An introduction to:

        NPA POLICE PISTOL "A" & "B"

The police pistol disciplines are probably the fastest growing of all handgun-shooting disciplines in South Africa, with Police Pistol being the starting point for the newcomer to the shooting sports. It is the purpose of this article to offer the newcomer or the more experienced shooter some advice to help him, or her, to reach full potential and, thereby, full enjoyment of the sport. To this end I enlisted the help of well known and active shooters in the police and service pistol disciplines, with varying styles of shooting, in an effort to allow the reader to pick the points that suit their physical build and use them for developing their own style I hope this article will encourage those shooters to bring those gun's out which have been locked up and have not seen the light of day for sometime.

Brief history

Police pistol is a direct offshoot of the British police force training shoot known as the "Mander" Competition. The original course was 26 shots on the old UIT dueling target. The course was extended to 30 shoots in 1978 and was called Police Pistol 1 .The Shoot was first shot at Pistol 79  Bisley UK , this shoot was introduced to South Africa from  the now sadly defunct NPA Pistol Shoot "Anno Domini" by Maurice Jones and Tracy Menney and was first shot at the Alberton Pistol Club in 1987. The target is deliberately made to confuse the shooter, especially at the longer ranges. When the eye is focused on the sights the target disappears in a blur of black and white, forcing the shooter to concentrate on the sights.

Course of Fire

The purpose of Police Pistol is to teach the shooter a competitive discipline with the skills of weapon handling   (25m) long range deliberate shoot, (15m) the medium range quick shot, (10m) short range double action shot.

The course of fire is:

25m 12 shots in 2 minutes including reloading (Pistol not more then 6 shots per magazine)

15m 12 shots in two strings of six shots . Six 2-second exposures of the target with one shot to

be fired at each exposure, the pistol must be returned to the 45" after each exposure.

10m 6 shots, three exposures of 2 seconds with 2 shots to be fired at each exposure.

Total 30 shots, possible score 300.

Weapons

The competition is open to Police Pistol "A" any 9 mm semi-auto pistol, Police Pistol ''B" any pistol or revolver between .354" and .455 but no porting or compensators allowed. There is no weight limit on the trigger but it must be safe. Orthopedic-type grips are not allowed. The favorites seem to be .38 Spec 6" barrel revolvers , .38 Spl S&W 52 semi- auto, Sig-Hammerlie P240, .357" 6" barrel revolvers and the 9mm semi-auto pistol. In short, almost any accurate pistol or revolver will be fine for Police Pistol B.

Techniques

Stance: The stance used will vary from shooter to shooter, depending on the physical build of the person and whether the shooter is right or left eyed. in this article we assume that the shooter is right handed, therefore the left hand shooters should reverse everything. There are two basic stances , the " Weaver" and the "Isosceles".

In the Weaver stance, the shooter stands sideways on to the target. The left foot towards the target the right foot behind at an angle of 30*-40* . The right arm fully extended and the elbow locked. The left arm bent forming a triangle pulling in toward the extended right arm. The elbow may be tucked into the body if this is comfortable, thereby providing extra support. The head is tucked down onto the right arm. In the isosceles stance, the shooter stands square on to the target  with feet a little more than shoulder width apart the arms are extended to form a triangle locking the pectoral muscles. The whole body leans backward to shift the center of gravity and further lock the  shoulders. It is a matter of trial and error to find which stance or combination will suit you, but it is  likely that it will contain the elements of both the Weaver and Isosceles.

Grip

The competition allows a one or two handed grip, and while a practiced UIT shooter may be able to use a one handed grip at 25m, maybe even at 15m, when two shots are required in two seconds at 10m , a two handed grip is better. Take the pistol in the shooting hand and with barrel approximately in line with the forearm, let the

fingers wrap around grip so that the joint of the first finger contacts the trigger. Remember the second shot at 10m will be double action if you are using a revolver. Next, push the shooting hand into the palm of the non-shooting hand and let the fingers wrap around. If your fingers are long, then let the forefinger rest on the front of the trigger guard. When using the square on stance, move the non-shooting hand around towards you and lock

the fingers over the top of the shooting hand, allowing the thumb to cross over the top of the shooting hand, then squeeze gently. This will lock the whole hand and arm assembly together and allow the thumb to cock the hammer of a revolver.

Timing

At 25m the shooter has 2 minutes for 12 shots, which is enough time to take each shot deliberately. No spotting scope may be used in competition. At 15m the two-second exposure is followed by a gap of five seconds. The shooter can regulate his breathing so as to act as the targets begin to turn rather then react to the targets turning. At a normal breathing rate, the shooter can take two and a halve breaths between shots. Thus he should be anticipating the targets exposure and beginning to act at two and halve breaths as the target begins to turn. At 10m the same technique is employed.

Equipment

A suitable pistol holster is advantage on Police Pistol ranges. Since sometimes there are no tables ,ect, it is

useful to have a convenient "bag" to carry the firearm. A speed loader, while not absolutely necessary, is an asset. If you are use a quick loader you have much more time to concentrate on the things that matter. Most ranges have no cover beyond 25m and a lot do not have cover at all a beach umbrella for sun and rain can be very useful.

Conclusion

Police Pistol is a very competitive discipline, scores of 298 are now becoming quite common. Remember that there is no malfunction allowance; if the gun goes click instead of bang then you have lost 10 points. No spotting scopes my be used or UIT shooting classes, no orthopedics no target grips or compensators or porting is allowed. Pistols may not load more then six shots per magazine. In the 15m and 10m details remember you must be at 45 degrees when the targets are away.

Well, there you have it; why not give it a try! Keep an eye out for Police Pistol competitions which are shot at national, provincial, club and postal level, so look for a range near you and join in. But be warned you may find some other forms of shooting rather dull after Police Pistol! If you are interested and would like to know where this event is shot in your area, contact the following:

Alberton Sports Shooting Club,

Mannie De Sousa 082 411 1798