*Practical Shooting attempts to measure the ability to shoot rapidly and accurately with a full power handgun, rifle, and/or shotgun. Those three elements - speed, accuracy, and power - form the three sides of the practical shooting triangle. By design, each match will measure a shooter's ability in all three areas. To do this, shooters take on obstacle-laden shooting courses (called stages) requiring anywhere from six to 30+ shots to complete. The scoring system measures points scored per second, then weights the score to compensate for the number of shots fired. If they miss a target, or shoot inaccurately, points are deducted, lowering that all-important points-per-second score.

For 20 years USPSA competition has provided a test bed for equipment and techniques, many of which are now the standard for police and military training. Some of USPSA's top competitors are regularly employed as trainers for elite police and military units. Today, USPSA matches are conducted every week by the nearly 400 affiliated clubs all over the United States. For most people, practical shooting is pure sport conducted with little or no thought of the self-defense aspect of firearms use. However, USPSA members are generally the most proficient shooters in the world as witnessed by their domination in the world of firearms competition.

For more information please visit www.uspsa.com