON’s !!!!!
   
   
4. This event is limited to 90 Shooters.
   
   
5. There will be no more than 15 shooters per squad.
   
   
6. MULTIPLE ENTRIES are again allowed. Please shoot and reset the stages promptly, as we don’t want squads backing-up, making Social Distancing impossible.
   
   
7. If you register, but can’t make it to the shoot – – WITHDRAW ON PRACTISCORE or Email Dave. IF YOU DON’T SHOW UP, YOU JUST MADE IT SO SOMEONE ELSE CAN’T SHOOT. ALSO, YOU MAY BE REQUIRED TO GET SPECIAL APPROVAL TO REGISTER AND SQUAD FOR FUTURE SWPL EVENTS …OR PAY EXTRA TO SHOOT THOSE EVENTS. Please, BE CONSIDERATE During The Pandemic.

Your First Match

Nervous about your first “public performance”? Most people are! Relax and enjoy it! Everyone you’ll meet at SWPL matches had a first time, too. You’ll find that both experienced shooters and Range Safety Officers (RO’s) are friendly and helpful to new shooters. We all enjoy Practical Shooting, and want to get you started right! Matches are just as much social gatherings as they are shooting contests. Here’s how we suggest you approach your match, either The Steel Challenge or USPSA:

First – Concentrate on Safety while handling your Firearm. Nobody wants to see you disqualified for a safety violation. This can happen, as the saying goes, if you run before you learn to walk. Learn safe gun handling first. Increased speed will come with practice. Slow or fast, you should always pay attention to where the muzzle of your gun points and where your trigger finger rests!

Next – Don’t worry about your stage times. Instead, slow down and concentrate on hitting the targets. Focusing on a clear sight picture and precise trigger control will make you a better shooter.

Finally – Get out on the range and have fun!

New Shooters

Introduction

Traditional shooting practice limits you to slow, deliberate, and intermittent shooting at bland, non-reactive targets. Practical Shooting frees you from those limitations, emphasizing both movement and as much speed as you desire. The Steel Challenge, well, challenges your swiftness and accuracy with arrays of reactive steel targets that clang loudly with every hit. For even more movement and speed, USPSA mixes static, reactive, paper, and steel targets to test your vision and reflexes. SWPL’s outdoor ranges are designed for Practical Shooting, allowing you to move and shoot safely. And though SWPL is a private club, club membership isn’t required to shoot The Steel Challenge and USPSA matches.

If you’re new to shooting, we recommend either the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) First Shots Program or the National Rifle Association (NRA) First Steps Basic Pistol Orientation to get you started. Once you’ve mastered gun safety and handling, you’re ready for the Steel Challenge, or USPSA, or both!

The USPSA matches consist of 200-250 rounds fired in Six Stages, one of which is a Classifier. Each stage is its own bay, with a unique stage design and course of fire. The stage designs and classifiers change monthly. You’ll draw a handgun from a holster, pluck it from a table, or swiftly raise your carbine from a ready position, then walk, run, crawl, dive, and climb through varying and challenging courses to score hits on cardboard and steel targets. You can…Stand still. Go slow. Go fast. Go left. Go right. Sit. Stand on one foot. Stand on the other foot. Hop. Kneel. Reload. Don’t Reload. Change hands. Anything goes…as long as safety rules are followed. With few restrictions on how targets can be engaged, it’s up to each competitor how to complete a stage. If merely hitting targets wasn’t enough…all courses are timed. If you haven’t tried practical shooting before, it’s an entirely different game. You can shoot a centerfire revolver, semiauto handgun, or a pistol-caliber carbine. Bring a holster to carry your handgun, or a rifle slipcase to carry your carbine. Add spare magazines, moon clips, or speedloaders to feed your firearm … and lots of ammo!