Welcome to our in-depth look into IDPA. This will be a three part series where we cover the organization as a whole, general rules and guidelines, equipment, scoring, divisions, and classifications. In Part I, we will take a look at what IDPA is, its purpose, and the basic rules and philosophy of the sport. Part II will cover scoring and the concept of tactical priority. We will finish with Part III, discussing the divisions and classification system.

Attending your first match will be covered in a separate post.

What is IDPA?

The International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) is the governing body behind a competitive shooting sport meant to replicate real-world defensive pistol use. The intent is to offer a competitive arena where shooters can use their everyday carry/CCW pistols and equipment without being handicapped against heavily modified sporting pistols and equipment as one would find in some divisions of other shooting sports.

Next, we will cover general rules and equipment. This should familiarize you with IDPA and what you may use or should need for a match. If you have a functional pistol, some means of concealing that pistol along with a few magazines, a good belt, and required safety equipment, you have everything you need to get started.

Please bear with me as fully understanding a particular shooting sport can take some time and experience, and this post is meant for new competitive shooters. I will also link to the current IDPA rulebook at the bottom.

General Rules and Guidelines

IDPA has some rules that set it apart from other shooting sports for better or worse. Now let’s talk about concealment, magazines, and equipment.

But first, let’s talk about how not to get disqualified at your first match. A common piece of advice for new competitive shooters is to have fun and don’t get DQ’d. You can be a completely safe and capable gun owner and still easily get dropped from a match if you’re not familiar with some common rules.

• Do not handle your firearm unless instructed by the SO on a stage or at a designated safe area/safe table.
• Next, remember the “180 rule” when you’re shooting each stage. This is an imaginary line extending from the shooter’s position directly left and right (9 o’clock and 3 o’clock) when looking straight downrange in the shooting bay. Do not point your muzzle outside of the 180-degree plane when moving about the stage during a course of fire. This is especially important when reloading, as the muzzle points away from where we are facing and looking. For example, a right handed shooter running to the left may easily point their muzzle up-range if they’re not careful.
• Your finger must remain outside the trigger guard during any reload or movement during the stage, unless you are actively engaging targets during that movement.
• It should go without saying, but do not under any circumstance point your firearm at yourself or anyone else.
• Any accidental/negligent discharge of your firearm will also get you DQ’d.
• Last, do not drop your gun. Drop it and you’re out. If you do happen to drop it, do not attempt to catch it in flight for safety reasons.

Concealment

Concealment is required on nearly every stage. The holster must be outside the waistband or inside the waistband on your strong side hip or at the appendix position (yes, AIWB is now legal). The exceptions to the concealment requirement are during one of the IDPA classifiers and often on “Standards” stages.

Your favorite shirt or old man tactical vest should work just fine so long as it fully conceals the firearm and magazines.

Magazines

Since I mentioned magazines, here is another peculiar rule that is often a point of contention among competitors. Loaded magazines must remain on your person while shooting each stage unless specified in the stage brief. When you do your stage planning and decide where to best perform your reloads, you must know if your magazine will be empty at that time. If you reload with rounds still in the magazine you must retain that partial magazine on your person or incur a penalty if it is dropped and left on the ground. Often stage plans include extra shots on various targets so you can do a speed reload of an empty magazine instead of a retention reload. Due to a recent rule change, you may drop an EMPTY magazine on the ground with one round in the chamber without incurring a penalty. Shooting to slide lock is not required.

Additionally, each division has its own magazine capacity limit and says how many magazines you can carry on each stage. More on that in Part III.

Holsters and equipment

Per the IDPA rulebook, holsters must be suitable for all day concealed carry, cover the trigger guard, and be worn inside the waistband between the 12 o’clock position and the shooters hip (4 o’clock for right-handed and 8 o’clock for left-handed), or outside the waistband on the strong side hip. Belts must pass through the belt loops, no two-piece battle belt style systems. No cross-draw, shoulder holsters, small of back, or pocket carry. In the author’s opinion you shouldn’t do those anyway, but my opinion is worth what you paid for it. A decently stiff EDC belt and a good OWB strong side holster or AIWB holster will do just fine. You also want the ability to carry 2-3 magazines concealed on your belt.

That is a quick look at holsters and equipment, but more specifics can be found in the rulebook under sections 8.4, 8.5, and 8.6.

Range Commands

Range commands are standardized in IDPA to ensure clear communication between the Safety Officer and shooter. We will cover those commands in the order you should hear them on every stage.

“Range is hot” – The first command given to a shooter, signifying the start of the course of fire. At this time, the shooter (and anyone spectating) should ensure eye and ear protection are in place.

“Load and Make Ready” – When the SO issues this command, the shooter will move to the start position and prepare themselves and their equipment per the stage brief. This usually means loading the gun and holstering. Once the shooter has safely loaded and holstered, or otherwise assumed the starting position and equipment configuration, the SO will move on. IDPA does not allow competitors to take any “actions that appear as a rehearsal”, such as acquiring a sight picture on a target, as part of the make ready process.

“Are You Ready?” – After Load and Make Ready, this question is given to the shooter. A positive response, nodding of the head, or simply remaining silent tells the SO you are ready. If you are not ready, just say “Not ready” and fix whatever issue is present.

“Standby” – This is given after the shooter is ready and approximately 1-4 seconds before the start signal. You may not move or change positions between “Standby” and the start signal.

After it appears the shooter fires their last shot, the SO will say, “If finished, unload and show clear”. The shooter will then remove and stow the magazine and open the slide to show the SO. The SO will then say, “If clear, slide forward… pull the trigger”. Once the shooter has cleared the firearm, closed the slide, pointed the firearm in a safe direction and pulled the trigger on an empty chamber, they will be instructed to holster. “Range is clear” is given to indicate the stage is complete for this shooter. Scorers and target pasters may move forward of the shooter at this time.

If at any time any unsafe action is observed or is about to happen, the SO will say “Stop”. The shooter must cease all movement, take the trigger finger outside the trigger guard, and await further instruction. This is often given when a safety violation has been observed. Don’t sweat it or get nervous if you hear “stop”. Odds are, the RO is just doing their job to keep you and others safe.

A few more commands are explained in the Rulebook, but these are the most common and what you will hear on every stage.

That does it for Part I. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to comment below or reach out to me directly.

Current IDPA rules (as of this writing) are available at the links below.

IDPA Rulebook: https://www.idpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2024-IDPA-Rulebook-Master-12-14-23.pdf

IDPA Equipment Appendices: https://www.idpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023_Equipment_Appendix_Master_v2.pdf

Match Administration Rules: https://www.idpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023-Match-Administration-Rules-V1.0-Master-01-04-2023.pdf