Is it time now for organized suppressor competitions?

Without trying to sound like some ancient ‘has-been’ or ‘never-was’, I think it is safe to say the past thirty plus years have witnessed an unparalleled growth in the shooting sports and handgun ownership like no other seen since the very beginning and introduction of the easily reloadable handgun.

I also believe quite sincerely the creation of the International Practical Shooting Confederation, IPSC, and the follow-on organizations like IDPA and ICORE have done much to foster and spur this increasing interest to help change beliefs and political attitudes about handgun ownership across a wide spectrum of citizenry with regard to age, social economic status and physical location.  Of course, one does not slight the NRA for their work as well and the combination of all these factors has certainly been a successful effort.  The political and practical benefits of this for the shooting sports can be seen in the tsunami of overwhelming support and passage for civilian personal protection, concealed carry laws across this country.

What started out as “Combat Shooting” was soon turned into ‘sport competition’ and while purist like myself may have cringed at the use of words and marketing techniques that ‘softened’ the appearance of what was being done, the end result in comparison to where we started has simply been an outstanding achievement.  (That’s one of the benefits of being an ‘old guy’.  You get to remember the way things used to be and compare them to how much better they are today.)

One month ago I attended a 3-Gun match in central Oregon that was sponsored by Crimson Trace and no shot was fired prior to 9:30PM.  It was billed as a ‘Midnight’ match and it was a match oriented toward competition in the darkness.  Quite simply, even though it was my first 3-gun match in almost two decades, it was a Blast.

Yet, even though it was a well run and safe match, I don’t see how “Night” matches are going to catch on across the country without adding another element and that is…….Sound Suppressors!

The Crimson Trace match was held in the middle of nowhere.  Literally!  (And I’m not being negative towards the area or the local citizens when I say that.)  It had to be because there are darn few gun clubs or shooting ranges around this country where the surrounding residents will let shooters disturb their sleep with the gunfire continuously ringing out through till the wee-hours of the morning.  Even the much heralded GunSite has a 10:00PM shooting curfew so the neighbors aren’t alienated.

But, I think there is a solution to this dilemma that is a ‘win-win’ for all of us.

How about we combine ‘Night’ matches with firearms equipped with suppressors?  No non-suppressed firearms would be allowed in this new format and I think many of you are already starting to see what the implications could be down the road?

First of all, an organization built around the mandated use of legally registered suppressors and ‘silencers’ would legitimize them far more than any group of PR firms could in state political capitals or even Washington DC.

Secondly, I know a suppressor match is an extremely affable affair that is far more relaxed than any conventional firearms match, no matter its form or number of participants.

Why, do I say that?  Because over a decade ago I organized a suppressor only match at a local range.  A number of things became readily apparent.  One was you don’t know how hearing protection and the repeated muzzle blasts of shooting has a tendency to tire and wear on you as a competitor.  Seriously, when these influences are reduced, the fatigue level is not as great at the end of the festivities.

Also, we saw there was far, far more interaction between the competitors because it was easy to visit in normal conversation as well as tell jokes.  I can think of two instances where the Range Officer running the stages at my long ago match had to admonish those waiting to shoot with a “Please Be Quiet” request because our laughter was bothering the competitor on the line.  I’m serious.  I haven’t played golf since college but it was a very similar experience in that respect.

However, it must be recognized it wouldn’t be an easy transition for the current 3-gun crowd to shoot suppressed firearms in night only matches.  Suppressed shotgun technology is not that widely available or even developed (except of course in Hollywood films) and when it comes to suppressed firearms in civilian possession, those chambered for the .22 Long Rifle cartridge far out-numbered those chambered for centerfire cartridges.

So, in order for this new ‘sport’ to grow, certain aspects of civilian suppressed firearms ownership would have to be recognized.  When I ran my suppressor match, I had two divisions; long guns and handguns.  I used a ‘power factor’ grading system that was primarily based on bore diameter and this determined the scoring values of hits in various zones.  Since everything was sub-sonic, it made little sense to factor in muzzle velocities with this system.  Anything over .40 caliber in a handgun scored ‘Major’ and anything under down to .32 caliber scored ‘Minor’.

For the .22 rimfire shooters we created a new class ‘Sub-Minor’ and here only the “A” hits received a score.  Any hit outside the “A” zone with a .22 was scored as a ‘Miss’.  Sub-Minor caliber/scoring was the same for the rifles as well as the handguns if they were chambered for a .22 rimfire, but what we learned was many competitors can shoot a .22 rimfire, whether handgun or rifle, pretty darn good even with that seemingly scoring handicap.

My thinking following the match and after examining the results was that consideration should have been given to making the “A” zone even smaller than the 8” diameter we used back then.  I think a 6” A-Zone would be better for achieving some equivalency between the centerfire equipped competitors versus those shooting rimfire caliber suppressed firearms, or perhaps even smaller?

My point about this idea is shooting is increasing in popularity, but let’s not rest on our laurels.  Let’s continue to create disciplines that have a “WOW” factor and a vast amount of fun and safe excitement.  At the same time we would be continuously expanding the technology associated with the shooting sports.  Obviously, developing and creating a competition venue that would help both night time target acquisition and suppressor technology to ‘mature’ would pay life-saving dividends for both our military and law enforcement agencies.

I, however, am just interested in a new shooting game that really gets the adrenaline UP!…