Mumbles

DOH!!! Thanks Steve. For some reason I had it stuck in my head that it was SC. I will shift my focus to Missouri. Still I don't suppose you know the actual address? Regards, Darryl PS- How come you mob name so many cities after a South American country anyway?

Hi All, As the title says, not so much a "I was there" as a "Can someone that was there give me some info" I am traveling to the States for the World Shoot and for a bit of a wonder around after. I was thinking to find the Hilton hotel in Columbia SC were the meetings of the Columbia Conference were held. Problem is that I can not find the actual address. All the Hiltons that I can find in Columbia SC seem to have been built after 1976 so obviously it can't be them. Can someone tell me the actual address that the meeting were held at so I can make the pilgrimage? Also, the name and address of the range were the afternoon shooting sessions were held would be good as well. Hope to see some of you at the World Shoot. I'll be the short bloke wearing the Top End Practical Shooting League shirt. Thanks Darryl

Mmmmmm, so a Sydney shooter going to NZ for AA13 shooting Production with an M and P with a potentially over length barrel............. Now where did I leave my calipers......... Regards, Mumbles

NatNat, You do know that the NZ IPSC National Championships will be held in Rotorua on November 18-20th, don't you? Also followed by a 3-Gun Match that I am really, really looking forward to. How do I know? Because I will be there :) New Zealand is about to be invaded by Aussies instead of the other way around for a change. If you can manage it it would be well worth attending. Welcome to the sport and hope to see you there. Regards Mumbles ps - I will be one of the contingent from Darwin, Northern Territory (the old short one )

No worries, Tony. Hope to see him on the range sometime. Regards, Darryl

Me again, Just re-reading my post and I find that I did not answer half of your questions Is this information correct? Sort of, see above. Though US$600 I think is a bit steep. Club membership (handgun) varies but somewhere between $200/300 per year, licence about $30/year and permit to purchase about the same. How difficult is the process? See above What are the most popular pistols? Open pistols- STI/SVI, some Para's, a few single stacks Standard pistols - as above. Note there are calibre restrictions, nothing over 38 approved for IPSC thus to shoot major in STD it needs to be 357Sig as changed 2 world assemblies ago. Production- CZ, Glock, M+P is getting a following and a smattering of odd ball berrettas, H + K etc. How difficult is it to get a semi-auto pistol? See above Are there any public or private ranges in Brisbane? For club ranges see above. Public ranges there are a couple I think, not sure. Do public ranges offer rental guns? Can anyone rent them? There is one on the Gold Coast I believe, set up for tourists ie something like $100 for 7 rounds 45, 6 rounds 357 and 10 rounds 22!!! What shooting activity can he do without a permit? For handgun...S.F.A. What can he do while he is waiting on a permit? Be doing the theory part of the club training as well as attend matches, pick brass, ask questions What ammunition is available? Caliber? Most anything is available but as note earlier, anything over 38 in handgun is not approved for IPSC. Also (jsut in case he gets a liking for recoil, 50BMG is effectly banned and there is rumblings of the same for 338 Lapua etc due to lack of fall out. Roughly, what can a person expect to pay for 100 rounds of ammo? The international barometer, 9mm factory, sells for around $22-26/box of 50. Reloading depending on components etc about $15-20/hundred. NOte that all prices are in Aus dollars but at the moment the difference to US is only cents. In general, what does he need to do to enjoy an afternoon of shooting? Once he has gone though all the licencing....stuff.....turn up and shoot. As with anywhere, offering to help set up etc also goes a long way. One other thing I should mention though I am sure that he knows. Handguns licences are strictly range only, no hunting, no carry, nothing but range use only. I am travelling to Malaysia with the QLD deputy section coordinator, I will tell him to expect a call from Brad. :) Regards, Darryl

G'day TM262, Good to see you are taking an Aussie out for a shoot. From the looks of it he was a fairly quick learner after a couple of muzzle and finger warnings. The issue of Australian "national" gun laws is complicated, each of the states and territories have their own take of supposely national gun laws, but I will try to give you the guts of it. From this point on abandon all sense of common sense because you will not need it to understand some of the restrictions. First of you can tell Brad to enjoy the semi-auto shottie while he can because back in Australia he will probably not get to use one again. Also add pump action shotguns to that as well. Only exceptions are for security guards, primary producers and some special conditions in the state of West Australia and the Northern Territory. For any firearms license he will need a "genuine reason" to own. This can be (again depending on the state) membership of a club, a letter from a landowner of sufficient size to hunt or a hunting permit for hunting reserves, waterfowl permit etc. This is for long arms ie rifles and shotguns. The best idea is to go to the local cop shop and fill in the forms. He will have to pass a firearms safety test but it is just common sense questions. There will be a fee, usually around $30/year but like everything else this varies between the states. He could then apply for a permit to purchase. Waiting period/cooling off period/whatever of 30 days but processing of the paperwork may take longer. Remember no semi auto or pump action shotgun, no semi auto rifles but you can have a pump action rifle, bolt action, lever, double, single etc. Now to handguns. Thanks for getting him hooked on IPSC. For handguns it does get a bit more involved. To obtain a handgun licence he MUST be a member of a club that holds regular scheduled shoots in the disciple that he holds the handgun for and there are minimum attendance requirements to retain the licence. In Queensland there is some special form that he can "have a go" without first joining a club but generally that will be the process. There is a 3 month training/probation period before appling for a full licence. After holding a full license for 6 months he could then apply for a permit to purchase a handgun. During this time he would be able to use the club guns, or other members guns generally. His best bet would be to go to the IPSC Australia website and go to the contacts page. He will find the phone number/email for the Queensland Section Coordinator (Graeme Clark)and go from there. Graeme (I have probably spelt it wrong but that will be good for a stir) will be able to get him in contact with one of the Brisbane clubs (City of Brisbane, Metro Pistol Club, Gold Coast Pistol Club etc)and also give him the specifics of QLD gun laws. I have probably missed some important info but feel free to ask if there is anything. Again this is general info as laws/procudures vary from state to state but that is the general gist of it. Note that I will be away for a couple of weeks starting in a couple of days but I will try to answer any questions until then. Going to Malaysia for the Level IV Australasian, only the second international shoot I have been to. The first was the last World Shoot in Bali. The next is the New Zealand 3 Gun Championships.....two weeks after I get back from Malaysia Regards, Darryl Tinning Section Coordinator IPSC Northern Territory

I better hold up the side. Can't let those extroverts hog all the spotlight I N T J 100 25 50 33 I do find in interesting the apparently high number of INTJ on here. Regards, Darryl

I would have to say that the "AVERAGE" competetive shooter should be a 35-45 year old white guy, "slightly " overweight with a goatee!! Income-50-120K, Married, 21 kids, also enjoys nice cars and good beer, has a seperated bank account to hide toy purchases from wife, is usually in trouble for not being home on the weekend "again"... Now that looks familiar.... Not USPSA but the real IPSC but.... Started in 90-91 when I was 26, I'm now 43. Have always shot Open, though for the first two years with a comped CZ but no dot. Started at D grade, now at A grade and holding.... Regards Mumbles

Dirt Doctor (Soils Technician) We test soils and concrete for the civil construction industry, mostly roads. Been doing that for about 14 years, started up our own company about 11 years ago. Before that ceiling fixer/plasterboard fixer ( I think you mob call it a drywall fixer) Before that Fitter and Turner. Origonal with the idea of getting into gunsmithing but far more money in a "real" job. I am always interested in the different jobs that shooters do, I have found that a large proportion are small business owners/self employed. Regards, Darryl

Trooper (Dave?) While I have no specific knowledge of how USPSA would handle it, I would say that the G17A would be classed as a variation of the G17. Not being on the approved list might be a problem for major matches though it is only a longer barrel. After all, you can shoot USPSA Production with a G34 and no trigger pull restriction so a 121/123mm factory barrel should be no problem. Just don't kick their arse too bad and you shouldn't have any problems Regards, Mumbles aka Darryl Tinning

WTF????

Trooper, Yes, indivual entry is the basis of any IPSC match, teams are just a bit of extra competition and state pride. We were just finishing off some details for the Rifle/Shotgun entry form tonight so expect both Handgun and Rifle/Shotgun entry forms to be posted on the IPSCNT web page probably within the week. I know how it is to not have much practice with rifle or shotgun lately. I ran a club match for rifle last year at TEPSL and miss appeared on quite a few score sheets. I have heard good and bad about the '87 shotguns, as far as I know they are Norinco but will be modified in Melbourne. As it stands we work with the best that the law allows. In the Territory we can use pump and autoloading shotties for IPSC but with a maximum of 2 rounds so magazine capacity is a plus. Expect rifle shots to about 300 metres and at least one bush stage with the shotgun. Hope to see you here or at another shoot around the country. Regards, Darryl

Trooper, Since you are obviously so keen, I thought I'd let you know the 2007 Australia IPSC Handgun Nationals will be hosted by the NT on June 8-11 next year. A bit of practice should see you in the ACT team, I've heard that they are not that good. A couple of days rest and then the Australia IPSC Rifle/Shotgun Nationals will be hosted by Top End Practical Shooting League (T.E.P.S.L.) down the track about 50km at Acacia. That '87 lever shotgun will fit right in. Under our gun laws they seem to be the go down south for IPSC competition. We're waiting on a shipment of them now so the Top End members can get to practicing. BTW if any of the rest of you mob would like to shoot the match let me know and I'll organize some guns and gear (remember no calibres above 38 and only 10 round mags ). Entry forms and more info should be on the IPSCNT website within a week or two. Regards, Darryl