Kind of Cheating

I post a lot of videos on YouTube, for a lot of reasons ... not the least is to provide public exposure to situations which occur during IPSC competition. (It makes it easier to show the videos on this blog, too, because it's a one-click access to the video and it downloads quickly.)

Because I've deliberately left the 'comments' section open to anyone, I receive some interesting viewpoints from people who watch the videos.

On February 12, 2007, I posted a video showing USPSA competitors shooting a single stage at Albany Rifle & Pistol Club (ARPC) in Oregon. I thought it was of general interest because the final scene showed a gentleman who was "Match Disqualified" (DQ) after he pointed his pistol toward the spectators during a reload.

Most of the several hundred viewers seemed to have understood the point of the lesson; IPSC competition shares a common theme with many forms of competition, including racing with cars, boats and airplanes. Unlike the 'like themed' competitions, IPSC has embedded a 'belt-and-suspenders' approach to safety.

IPSC (especially as practiced in USPSA, the United States Practical Shooting Association), has embedded a set of 'safety rules' which, if once violated during competition, will be immediately enforced by disqualifying the competitor from further participation in that match. The idea is bipartate:

1. If you break a safety rule, you have demonstrated that you are not operating in a state-of-mind which is conducive to future 'safe' participation. We will remove you from the match.
2. You don't have to actually cause harm to yourself or anyone else; the simple demonstration of mental lapse which MIGHT HAVE caused injury is sufficient to be declared an 'unsafe competitor'.
   

Compare this to, say, NASCAR -- where you're still permitted to compete in a race even though you 'almost' crashed your car into the grandstands.

One of the safety rules of IPSC is that if the muzzle of your firearm moves beyond pointing downrange to point uprange, where the spectators are, you are removed from the match.

Okay, that's the 'short course' of IPSC safety, and the reason why this video is important.

However, moving right along to the point of this discussion, some people just don't 'get it'.

Instead, they pick up on points of interest which were not expected in the original presentation.

This is the case here, when one viewer of the cited video commented:

"should not need a red dot with a pistol, kind of cheating."

Huh?

My first impulse, to say "you don't get it, dude!" lasted less than a second. With only a little thought, I had to admit that this view was absolutely, 100% correct.

Using a red dot with a pistol (electronic dot sight, like this and this) IS 'kind of cheating".

But the commentor didn't go far enough.

The "red dot" is only one of four characteristics of pistols used in Open Division ... and only that Division .. which separates it from all other divisions in IPSC competition. Here are the four ways that Open Division is "kind of cheating":

1. Allows "prototype" firearms
2. Allows ANY sights, including 'red dot' sights
3. Allows the use of compensators, or 'weight attached to the muzzle for the sole purpose of minimizing the 'muzzle-flip' or other sort of recoil
4. Allows extended double-stack magazines (exceeding 140mm in length) -- may allow magazines which allow in excess of 25 rounds, depending on the case circumference, magazine follower design, etc. as long as the magazine does not exceed 170mm in length.

Yes, when compared to other competitive decisions, these 'conveniences are "kind of cheating".

In fact, there are a few other characteristics which one typically finds in 'Open (division) guns', and if you go beyond Pistol Competition and begin to consider "Multigun" competition, the list of special exceptions becomes almost unwieldy.

Here is a short list of other 'exceptions' which do not apply to "Open Division" guns, but which may apply (and be very important) to other Divisions:

1. Production Division: all guns score as 'minor', regardless of actual power factor. Some holsters restricted, some handguns restricted, only 10 rounds allowed in magazines, first shot must be double-action, holsters and magazine carriers must be positioned behind the point of the hip, 1911-type handguns specifically excluded, magazine 'bumpers' or extensions specifically excluded, magazines must not exceed 140mm in length, no comps, barrel weights, barrel ports, optics or or any kind of electronic sighting device;
2. Single-Stack Division: only 1911-type handguns permitted, only 8-round magazines allowed, holsters and magazine carriers must be positioned behind the point of the hip, magazine 'bumpers' or extensions specifically excluded, magazines must not exceed 140mm in length, no comps, barrel weights, barrel ports, optics or or any kind of electronic sighting device permitted;
3. Limited Division: no prototypes allowed (500 guns must have been SOLD to qualify), magazine limited to 140mb, no comps, barrel weights, barrel ports, optics or or any kind of electronic sighting device.
4. Open Division: Forget all that stuff. Magazines may not exceed 170MM in length.
   

There are other restrictions on most of the Divisions, and I am deliberately ignoring Revolver Division. Also, Limted 10 Division allows everything that Limited Division allows, except that no more that 10 rounds must be loaded into your magazines. (Some other over-simplification is suggested by this list of qualifications, but they are too technical to fit in here.)

Point One is that competitors in each division, as determined by the equipment they use, competes only against competitors using similar equipment. That is to say, Open Division guns only compete against other Open Guns.

Point Two is that ... yes, Open guns ARE "Kind of Cheating!"

The compensator is unique to Open Division. This helps to reduce 'muzzle flip' because it exhausts the gasses from burning powder to keep the muzzle from rising as much. The consequence is that it is MUCH easier to take the second shot faster. However, an expert experienced shooter using other types of firearms can learn to manage muzzle-flip by timing his second shot in accordance with the amount of time required for the barrel to align with the aiming point. The difference in 'split time' (time between the first and the second shot) may be only a few hundredths of a second.

The extreme high-capacity magazine is unique to Open Division. However, there are very few stage designs which don't present the opportunity to competitors in 'other divisions' to work in a reload during movement. USPSA and IPSC rules prevent stage designs requiring more than 9 rounds from a single shooting position or location. This presents an ammunition management problem only for SingleStack and Revolver Division firearms .... but they are NOT competing against other divisions, so the Shooting Problem is shared by all similar competitors.

The use of Prototype firearms is unique to Open Division. There is no requirement here to use only firearms which have been 'sold to 500 customers', which means that this division is the 'test bed' of features which may or may not be made available to future firearms. This is the way that IPSC and USPSA act as 'test beds' for new designs and features, in order to encourage firearms manufacturers to improve the firearms market to the benefit of future customers.

Finally, the 'red dot' sights (also known as "Electronic Dot Sights" or "EDS") is a special case.
All other divisions mandate the use of Iron Sights. These are characterized by a front sight (usually a metal post sited at or near the muzzle of the gun) and a rear sight (generally, a horizontal bar in which a 'slot' is cut near the center of the sight.) The front sight (post) is positioned equidistant between the limits of the 'slot', or 'notch' in the rear sight to determine that the gun is pointed at the correct lateral alignment with the target. The target is typically placed above, and adjacent to, the front sign; the front sight is aligned vertically with the top of the rear sight. When this target alignment/sight alignment combination is correctly positioned, the sights are correctly aligned with the target and (barring other extraneous influences, such as inappropriate grip and trigger manipulation, etc.) the shot should hit the target.

The 'red dot' sight design is somewhat different.

To over-simplify, if you put the red dot on the target, the bullet should hit where the dot appears on your sight.

There is no need to aligh the red dot sight with a secondary (or tertiary) alignment; there is no 'notch' in the rear sight, there is no 'top' of the rear sight. In fact, there is not rear sight!

ALL the shooter need do is to find the red dot in the sight, put it on the place where he wishes the shot to hit, and SQUEEZE the trigger! If the dot is correctly positioned and the grip on the gun is correct and the shooter does not pull the sight off the target at the moment of shot ignition, the bullet will hit the target where the dot shows it should hit.

This is not only 'cheating', but experientially magic!

Is the use of a 'Red Dot' sight cheating?

Yes!

----

There's a little more to the discussion of "Red Dot" sights.

First, everyone who is using a 'Red Dot' sight is competiting against everyone else who is using a 'Red Dot' sight. That is, all are competing in Open Division, which is the only competitive division which allows this kind of sight.

If you are wrestling against people who are 180-200 pounds, and everyone who you wrestle is in that weight range, is it 'cheating' if you weight 200 pounds? No, I don't think so. (If you only weigh 180 pounds, you may be at a slight disadvantage. The solution is to bulk up, isn't it?)

More important, in IPSC competition it may be that the people who use 'Red Dot' sights are thos who due to age or infirmity are no longer able to correctly align two sights (front and rear) accurately, consistently and quickly.

This is the situation in which I found myself, three years ago.

I have competed in Limited, Limited-10 and Production for 20 years, until I realized that I was no longer able to see well enough to consistently align the front and rear sights with the target.

I was fortunate in being able to acquire the use of an 'Open Gun" (with 'red dot' sights) which permitted me to continue competing in IPSC competition.'

I didn't do well, but I'm still turning in decent scores in spite of my visual degeneration.

So, while it may seem to be 'cheating' to some people, I have managed to avoid being so depressed by my physical disability that I had discontinued attending IPSC competition in the USPSA.

It doesn't bother me that some people consider this 'cheating'.

I am cheating. And it has served me admirably.

If you take offense at my use of the 'red dot' sight, I invite you to come shoot against me. I'll let you use the same pistol (although you'll have to provide your own ammunition ... I'm not a complete fool) and we'll enjoy the competition on a fair basis.

NB: Tinyurl link for this article is here.