FAQ

How do I become an NROI Range Officer?

  • You must be a current member of IPSC Canada.
  • You must be a member for at least one year.
  • You must compete in at least three Level II matches.
  • You must successfully complete a Level I NROI Range Officer seminar.
  • You must earn three (3) supervised Match Points (work under the direction of a certified IPSC Range Officer).

How do I become an NROI Chief Range Officer?

  • You must be a current member of IPSC Canada.
  • You must be a currently certified Range Officer.
  • You must successfully complete a Certified Level II CRO Seminar.
  • You must have a total of (28) accumulated match points (on record with NROI Canada)

How do I become an NROI Range Master?

  • See “How to become an NROI Range Master” section
  • There is also yearly activity requirement to be considered for RM promotion as well as yearly activity requirements to maintain RM certification. These activity requirements are based on the section you belong to. For more details please contact the NROI Canada Coordinator.

How do I maintain my status as a NROI Range Official?

  • You must be a current member of IPSC Canada.
  • You must accumulate at least six (6) match points in each calendar year.
  • Points from IPSC Sanctioned matches only will be recognized.
  • Points are submitted to the NROI Coordinators of each section and then sent the Regional Coordinator by December 15 of each year.

Match points are awarded as follows:

  • Level I match = 1 point
  • Level II match = 2 points
  • Level III match = 3 points
  • Level IV match = 4 points
  • Level V match = 5 points

What is IROA?

  • IROA – International Range Officers Association
  • Range Officers form the support and infrastructure of practical shooting, and for this reason, we have the International Range Officers Association (IROA) and the various National Range Officer Institutes (NROI). They were designed to establish a structure for the creation, accreditation, recognition, and maintenance of match officials. Following the goals of the Range Officer Creed, these organizations will ensure that IPSC Range Officers are the best trained, the best qualified, and the best prepared, to a same world-wide standard.

Does Canada still have the bullet weight and magazine exemptions?

  • No. As of July 1, 2009, Canada must comply with the rulebook. The exemptions no longer exist.

What happens if a competitors in Open Division makes major power factor but there bullet weight is below 120 grains?

  • Ammunition which fails to meet the minimum bullet weight of 120 grains, but which chronographs at Major power factor, will be treated as unsafe and must be withdrawn (see Rule 5.5.6).

In Canada, can we engage steel from 7 meters?

  • No. Minimum distance for firing shots at metal targets is changed to read 10 meters ( not 7 meters) with charge lines set at a minimum of 11 meters (not 8 meters). A match disqualification will be issued under Section 10.4 Accidental Discharge where a shot is fired at a metal target from a distance of less than 10 meters (not 7 meters).

Standard Division prohibits compensators. If I have an attachment extending forward of the barrel & slide of my gun, but there are no holes in the attachment other the hole in the barrel from which the bullet exits, is this legal?

  • Yes. Such a device is considered to be merely a weight and, provided the gun fits the box as required by Point 16 of Appendix D2 in the January 2009 Edition of the IPSC Handgun Rulebook, your gun is legal in Standard Division.

If competitor in Standard or Production division retrieves a magazine from their front pocket after the “Load and Make Ready” command will they automatically be moved into Open Division?

  • No, a competitor will not be moved into open division under theses circumstances. When the timer starts the competitors equipment must comply with division rules and regulations.

In Production Division can a competitor start with the hammer in the cocked position?

  • The simple answer is no. Production handguns with external hammers must be fully decocked. The first shot attempted must be double action.

My Production Division firearm has a decocking mechanism that does not fully decock the hammer. Does the hammer have to be fully decocked?

  • If a Production firearm has a decocking mechanism, where the hammer stops is acceptable. It complies with the Production division requirements.

On a course of fire where the firearms’s starting position is defined as simply “unloaded” (on table, in box, etc), there was a lot of debate about whether or not Production shooters have to start with the hammer fully decocked (i.e. can’t start with the slide locked open). What is the real answer to this question?

  • If the stage “instruction” simply state that the start is with the gun on the table, unloaded, then the competitor may have the gun, on the table, unloaded, in any condition he wants, regardless of the Division. If the stage “instruction” says unloaded, with the hammer fully down, then that’s the way it has to be. It all has to do with what’s in the written stage instructions.

How high towards the sky can you point the firearm during a magazine change?

  • Under IPSC rules you are allowed to point the muzzle of the firearm up to 90 degrees in any safe direction.

Can I use a thumb rest in Standard Division?

  • Yes, as long as the firearm still fits in the box.

Can I place some of the Classic targets in a scenario upside down?

  • Rule 2.1.8.4 Static targets (i.e. those which are not activated) must not be presented at an angle greater than 90 degrees from the vertical.

What is the proper way to “Unload & Show Clear” with a pistol that has a magazine safety?

  • The answer is not in the rule book. What is recommend is that you tell the Ranger Officer at the beginning of the stage that you require a magazine in the firearm in order to drop the hammer on a empty chamber. The magazine that you use to do this should be empty. Communication is the key. Make sure that the Range Officer is informed.

A course of fire dedicates that a competitors magazines or speedloading devices must be on a table. After the start signal, if I place the magazines or speedloaders in the front of my belt, and I am in Standard/Production division, will I be placed in Open division?

  • No. You may place the items anywhere on your person. It will not contravene the divisions rules under these circumstances.

What guns are approved for Production Division?

  • Only those guns listed on the Production Division List. If it is not on the list then it is not approved.

Can Glocks compete using +2 baseplates or +1 followers? Can I use a Glock 17 magazine in my Glock 19 or Glock 26?

  • No, to both questions. See Point 19.2 of Appendix D4 in the January 2009 Edition of the IPSC Handgun rulebook. All guns are approved with the standard magazine capacity quoted by the OFM, not with larger capacity magazines as may be supplied by importers or dealers in some markets.

Can a DA/SA pistol that is included on the approved Production Division list start a course of fire in single action mode (e.g. “cocked & locked”)?

  • No. See Point 17 of Appendix D4 in the January 2009 Edition of the IPSC Handgun rulebook.

Can I use my 1911 style SA pistol in Production Division?

  • No. Single-action (1911) style pistols currently dominate Open, Standard and Modified Divisions. Production Division was created to accommodate all other styles.

Can I apply skateboard or grip tape to the factory grips, or change the grips, of my Production Division Pistol?

  • Yes. See Point 20.3 of Appendix D4 and Appendix F4 in the January 2009 Edition of the IPSC Handgun rulebook.

My pistol has been fitted with an aftermarket trigger stop. Is this allowed?

  • Models which have factory installed trigger stops are allowed. Otherwise, this modification is not allowed.

Can I replace the original 3-dot sights on my Glock 17 with aftermarket 3-dot fiber optic sights?

  • Yes. You can use any open sights. See Point 20.2 of Appendix D4 in the January 2009 Edition of the IPSC Handgun rulebook.

Can I apply paint or sight black to my pistol?

  • No, you can only apply sight back. See Point 19.3 of Appendix D4 in the January 2009 Edition of the IPSC Handgun rulebook.

Am I allowed to cock my SA/DA pistol for the first shot in a course of fire?

  • No. The first shot in a course of fire must be double action. See Point 17 of Appendix D4 in the January 2009 Edition of the IPSC Handgun rulebook for the exception.

How will the trigger pull be measured at a competition?

  • The test will usually be conducted during the chronograph stage at a match. See Appendix F2 in the January 2009 Edition of the IPSC Handgun rulebook for details of the test.

Some pistols on the approved Production Division list do not have a de-cocking lever. Are they acceptable?

  • Yes. All DA/SA pistols without a decocking lever must start with the hammer fully down. Under the supervision of a Range Officer, the competitor will use the weak hand to safely lower the hammer with the pistol pointing down range during the “load and make ready” procedure. A discharge during this procedure will be considered as unsafe gun handling and the competitor will be disqualified. Also see question 9 above and Rule 8.1.2.4.

Can we use Glock models 34 and 35 in Production Division?

  • Glock in their own advertising call them “long slides”. They are special sporting handguns with a lighter trigger pull (3.5 lbs) and a longer barrel (135mm) out of the box. Maximum barrel length in Production Division is 127 mm (5″). The Production Division does not include special sporting models like the Glock 34 and 35, or the H&K USP Expert, or the Sig Sauer Sport II series if they differ in barrel length from the standard model (Glock 17, Sig Sauer 226, H&K USP).”Production” does not necessarily mean that all pistols which are currently in production are legal for use in this division.

Can 7 or 8 shot revolvers be used in Production Division and shot to capacity?

  • Yes. Both Taurus and S&W have 7 and 8 shot revolvers which have barrels less than 5″. The models are listed in Production Division.

I have found that there are after market magazines available for my approved Production Division pistol. These magazines have the same external dimensions as the original factory magazines but they sometimes hold more rounds. Can I use these magazines in Production Division?

  • Yes. See Point 20.1 of Appendix D4 in the January 2009 Edition of the IPSC Handgun rulebook.

In Revolver Standard Division, I shoot a S&W 686 in .357 magnum. Can I modify the cylinder to accept moon clips?

  • Yes.

Medium Courses and Long Courses specify that course design and construction must not require more than 9 scoring hits from any single location or view. What does this mean?

  • A course of fire must not force a competitor to fire more than 9 shots from any “location or view”, and definitions of both these terms can be found in the Glossary of the rulebook. However if the course design allows some targets to be shot from more than one location or view, this gives the competitor the option of from where they may be shot, and the course of fire is in compliance with the rules. The objective of this rule is to encourage movement.

Is a competitor disqualified if they draw there firearm before the load and make ready command?

  • Yes the competitor would be disqualified. This is covered under rule 5.2.1 and 10.5.1.
  • 5.2.1 Carry and Storage – Except when within the boundaries of a safety area, or when under the “supervision and direct command of a Range Officer“, competitors must carry their handguns unloaded in a gun case, gun bag or in a holster securely attached to a belt on their person (see Rule 10.5.1).
  • 10.5.1 “Handling a firearm at any time except when in a designated safety area or “when under the supervision of, and in response to a direct command issued by, a Range Officer.” The expression “handling a firearm” includes holstering or unholstering a firearm, whether or not the firearm is visible (e.g. while concealed by a protective cover, etc.) together with adding or removing a firearm to/from the competitor’s person whether or not the firearm is wholly or partially holstered.
  • You will note the following words “supervision and direct command of a Range Officer” and “under the supervision of, and in response to a direct command issued by, a Range Officer“.
  • The rules are clear, if a competitor draws their firearm before the range commands, it is a disqualification.