I can, too. But I don't think that is representative of the majority of action pistol shooters. And, as a Match Director, I need to fill out squads to make matches a success and to make enough to justify the time and investment. I am catering to my customers and a competitive marketplace. IDPA sanctioned matches have more than doubled in the last 5 years. Clubs are competing for customers. One way to do that is to jazz up the stages with interesting props, challenging shooting positions, etc. While some of it seems corny, it challenges competitors mentally and makes it more fun for others. USPSA stages I have shot recently involved shaky bridges, use of vehicles, carrying a briefcase forcing strong hand, etc. It's not just IDPA.
Cody
That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state;
I'm interested in the AIWB issue. I shoot with a national IDPA match director and a tiger team dude. When they were asked at a match by someone outraged over not be able to use a AIWB their response was that they did not trust the safety and handling procedures of all that come to the match. So how does one qualify a person with an AIWB as compared to a standard holster. Are they more risky than the IWB or OWBs on the hip? That the folks protesting to IDPA hidden bunker command are competent is one thing but the average newcomer. Having had a few Serpa leg shots around here and almost having a guy shoot me in the foot on holstering - I'm curious to the expertise vs. novice dimension on this equipment issue.
Given that - yep - some of the rules are quite stupid.
I'd agree that as a total generality, self-inflicting with AIWB may have a lot worse result than self-inflicting with a strong side holster.
That said, I think muzzle direction can be controlled to have even less intersection with the body in AIWB than with a strong side IWB rig. It doesn't necessarily have to be the case that AIWB carries a higher penalty for NDing.
USPSA has allowed appendix carry I think forever – which has been popular at times as a race holster, albeit OWB.
If match officials are that concerned that any particular person is actually going to shoot themselves, I would think they'd just not be allowed to shoot regardless of their holster position.
Technical excellence supports tactical preparedness
Lord of the Food Court
http://www.gabewhitetraining.com
Frank Glover posted that same sentiment on the IDPA yahoo mailing list around ten years ago.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...messages/76989
Last edited by NEPAKevin; 10-29-2014 at 12:08 PM.
"You can't win a war with choirboys. " Mad Mike Hoare