IPSC shooting with handguns and long guns – Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas, i.e. "accuracy, power, speed "

Founded in the USA in 1976, the International Practical Shooting Confederation, or IPSC for short, was initially primarily intended to train gun owners in the safe handling of firearms. The "practical" training turned into a competitive shooting sport for pistols, revolvers, rifles and shotguns that is currently practised on all continents. We provide you with an overview of the variants and the most important rules.

A contribution from Ulrich Eichstädt01.02.2026

Emile Obriot IPSC — Frenchman Emile Obriot from Team GECO, surprise runner-up in the 2025 Production Optics World Shoot: he has been shooting IPSC since 1999 and became European Junior Champion in 2007. This was followed by two silver medals at the European Championships in 2013 and 2016, bronze in 2019, and bronze at the World Shoot 2017 in the Open Division. This year, he managed to take silver, behind his compatriot Eric Grauffel, currently the undisputed best IPSC shooter in the world. Obriot shoots with a Beretta 92X Performance in 9 mm Luger.

DVC – the Latin motto of IPSC is Diligentia (accuracy), Vis (power) and Velocitas (speed) – these three factors make IPSC shooting, named after the association, an extremely dynamic sport that will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2026 and ensured a record participation of almost 1,800 shooters from over 50 countries at the last World Shoot in South Africa. Like no other shooting discipline, however, IPSC in Europe is subject to severe firearms restrictions and bureaucratic attacks, meaning that this special situation must also be taken into account in a portrait of the sport.

IPSC Classic Target — The classic IPSC cardboard target: the hit zones (A, C, D) and the time per round determine the score, with A giving the highest score and D the lowest (the zones count differently depending on the cartridge power factor).

Leatherslap — © IPSC.org
Five of the IPSC founders from 1976, from left: Ray Chapman (first world champion at the 1975 World Shoot in Switzerland), then Elden Carl, Thell Reed, Jeff Cooper and Jack Weaver, who popularised his own Weaver shooting style. The photo, which today seems somewhat aggressive, reflected the founders' idea of training for self-defense.

Popper — The popper falls when the round steel surface is hit. There are different sizes for different levels of difficulty.

Practical shooting exercises, as the American founding fathers around Colonel Jeff Cooper wanted to train for self-defence in 1976, are no longer practised today. The original man silhouette of the early years has become a exagonal-shaped cardboard target with three hit zones which, unlike the usual ring targets, can't be seen from the shooting position. Alternatively, you can aim at metal reactive targets ("poppers") or steel plates.

This change to an exclusively competitive sport led to the migration of many professional gun carriers in the USA to the IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) years ago.

© a4s-Archiv
US shooter Rob Leatham (seen here in action in 2014) was not only seven-time IPSC world champion, but also the first professional shooter to receive a contract worth one million US dollars from his sponsor (Springfield Armory).

In short, the main differences to combat shooting are that in IPSC all stages and the required minimum number of cartridges per stage are known to all competitors before the start. There are no targets representing people, no targets that appear unexpectedly and generally no courses that are modelled on military or police situations. This also applies to the stage design, which prohibits opaque "cover" such as solid walls. And finally, accuracy always takes precedence over speed in IPSC: shots must always be aimned and fired deliberately from a slowed-down position, not while moving or from the hip

Eric Grauffel IPSC — © CZ
Top French shooter Eric Grauffel, who is currently sponsored by Czech manufacturer CZ, became IPSC World Champion for the 10th time in a row in 2025 in the still young "Production Optics Division" (with red dot sight). He had previously been world champion in the technically almost unlimited "Open Division" five times between 1999 and 2014 and once in the Standard Division in 2017.

How does the IPSC competition start and how does it end?

IPSC is a timed shooting sport in which the athlete completes a known course of fire, which usually consists of several sections with various stages. The shooters compete in groups, the so-called "squads". When it is a shooter's turn, they complete the next stage: the timekeeping range officer runs the entire course close behind the shooter and first asks "Are you ready?" – starting from the "Ready Position" with both arms at head height (or with the muzzle lowered in the case of long guns). At the signal from the timer, the shooter draws the handgun holstered at the hip and fires at the first target, then at the following targets. The goal is to complete each stage as quickly and as accurately as possible.

© Ulrich Eichstädt
Instead of using the customised but correspondingly expensive race guns of the Open Division, many IPSC shooters compete with guns from the Production, Standard or Classic Divisions.

The special attraction is that almost every course of fire is designed differently. This means that shooters are constantly faced with new challenges and each stage requires a fresh approach. IPSC combines two seemingly contradictory requirements: on the one hand, it requires automated, fast movement sequences and, on the other, the ability to develop a suitable solution for each new stage situation. There are usually several possible solutions for the sequence from shot to shot, and you plan tactically whether this or that path could be the faster one. For example, you can save time if you can hit the target well and shoot from a greater distance instead of running close to the next target.

Experienced shooters benefit from the so-called "walkthrough", which allows them to walk the course before the competition and without guns. They analyse targets, distances and hurdles and mentally plan their optimum course of action. Speed and accuracy are equally important in the scoring: the hits achieved, minus any penalty points, are divided by the time required –from the start signal to the last shot. This results in the "hit factor". The shooter with the highest hit factor has the full score or 100 per cent for this particular stage; all other results are scored proportionally and result in the ranking.

Picture gallery: IPSC competition in Wiechlice/Poland

Many IPSC courses consist of numerous stages spread across the terrain. Professionals push their all-terrain buggies along the way to transport the complete and heavy equipment.

A typical setup of an IPSC stage with transparent screens, which limit the shooting directions to the respective targets.

This is what the usual stage descriptions look like, showing the location of the targets, the number of shots and other special features. Before the first shooter of a squad starts, all squad members walk the course together, working out the best sequences and shooting positions in their minds – or even where it is best to change magazines.

As here in Wiechlice in Poland, numerous stages can be planned on a small area of land. Here, high earth embankments stop the bullets.

Every IPSC shooting range has a safety zone where shooters are allowed to inspect their guns (but without ammunition!) or carry out target practice. The safety zone separates the handling of the gun from the handling of the ammunition in order to prevent accidents and ensure that the competition runs safely.

Are you ready? Stand by - beep: the timer in the range officer's hand has just given the start signal, the shooter has drawn the pistol from the holster and is now going to raise it and bring it into the aiming position. The shooter's eyes are already fixed directly on the target.

After a magazine change, a gentle pat on the bottom of the magazine helps to ensure that it locks securely in the chamber. Otherwise it may fall out again with the next movement...

When travelling at right angles to the direction of fire, the weapon must always be held with the muzzle pointing towards the bullet trap. Unsafe handling of the gun, which also endangers the spectators, will be penalised with a DQ (disqualification).

The power factor in IPSC shooting: power measurement for better comparability

In IPSC shooting, the cartridge power is ranke by the so-called power factor. A distinction is made between cartridges with a major and minor factor, which in turn results in different scores depending on the hit, for example on the IPSC Classic target. In principle, rim hits with a major factor are scored one point higher than those with a minor factor to account for the increased recoil and thus the greater difficulty in gun control.

The power factor is determined on the basis of a chronograph measurement with a few competition cartridges from each participant using the formula:

Bullet weight (in grains) x average bullet velocity (feet per second), the result divided again by 1000

Timer — © CED
A shot timer (here a CED 7000) measures the time between the start signal and the shooter's last shot. A velocity measuring device is also required to determine the power factor.

In principle, IPSC centerfire ammunition for handguns must be at least 9mm (9 mm Luger) and have a factor of 125 or more. Depending on the division, the major factor then starts above 160 (Open Division) or 170 (Standard Division, Classic Division and Revolver). In the Production Divisions, only the minor factor must be observed.

In IPSC Rifle a minimum factor of 150 must be achieved for participation in all centerfire divisions and in the more powerful calibres, a major factor from 320. The Mini Rifle Divisions use rimfire cartridges in .22 LR without further restrictions. The following cartridges are permitted in the two PCC Divisions (minimum factor 125): 9x19, 9x21, .357 SIG, .38 Super, .38 Super Comp, .40 S&W and .45 ACP.

For IPSC shotguns, the minimum caliber allowed is 20 gauge (or 20 bore), and a minimum power factor of 480 applies for all four divisions. For slugs, any type in the corresponding caliber is permitted.