Practical
Shooting is a way to sharpen your skills with a firearm in a safe
manner through friendly competition. Everyone is welcome to participate
in matches. What you will need by way of equipment beside your
firearm(s) is:
- Hip Holster (no cross-draw holsters, please)
- Mag. holders, or shotgun shell holders, or speed loaders for revolvers.
- Ammunition
The
ranges that we utilize for matches are "Cold Ranges". I.E., no loaded
firearms are allowed on the ranges. Pistols may be carried in their
holsters, unloaded. Firearms are loaded under the instructions of a
Range Officer when a competitor is at the firing line for his/her
course run.
Rifles
and shotguns, likewise, are not to be handled in the range area except
under specfic instructions from a Range Officer. Competitors will be
directed before a match starts where to place their firearms prior to
competition and also what areas are "safe areas" for handling one's
firearm to adjust its sights, etc. No ammunition is allowed in a "safe
area".
Prior
to a match the Chief Range Officer will outline the course of fire,
conduct a "walk through" of each course of fire, and also provide a
safety briefing.
Matches
are scored under International
Practical Shooting Confederation / United
States Practical Shooting Association (IPSC/USPSA) rules.
There
are six types of matches held at various times:
- Action Pistol (revolver or semi-auto)
- Action Rifle (semi-auto: caliber .223 through
.308)
- Three Gun (rifle, pistol, and shotgun)
- He-Man Three-Gun Two-Gun
- Steel
We are located in the Clearwater, Florida area but have competitors come over from Tampa, Florida and other nearby communities. If you happen to be in this area and are so inclined you are welcome to participate in any of our matches.
We have Action Pistol matches every Friday night starting about 7:00PM at the Wyoming Antelope Club. On the fourth Sunday of every month we hold a USPSA Classifier Match starting about 9:00AM at the Wyoming Antelope Club.
There
is a Steel Match at Wyoming Antelope Club on the 4th Saturday of every
month.
We
have either an Action Rifle match or a
3-Gun match at the Hernando
Sportsman's Club starting about 9:00AM on the 2nd Saturday of each
month. Check the Action Rifle link to see what is scheduled.
He-Man 3-Gun Matches are specially scheduled at various times and are held at the Hernando Sportsman's Club as well.
There is a
pistol classifier match at the Universal
Shooting Academy in
Frostproof on the 2nd Sunday of each month.
There
is a match at the Phoenix
Gun Club
in Brooksville, FL in the 3rd Saturday of the month.
Many of us also go to matches put on by the Tampa Bay Suncoast Pistol Club at the Gun Craft Pistol and Rifle Club range in Ruskin, FL. These matches are held on the 1st and third 3rd Sundays of the month. Matches on the first Sunday are classifier matches. Matches on the third Sunday are fun matches. Gun Craft is located at: 2403 21ST AVE SE, RUSKIN FL 33570. Phone is: (813) 645-3828
Gulf Coast Lead Slingers logo used with permission of Smitty

