Says Jerry the Geek, as he escalates our tongue-in-cheek war over IPSC competition to headlines on his blog.
For a number of years, Jerry and I have had a good-natured back-and-forth about IPSC as a tool to sharpen one's gunny skills. My point to him has been, CONSTANTLY, that the better one gets at IPSC, the more one "games" the stages (have to, you don't win on speed and accuracy alone, you win on how you manage your shooting in the stages), then the less one is prepared for real-world gunfighting.
Okay then, first up, I have never been in a real-world gunfight, and that rates a Gold Star in my book, because I had several opportunities to kill desperadoes during my 25 years as a Patrol Deputy. I used other means to take them into custody, and never popped a cap in anger, though. Over the years, I had plenty of training, though, some in the classroom, some at the range in "shoot villages" (remarkably like IPSC, but with the only objective to shoot/not shoot as the situation called for, and when shooting, make a STOP of the bad guy) and much more in discussion with other officers, several of whom HAD survived gun battles.
The problem I have with IPSC is that their shooting stages have too many rules that force you away from your alert level. When facing a gunfight, or involved in one, the survivor (there are no real winners in a death match, only survivors and non-survivors) is the one who maintains the highest alert level and maintains his/her ability to respond out of that alert level. The slightest failure of attention, when it's gunny vs. gunny for ALL the marbles, is usually fatal to the lower alert-level side.
This is where training comes in. Real training teaches one to have autonomous reactions to things like weapon malfunctions, varying terrain or footing, changes in cover, new threats when you are concentrating on the one you got your gun out for, etc. With the side issues of gunfighting made autonomous, the person involved in a fight for life with a gun can put all their focus on the opponent, where it must be in order to survive. That's how real-world gunfights are survived: training, lots of it, never stop training.
One of my favorite examples of how IPSC ruins a defensive gunner for combat involves all the safety rules. Range Safety is of maximum importance. Having spent a definable part of my life on firing ranges, I appreciate safety, and was a certified NRA RSO for several years. Unsafe ranges don't stay around, and unsafe shooters are booted off of safe ranges quickly. That said, when The Rulz have you hold your feet just so while you fire a stage, you are ruining your defensive training. Foot-faults don't matter in gunfights, foot CONTROL does matter, but if your natural foot control doesn't suit the rules of a stage, you DQ in IPSC. Same thing with Muzzle Control. As you Scan for threats in a situation, if you have your gun out, it moves in the direction you are looking, because if you SEE a threat, you have to be quick about engaging it before it engages YOU. Can't do that in IPSC. Automatic DQ. How about working with cover? Should be automatic: you stay in cover unless it's time to move, then you move to other cover quickly. When it's time to shoot at some distance, you steady your pistol as best you can, utilizing the borders of your cover to do so. Window sill, doorway, tree branch, whatever, a steadied gun can give you much more accuracy if you have to take a shot in excess of 25 yards, and you might, especially if you DIDN'T bring your rifle to the gunfight. In IPSC, you put your hands where you are briefed to put them, anywhere else and you DQ. Hell, if your technique of drawing and holstering doesn't meet the Rulz, you DQ. In the real world, anyway you can get your gun out, or back into your holster quickly is all you need.
I'm a fair gunner with pistol or revolver. I achieved Master in Revolver, Pistol and Shotgun well before the end of my police career. Master means you achieved a scored 96% or better on the annual qualification course, and you did it three times consecutively, before you get to wear the device on your right breast pocket flap. All these State DPSST (POST) courses involve accuracy and time.
I've not shot IPSC, but I get a real good idea of the work involved from several of my friends who do the discipline, and by reading Jerry's excellent writing on the subject. I have passed up several invites to qualify to shoot IPSC, then compete, simply because I won't take one iota away from my training to satisfy someone else's idea of how to make you work harder on a stage to achieve a good score.
I'm armed, and I'm prepared mentally to engage threats. I would feel less prepared if I shot IPSC, even though I might be a tad faster and maybe even more accurate if I competed. I'm not on duty any more, so I have the luxury of staying concealed with my arms until surprise gives me the advantage to neutralize a threat. I never had that luxury while Protecting and Serving.