Whatever discipline you choose, there will be those there to have fun and those there to win no matter what.

I shoot IPSC (Classic Division) to get better at shooting. As a result I admit I get competitive, especially at multi day Level II and III matches. I check out who is in my grade before the match begins, keep half an eye on how they are shooting and check how I am shooting against them when the daily stage results are put up. But I don’t talk about how well, or how badly, I am doing compared to others in my grade. I accept “good shooting/stage” compliments with a “thanks” and give the same comments when appropriate.

Some I shoot with are real competition focused. We have a rule, only the next shooter on the line to do a walk through while targets are being scored and reset. There are a few so focused on winning that they jump the que four or five shooters ahead. When they get in front of me for a walk through I am now asking them “Are you shooting this stage next? I thought I was after XXXX”. There is room for competition but there is no room for rudness.

There is a group of 4 or 5 of us in the same grade/division who shoot most matches together. It is a friendly bunch who loan each other ammo, spare parts and even at times spare guns.

I shoot CAS for fun. Unfortunately there are some even in CAS who are so competitive they will resort to any advantage. Ruger Vaquero’s rule instead of Colt clones as they can be set up to be “faster”, and .38 Special chambered guns shooting 100 gn bullets loaded to just over power factor (one even denied knowing there was a PF requirement when his .38 rounds failed to drop a plate calibrated for .22RF).

Most social CAS shooters shoot .44/40 or .45 Colt and are there to have fun. They are the ones I like to shoot with.

I recently shot my first Wild Bunch match and learnt a lot. There were one or two who commented that the M ‘12’s were shooting faster than the ‘97’s, but the rules round the guns (1911 .45, 12 gauge pump and a lever action rifle over 40 calibre) mean most are shooting from a position of equal equipment.

In every discipline there are those that will break the rules to their advantage hoping that others do not realise what they are doing. At my last Level II IPSC match we had a RM who attend at the start and said that any illegal equipment would be acted on appropriately. There were several shooter who disappeared and came back with their belts/holsters/mag carriers modified from how they usually wear them. I found myself promoted to squad leader and main R/O and when the RM saw I had added a couple of extra range commands he just quietly spoke to me between shooters and set me right (I was also wearing my pistol while acting as R/O, something that I hadn’t realised was discouraged).

And then there are those that argue every adverse call from the R/O. One shooter I know requests at least 1 “disputed” target be pulled each match day. He has several times been given a warning for un sportsman like behaviour and it is only a matter of time before he is DQ’d for it. I was once disqualified from a two day Level II comp on the second to last stage when I had a pistol malfunction (the sear spring had been lightened a bit too much in an attempt to lighten the trigger pull and the hammer followed the slide forward when I reloaded from slide lock, causing the pistol to discharge. I have since had the hammer/sear/disconnector and sear spring replaced and worked on properly). At the next competition I simply quietly told the R/O who had DQ’d me that I had discovered the gun problem and fixed it. He was horrified when he realised it was a repeatable gun fault not a handling fault but as I said to him, he made the call as he saw it and that was the end of the matter.

No matter what discipline you choose there will be someone who will act in a way you sid not expect. Just remember there are only two rules.

Have fun and the only score you have to beat is your last one.