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2011 US Annual Vol. 28, No. 1A
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2011 Annual Issue
2011 Annual Issue

THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE UNITED STATES PRACTICAL SHOOTING ASSOCIATION
FRONT
SIGHT
Interested in USPSA Shooting?
Welcome to the world of
USPSA! In this annual issue
you will find plenty
of information about our
sport. Founded in the mid 1970s, our
sport has matured every year. Today
more than 19,000 active members participate
at some 360 local clubs. USPSA
forms the largest of 60-plus regions in
the International Practical Shooting
Confederation.
Handgun shooting is the usual focus
of our competitions and we have
six separate divisions to cater to just
about every type of handgun you may
wish to shoot. Our stages combine
some athleticism with a larger emphasis
on safe gun handling through speed
and accuracy. Our classification system
allows competition among shooters of
like skill level. Rifle, shotgun, precision
COVER STORY
8 FOCUS ON: Divisions, Which One For You?
By Robin Taylor, USPSA Staff
Cover: S&W’s Phil Strader leans out for a shot at the 2010 Open/Limited-10 Nationals
in Las Vegas, Nev. His S&W single-stack .45 with 10-shot magazines carried him to
fifth overall in Limited-10 division. (Photo by Robin Taylor, USPSA Staff.)
FEATURE STORIES
2 USPSA’s Credo= Speed, 10 USPSA Ladies’ Zone
Power, and Accuracy 14 Steel Challenge!
4 Learning The Rules 18 USPSA Goes Multi-Gun
6 Getting the Club 19 3-Gun Aggregates
Connection
22 USPSA’s Classifications
7 Scholastic Steel Chall. 24 Biography: Tasha Hanish
8 Understanding the 30 S&W Steel Nationals
Divisions
32 Membership Application
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
Area 1 Chuck Anderson area1@uspsa.org
Area 2 Chris Endersby area2@uspsa.org
Area 3 Sherwyn Greenfield area3@uspsa.org
Area 4 Phil Strader area4@uspsa.org
Area 5 Gary Stevens area5@uspsa.org
Area 6 Linda Chico area6@uspsa.org
Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
rifle and 3-Gun
matches also fall
within USPSA’s
rules. Our range
officers are certified
to provide
safe and fair
competitions.
Michael Voigt,
USPSA President
and past 3-Gun
Champion
USPSA
members receive
Front Sight magazine,
USPSA’s
80-page publication
on practical shooting. We’ve taken
some of the best parts of Front Sight
and condensed them into this 32-page
miniature. We’ve tailored it just for
shooters who have never competed in
USPSA events.
Come, be our guests, read on!
Area 7 Rob Boudrie area7@uspsa.org
Area 8 Harry Foltz area8@uspsa.org
DNROI John Amidon dnroi@uspsa.org
Pres. Mike Voigt president@uspsa.org
ED Dave Thomas dave@uspsa.org
Front Sight Magazine
New Shooter Annual for 2011
Vol. 28, No. 1A
Publisher - USPSA/IPSC, INC.
President
Exec. Director
Vice President
Mike Voigt
Dave Thomas
John Amidon
Editorial Staff
Editor
Dave Thomas
Assistant Editor Robin Taylor
Special Projects Roger Maier
Advertising Staci Pulver
Copyright © 2011 The United States Practical
Shooting Association/ IPSC, Inc. All
rights reserved. Duplication of contents in
full or part is prohibited unless prior authorization
has been obtained by writing to
USPSA/IPSC.
FRONT SIGHT (ISSN 0889681x) is published
bi-monthly for USPSA members by:
USPSA/IPSC Inc., 702A Metcalf St., Sedro
Woolley WA 98284.
Annual Membership dues (U.S. and its possessions)
$40, Foreign $50. $18 of dues goes
toward a one year subscription to FRONT
SIGHT.
Unless an advertisement in this publication
contains a specific endorsement by USPSA,
it has not been tested by, approved by or endorsed
by USPSA. Therefore, if you purchase
goods or services advertised in
FRONT SIGHT and the goods or services
are not satisfactory or as advertised, USPSA,
its officers, agents or employees disclaim all
liability for any consequential injuries or
damages.
USPSA Office
PO Box 811, Sedro Woolley WA 98284
Phone (360) 855-2245
FAX (360) 855-0380
web page http://www.uspsa.org
e-mail
office@uspsa.org
Office hours - 8 am to 5 pm Pacific
President’s Office
6802 Burke Ct, Chino CA 91710-6206
Phone (909) 548-3355
FAX (909) 266-8005
Office hours - 9 am to 5 pm Pacific
1

USPSA=
Speed, Power,
and Accuracy
by Robin Taylor, USPSA Staff
Blend those three elements, and you have what we
believe is the most dynamic shooting sport ever
devised. USPSA shooting grew out of the “combat
shooting” and “leatherslap” matches held in
the American Southwest. Part fast-draw, part “combat”
course, the details of its evolution are laid out in the
USPSA handbook.
Today USPSA shooting maintains a connection to its
combat shooting roots, but we understand that the game
we play is just that, a game. We use big silhouette targets,
but the odds of anyone being assaulted by an angry mob
of brown paper cutouts on sticks are remote.
In keeping with its roots, USPSA strives to use “practical”
equipment such as that in use by military and law enforcement
shooters worldwide. Competition-only modifications
are common in some divisions, and colorful uniforms
are seen at big matches. USPSA shooting is a sport, but like
fencing or wrestling, it’s a sport with a martial history.
Most of our competitions focus on skill with a handgun,
but rifle and shotgun matches have become steadily more
popular in recent years. Law enforcement and military
shooters are a natural part of our audience, but they represent
only a small fraction of USPSA competitors worldwide.
(Photo by Robin Taylor)
Speedy Reload: Blake Miguez’s
finger is well clear of the trigger, as
it must be while loading. Otherwise,
he will be disqualified.
(Photo by Roger Maier.)
USPSA President Michael Voigt snatches his pistol
from a table. Table starts are common in USPSA.
Scoring
USPSA shooting revolves around a “points per second”
concept called “hit factor.” To get a hit factor, we take into
account three factors: Speed, Power, and Accuracy.
Each competitor shoots the course of fire against the
clock. When finished, the range officers record the shooter’s
time (speed), and record where the shots impacted on the
targets (accuracy). They record any penalties, then forward
that information up to the stats shack, where points are assigned
to the hits based on your ammunition (power). (.40
S&W and larger scores as “major,” 9mm, .38 Special, and
some light .40 S&W loads score as “minor.”) The resulting
point total is divided by the time, and voila! we have a points
per second score, or “hit factor.”
Most local club matches involve from four to six short
courses called “stages,” and a shooter will end up with a separate
“hit factor” for each one.
Scoring officials will later compare the hit factors on each
course, and give the maximum points to the shooter with the
highest “hit factor.” Other shooters are awarded points
based on how their hit factor compares to the highest one.
(90 percent of the top hit factor earns 90 percent of the
points, for example.) All the points for each stage are added
up, and the shooter with the most total “match points” wins!
The math sounds more complicated than it really is, and
USPSA provides our clubs with a PC-based
scoring program to help keep it all straight.
Don’t Miss
While it may sound like speed is everything,
FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011

USPSA shooters’ favorite cliche’ declares:
“You can’t miss fast enough to
win.”
Should you leave a miss, or hit a
penalty target, you will lose points
rapidly. An “A” hit on the target (we
score A, B, C, D) earns 5 points. For
each MISS, you will be penalized 10
points. So not only do you not get the
5 points possible, you LOSE a further
10. Hits on penalty targets are worth a
further 10-point penalty. Do the math,
and you will see that the need for accuracy
in USPSA shooting is very real.
Much More Than “Shooting”
USPSA competition involves more
than just “shooting.” Shooters are required
to draw, move, reload, negotiate
obstacles, analyze the course AND
shoot. The timer doesn’t stop until
you’ve finished doing all those things,
AND fired your last shot. If your gun
malfunctions, it’s up to you to fix it
safely — and fast. If you need to reload,
same problem. There are no
breaks or “alibis” for anything short of
range equipment failure and safety.
USPSA competition stresses gun handling
just as heavily as it stresses shooting,
and our courses will force you to
do a lot of it. It’s thrilling, and something
we’re sure you’ll enjoy.
What About Safety?
USPSA shooters are sticklers
for safety — much more so
than in many other shooting
sports. For example, when you
attend a match and aren’t either
shooting, or working on
your pistol in the “safety area,”
your pistol must remain in the
holster, unloaded, the entire
time. Breaking this rule leads
to immediate disqualification.
Pointing a firearm (empty or
not) at yourself, at another
person, or anywhere uprange
of the firing line also leads to
immediate disqualification,
and two range officers watch
you as you shoot. The same applies
to a half-dozen other
safety rules, all of which work
in concert to give USPSA its exemplary
safety record.
Points/Time = “Hit Factor”
20 Points/ 10 Seconds = 2.0 “Hit Factor”
As a rule, USPSA shooters
are intolerant of unsafe gunhandling
— they expect to be
able to compete in a safe environment,
and
sloppy gunhandling
everyone
risk.
puts
at
That said, don’t worry about getting
disqualified. Before you shoot
your first match, the host club will
show you the ropes. They’ll run you
through a “safety orientation” or
“safety check” to aquaint you with
their range and all the necessary rules,
Safe scrambling. Check out Travis
Tomasie’s shooting hand. See how he
points his pistol safely downrange and
keeps his finger well outside the trigger
guard? USPSA requires this any time you
move with a gun in hand. (Photo by Robin Taylor.)
check your gear, and walk you through
some shooting exercises. We all want
you to succeed, and to have a good
time doing it.
To find a club near you, go to the
USPSA website (www.USPSA.org), or
give us a call here in Sedro Woolley,
Wash., at (360) 855-2245. We’ll be
happy to put you together with a handful
of local club contacts. We have
roughly 360 clubs across the United
States, and in several countries
around the world.
Simple equipment, or high-tech? We do both. Annette
Aysen (left) drives a S&W .45 ACP revolver. JJ Racaza (right)
fields a custom-built, scope-sighted, recoil-compensated
2011 in .38 Super Comp. (Photos by Roger Maier and Robin Taylor.)
Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
3

Learning The
RULES
By John Amidon, NROI DIRECTOR
dnroi@uspsa.org
Rules occupy a major part of
any game, and it’s my job as
Director of the National
Range Officer Institute
(NROI) to interpret those rules for
USPSA, and to assist in the training of
range officers.
I won’t go into the details of rules
here, you’re much better off to get a
rule book of your own then ask questions
of the competitors in your area.
You will get a rule book free with membership,
or you can buy a copy direct
from USPSA, or download one from
www.USPSA .org.
NROI-certified range officers will
be seen in uniform at the larger Areaand
National-level events. However,
the entire RO cadre competes actively.
They only put aside their guns when
it’s time to help run events. The range
officer corps forms the backbone of the
volunteer infrastructure at a great
many clubs. The best ones are often
asked to travel to major events, and our
people are frequently tapped by the International
Range Officer Association
(IROA) to officiate the major shoots
worldwide (including the tri-annual
world championship matches). NROI
certification carries a certain cachet
within the USPSA/IPSC world, particularly
if the RO develops a reputation
for being calm, knowledgeable, and
fair.
To become a range officer, we ask
that you compete actively in USPSA
matches for approximately one year.
Prospective ROs then attend a level 1
certification class (usually over a weekend)
where they are taught the nuts
and bolts of being an official, and are
tested on their knowledge of the rules.
(Photo by Robin Taylor)
ROs Mitchell Welte and Frank
Thompson working out the scores.
CRO status can be gained by correspondence,
but we recommend attending
a level 2 seminar if that’s possible.
Hierarchy Of Officials
USPSA’s volunteer officials come in
several flavors, all of which are trained
and certified by NROI.
1. Range Officers - Certified by
NROI, Range Officers perform
most of the “refereeing” seen at a
USPSA match. They carry the
(Above photo by Dave Thomas, left photo courtesy of Timo McKeown)
NROI officials cover the top national events and travel
abroad. At left, Finnish competitor Timo McKeown runs
under the watchful eyes of an IROA official at World Shoot
XV, held in Bali, Indonesia. Above, chrono experts Ken
Skeeters and Greg Lent pose with the “Chrono Coffin”
used to test competitors’ ammunition at our nationals.
4
FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011

timer, check equipment, score targets, and
help make sure the competitor plays in a safe
manner.
2. Chief Range Officers - CRO’s are the
Sergeants of the Range Officer corps. They
have supplemental training in course design
and range operations. They normally serve as
the chief range officer on a stage, overseeing
the activities of the two range officers under
him.
3. Range Masters - Have extensive supplemental
training in range operations, arbitrations,
staff management, squadding, and the various
fine points of the rules. RM candidates are assigned
a mentor, and over the course of a year
they will complete an extensive program of
correspondence and on-the-job training.
RM’s oversee the officials at major
matches. The nationals, for example, employ two —
one assigned to each half of the range.
4. Tournament Director - Tournament Directors (Match
Directors) receive specialized training aimed at the top
staff job at a large match. They must complete an extensive
program of correspondence coursework and onthe-job
training with an assigned mentor.
5. Range Master Instructor - The top
of the RO heirarchy, the RMI’s travel
the United States to instruct range officers
and certified range officers.
(Photo by Robin Taylor)
USPSA matches challenge you mentally and physically.
Here Jamaica’s Lesgar Murdock launches out of
a low port. (Note Murdock’s trigger finger and safe
muzzle direction.) Figuring out the fastest, easiest way
to complete a course is a big part of the game.
We look forward to showing you what we mean! Come
and see us in action at a local match, and remember,
shoot safe!
Multigun Certification
If your interest lies in the complex
world of Multigun, NROI recently
started offering an endorsement to go
along with the above-listed certifications.
First offered in late 2008, the Multigun
endorsement focuses on the issues specific
to using rifle, pistol, and shotgun together
in the same match. USPSA has a
special set of rules just for this -- hence the
extra training for Multigun ROs.
Overall, USPSA’s officials are some of
the most highly-respected in the shooting
sports, and because of this are often
sought out to help orchestrate non-
USPSA events.
Their success, diligence, and professionalism
as officials is a major part of
what makes USPSA one of the safest, and
most professional shooting sports available
anywhere.
Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
5

Getting the Club
Connection
By Dave Thomas, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
dave@uspsa.org
If you’re considering taking a
closer look at USPSA competition,
I can’t urge you strongly enough
to contact a local club representative
and spend time on the range. They
can show you and tell you more in half
an hour at a match than we can tell you
in this entire 32-page book.
USPSA competition is marvelously
diverse, with many subtleties that a local
person can show you fairly easily.
USPSA shooters are also a very social
bunch, so don’t be bashful about asking
questions.
An Association Of Clubs
USPSA is an “association” of independent
clubs. They all use the same
rule book, but the clubs themselves are
groups of local volunteers that like to
shoot.
Each affiliated club has a slate of officers,
and they typically appoint a contact
person or two to welcome newcomers.
It’s the volunteers in the clubs
that make it all happen, that’s why we
put such an emphasis on getting people
connected with a good club near them.
To find a club near you, go to
www.uspsa.org, click on “Find Clubs”
and enter your ZIP code in the box.
The clubfinder will show you every affiliated
club within 90 miles of your
post office, including the Area director
and any retail “partner” stores.
Currently we have some 360 clubs
formally affiliated with USPSA. Together,
they offer the level playing field
that USPSA shooters value so much —
one that allows for fair competition
throughout our national ladder.
Clubs Working Together
Affiliated clubs are typically
grouped into what we call “sections.” I
hail from a club in the Northern Rock-
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FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011

ies “Section” (western Montana).
Other members of the staff hail from
clubs in the northwest Washington
“section.” Each section has a “section
coordinator” who helps orchestrate
things like section championships, and
joint club activities such as staffing
booths at local gunshows. If you asked
for information from us, you’ll find a
list of section coordinators in the
packet we sent you. They can easily explain
the local match schedule, and will
likely invite you to attend a match with
them, or put you in touch with a club
near you.
USPSA “Area” Map
Scholastic Steel Challenge
(SSC) provides young people
with a positive experience
in the shooting sports.
Belonging to an SSC team introduces
them to the wider world of
firearms, while teaching fair play,
compassionate understanding, individual
responsibility, sportsmanship,
commitment and self-discipline — qualities that serve young people
well throughout their lives.
Competition is clearly part of the SSC, but it is not the program's underlying
principle. The "win-at-all-costs" philosophy has no place in the SSC. Striving
to win while playing by the rules does. It is the DUTY of everyone involved
in the SSC — coaches, parents, and participants — to establish high standards
of moral and ethical conduct that
SSC team members may strive to emulate.
(Photo by Dave Thomas)
A shooter at the Tennesee SSC rollout
rings the plates with equipment
supplied by SSC’s sponsors.
Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
SSC activities are designed to incorporate
two indispensable elements -
safety and fun. SSC participants learn
the safe and responsible handling
and use of firearms. They discover
the joy of contributing to a shared
team goal and the commitment that
goes along with it. During this selfdiscovery
process, team members develop
proficiency in a thrilling sport
that can be shared and enjoyed with
family and friends for a lifetime.
Youth between the ages of 12 and
20 are eligible to participate in
Scholastic Steel Challenge.
To learn more, visit www.scholasticsteelchallenge.com.
For more information
about teams near you, contact
SSC Director Scott Moore at
scott@steelchallenge.com.
The various sections are grouped
into multi-state “Areas,” numbered 1-
8. For example, the western Montana
section and the northwest Washington
section are part of “Area 1.”
Each “Area” elects an “Area Director”
who sits on the board of directors
for USPSA. They orchestrate the Arealevel
championships, and vote on
USPSA’s major policy decisions.
That Board hired me as the executive
director to look after the day-today
operations of the association and
serve as editor of Front Sight. I report
to the president of USPSA, who is
elected by the members to a four-year
term. It is his responsibility (with the
help of the home office) to orchestrate
the national championships on ranges
operated by local volunteers.
In case you’re wondering, the only
people actually on the payroll are me,
the president, the director of NROI,
and a few paid staff members in the
home office. Everyone else is a volunteer
(including the Board members).
Local volunteers are the engine that
makes USPSA shooting happen, and
when you start shooting, you will be
expected to help out. All USPSA
matches, including our national championships,
are run by volunteers. Without
them, (particularly volunteer officials)
there are no matches, and we will
have just sent you a nice color minimagazine
for nothing.
For more information, call (360)
855-2245 or e-mail us at
info@uspsa.org.
7

BY ROBIN TAYLOR, USPSA STAFF
USPSA shooting represents
the most demanding form of
PRACTICAL pistol competition
on the planet. Manufacturers
know that if their products fare
well here, people notice. Problems
with their designs will be exposed,
studied, and repaired. If a particular
firearm earns a good reputation in our
sport, that opinion gets carried home
by the many trainers, buyers, and officers
that compete at all levels of our
sport.
But what division should YOU
compete in? The reasons why people
pick one division over another relate
to why they shoot pistols in the first
place. Some are polishing their shooting
skills because they might need
them for self-defense. Others thrive in
divisions that encourage tinkering
8
with the guns. Still
others are focused on the experience,
and learn to shoot each style of pistol
in turn.
As I’ve often told shooters who call
USPSA looking for advice, the best gun
to use at your first match is the gun you
already have. Unless your pistol looks
like it would be at home on a Western
movie set, forget about new equipment
until you’ve got an idea how the
game is played. Many of the world’s
top pros focus on Production Division,
one of the least-fancy, least expensive
divisions, while others shoot space-age
guns that look like race cars with a
scope. The division for you is the one
that puts a smile on your face — there
really isn’t a “best gun” for USPSA.
People choose one style over the
other because they get more enjoyment
out of doing it.
Production Division
“Shooting Production helps keep
my skills sharp for patrol,” says Darion
Holliwell, one of the top firearms
trainers at Seattle P.D.
Strictly limited to the use of production
handguns with double- or
safe-action triggers, Production lines
up nicely with owners of double-action
9mm or .40 S&W firearms.
Glocks are popular, as are Smith &
Wesson autos, SIGs, Springfields, and
FOCUS On:
DIVISIONS
Which Guns Do We
Shoot, and Why?
Photo by Roger Maier.
Robert Vogel shoots a Glock 24
(.40) in Limited 10 Division, and
a Glock 34 (9mm) in Production.
He uses the same holster and
mag pouches for both. Vogel
won the USPSA Production title
in 2009, and placed second in
Limited 10.
a host of others. Stock revolvers
may also be used, including 8-shot
versions.
Since Darion can use his actual
duty pistol, it just makes sense for
him to shoot in this division. For
him, it’s training and recreation all
rolled into one. The low equipment
cost and lower ammo costs are another
benefit, but the tightly-constrained
“level playing field” of Production
appeals to many people.
As you might imagine, the Production
title has a lot of marketing cachet,
so you’ll see many of the World’s top
shooters shooting Production on behalf
of corporate sponsors (like Robert
Vogel, left, or Para-Ordnance’s Debbie
Keehart, right).
Photo by Nathan
Reynolds & Dick Cole.
Production Division
-Double-action 9mm or .40 S&W
firearms that appear on the “approved
list.” (See uspsa.org.)
-Shooters may change the sights,
add skate tape, and tune the internal
parts of the gun.
- Other external changes not allowed.
- Max 10 rounds in the magazine
- All guns scored “Minor” (like a
9mm) — no matter how powerful
the load actually used.
-Holsters and equipment must be
“non-race-type” and be worn behind
the hip.
FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011

Our cousin, the International Defensive
Pistol Association (IDPA) has a
similar division called “Stock Service
Pistol.” Many shooters compete in
USPSA one weekend, then IDPA the
next.
Shooters may change the sights,
add skate tape, and tune the internal
parts of the gun, but externally-visible
changes are not legal.
Shooters may only load 10 rounds
into their magazines, and all Production
guns are scored as though they
fired a “Minor” caliber cartridge
(9mm) — no matter how powerful the
load actually used. Holsters and allied
equipment must be “non-race-type”
and be worn behind the hip.
Most shooters use a standard outside-the-belt
holster intended for daily
wear, such as the Blade-Tech or Ky-Tac
lines. (See Vogel, Keehart photos this
page.)
Photo by Nathan Reynolds & Barrett Sexton
Single Stack 1911
-Single-stack Government model
pistols are the only guns allowed.
-Standard-capacity magazines
only (8 rounds for “major calibers,
10 rounds for “minor”).
-Holsters and equipment must be
“non-race-type” and be worn behind
the hip.
-Shooters may change the sights,
add skate tape, and tune the internal
parts of the gun.
- Shooters may change grips, slide
stops, magazine releases, mainspring
housings, triggers, etc.
- No optics, no porting, no compensators,
or “devices to control
recoil,” such as weights.
-Guns can be scored “minor”
(9mm and light .40) or “major”
(full-power .40 and larger).
Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
(Photo by Robin Taylor)
Ladies’ Production finalist
Debbie Keehart digs for a reload.
Single Stack 1911
“I’ve always loved the 1911,” says
USPSA’s Executive Director Dave
Thomas. “It’s the one I shoot the best.”
Look through any pistol-oriented
magazine, and you’re guaranteed to
see pictures and articles dedicated to
John Browning’s signature pistol.
USPSA introduced a provisional
“1911 Single Stack” division in 2006,
making it a full-fledged division in
2008. Single-stack Government model
pistols (such as those made by Kimber,
Springfield Armory, and others) are the
only guns allowed.
Shooters may use standardcapacity
magazines only (8 L-10 shooters (Like
(Photo by Dave Thomas)
rounds for “major” calibers — Brett Gyarfas) often
.40 and .45 ACP, 10 rounds for use single-stack 1911s.
“minor” — 9mm and .38 Super.)
For holsters, Single-Stack shooters
must adhere to the the Production division
guidelines.
Limited-10 Division
“Here in Hawaii, we’re limited to
10-round magazines by law,” says
Limited-10 Division
-Single-action autoloaders
-Max 10 rounds in magazine
-Shooters may change the sights,
add skate tape, and tune the internal
parts of the gun.
- Shooters may change grips, slide
stops, magazine releases, mainspring
housings, triggers, etc.
- No optics, no porting, no compensators,
or “devices to control
recoil,” such as weights.
-Guns can be scored “minor”
(9mm, and light .40) or “major”
(full-power .40 and larger).
Honolulu’s Richard Abe.
Single-action autoloaders in .40
S&W and .45 ACP rule the roost here.
Competitors can make various minor
changes to make the gun more
shootable (change sights, grips, slide
9

stops, magazine releases, mainspring
housings, etc.), but they MAY NOT
add optical sights, porting (such as
Mag-na-porting), or a recoil compensator.
The rules do a fine job of leveling
out the equipment, so check the
rule book for complete details.
Calibers can be either “minor”
(9mm, .38 Super, and light-loaded
.40S&W, for example) or “major”
(full-power .40 S&W and larger).
Limited Division
As of this printing, Limited is the
most popular division within USPSA.
Most Limited competitors shoot widebody
1911’s (STI, SV, Para-Ordnance),
a Glock, or one of various CZ/TZ 75
variants.
“Limited lets me make the most of
my equipment and skills,” says Lisa
Munson, multi-year ladies Limited
champion. “It lets you use the technology
available today, without going all
the way into driving a ‘race gun.’”
Allowable changes include all those
listed for “Limited 10,” plus shooters
may use high-capacity magazines no
longer than 141mm overall.
Limited Division
-Same as “Limited-10” except
high-capacity magazines up to
141mm overall may be used
(171mm for single-stack guns).
Revolver Division
“I love the challenge of it,” says
Patrick Sweeney, handgun editor for
Guns & Ammo, and gold medal winner
at World Shoot XIV. “We’re the
‘Limited-6’ division.”
10
Revolver Division
- Six rounds (only) between reloads.
- No optical sights, porting, or recoil
compensation.
- May change grips, enlarge the cylinder
release, change sights, chamfer
cylinders, and tune the action.
- May score “major” using any bullet
.355” or larger.
Designed for stock revolvers, Revolver
Division is dominated by the
Smith & Wesson 625 and its ilk.
Shooters may only fire six rounds between
reloads, and modifications are
limited. No optical sights, porting, or
recoil compensation is allowed. However,
shooters may change grips, enlarge
the cylinder release, change
sights, chamfer cylinders, and tune the
action as they desire.
Revolver shooters may score “major”
using any cartridge firing a bullet
.355” or larger.
Open Division
Dominated by cutting-edge highcapacity
1911’s and TZ-75’s, Open is
the top-fuel drag racing division within
USPSA.
“If you can roll it up to the line,
odds are you can shoot it,” says USPSA
President Michael Voigt.
Shooters can make all the modifications
allowed for Limited, and add
several more. Magazines may extend
to 171mm overall, optical sights may
be used, and recoil compensators are
practically required.
Shooters may use any caliber that
fires a .355 or larger bullet, including
the 9X19 (carefully handloaded). The
most popular cartridge at this writing is
one of several variations of the .38 Super.
Women Of USPSA
USPSA participation by women has grown steadily since Kay Miculek’s
first “ladies camp,” held in 2004. Intended for women headed to
World Shoot XIV, the original camp was so popular that the idea of
“ladies-only camps” immediately took on a life of its own.
In 2006, Miculek organized six camps in states ranging from Massachusetts
to Arizona. All six were co-taught by the power trio of Kay Miculek, Lisa Munson,
and Julie Goloski
— all three are USPSA
National Champions.
Kay’s camps soon
inspired the book
“Babes With Bullets”
by Debbie Ferns, and
the two have built on
each other with great
success.
Photo by Roger Maier.
Lisa Munson drills a target.
In 2009, the same crew, along with Kippi Leatham and other “household
names” of ladies USPSA shooting formed a website, www.womenofuspsa.com
to help with recognizing, encouraging, and supporting the women involved in
our sport. Women of USPSA acts as a focal point, offering links to Kay’s
camps, and to the contact points for other ladies involved in USPSA.
“Practical shooting is the best way for women to get involved in the
shooting sports,” says Kay, and we couldn’t agree more.
FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011

Open Division
-High-capacity magazines no
longer than 171mm overall
-Optics allowed
-”Devices to control recoil” allowed.
-Guns may score “major” with any
bullet .355” or larger.
Experimenting with equipment
and technique has always been a part of
USPSA, since the days of Jeff Cooper
and the Southwest Pistol League in the
1950s. That experimental flavor is a
big part of what keeps them coming
back, there’s always some new sight
setup, some new scope, some new idea
to try.
Photo by Robin Taylor.
RETREAT! USPSA events use the odd “retreat stage” where shooters
move away from the targets. Note how Matthew Mink does this. His body
is moving uprange, but his pistol remains safely pointed downrange.
I encourage you to take whatever
pistol you already have, and go shoot a
match or two. Odds are you’ll see
someone shooting in a division that appeals
to you. Enjoy!
Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
11

SYSTEMS
(703) 361-2663 (Voice)
(703) 361-5881 (Fax)
e-mail: sales@cmore.com
http://www.cmore.com
© Copyright C-MORE Systems 2010
The STS is C-MORE Systems smallest reflex sight.
Just like our competition sights, the STS
heads-up display provides an unobstructed
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12
FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011

Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
13

USPSA’s Newest, Oldest Specialty
STEEL CHALLENGE
BY ROBIN TAYLOR, USPSA STAFF
Described by many as a
distillation of all the basic
skills required in
practical shooting,
steel shooting asks you
to draw from a holster,
shoot accurately at maximum
speed, and occasionally
move short distances
with a gun.
Originally part of the Practical
Shooting pro circuit
(including the USPSA Nationals,
Steel Challenge,
Bianchi Cup, and the now-defunct
Second Chance bowling pin
shoot) the Steel Challenge championships
has been around since
USPSA’s earliest days. Practically
Photo by Robin Taylor
Steel Challenge champion Max Michel poses for a
photo after winning his third World title.
tailor-made for TV, the Challenge is
easy to understand, easy to score, and
great fun to watch.
USPSA purchased the Steel Challenge
match, and its associated Steel
Challenge Shooting Association
(SCSA) in late 2007, combining the
pizzazz and history of the challenge
with USPSA’s professional infrastructure
and network of volunteer clubs.
With that purchase came Mike Dal-

United States, but the best of the
best get together at the International
Shootists Institute (ISI) in
Piru, California to fight it out for
pride, prizes, and some of the
biggest cash purses in the sport. In
2006, more than $30,000 in cash
and 160 firearms were given away.
Smoke & Hope tempts shooters to go fast.
Inevitably, many go too fast and miss.
ton and Mike Fichman, co-founders of
the challenge. Fichman has since retired,
but Dalton continues to serve as
the Steel Challenge match director and
author of a column in Front Sight magazine
dedicated to steel shooting
worldwide.
Steel Challenge shooting is based
on speed.
Each “stage” at a Steel Challenge
match asks you to shoot five steel targets
arranged in a pattern, with a designated
“stop plate” that must be shot
last (see illustrations).
For each stage the shooter stands in
a box, facing downrange, and raises his
wrists above his shoulders. At the start
signal, he draws and shoots the five targets
according to the stage description.
Once you’ve shot all five, you’ll re-load
and re-holster, getting ready to do it
again. In all, you’ll get five tries at each
stage, throwing out your slowest of the
five tries. The Steel Challenge match itself
consists of eight such stages for a
minimum of 195 rounds. (The stage
called “Outer Limits” is only fired four
times.) When you’re finished with all
stages, add your times together. Lowest
time wins.
The Steel Challenge itself is a prizetable
event of grand proportions with
hundreds of thousands of dollars in
cash and prizes up for grabs every year.
Local steel matches happen all over the
Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
Competitors fly in from many nations,
but most notably from
Japan. (Past champion Tatsuya
Sakai is a Japanese national. “Team
Loaded” of Japan finishes extremely
well.) The European Steel
Challenge match has been held annually
in the Netherlands since
2008, and some of their top shooters
make the trip all the way to
California to compete.
PICK A DIVISION
Steel shooting draws most heavily
on the USPSA/IPSC/IDPA crowd, so its
divisions are built around their divisions.
However, the challenge maintains
an open door policy toward all
the shooting sports. You’ll find divisions
for .22s, cowboys, shotguns, and
Pistol Bullets
and
Ammunition
ZERO
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15

Women & Children First
Unlike any other event in the shooting
sports, the Steel Challenge is very much a
family affair, with plenty of women and
junior shooters competing, often from the
same family. Even family members among
the spectators are so well known from
their many years attendance that they are
considered very much a part of the character
of the event itself, so much so that
they'd be sorely missed if they did not attend.
That family aspect is due in part to
the strong attendance by women at the
match. Roughly one in six shooters is
a woman. In 2010, some were up-andcoming
speedsters like Smith & Wesson's
trio of juniors Rachel Crow,
Molly Smith, and Janae Sarabia. Some
were moms like Tereza Arellano
whose son and daughter Jason and
Photo by Yamil Sued.
Jenna, along with husband Montie,
Sara Drake and her signature yellow joined her in the .22 event.
CZ.
And there was even a mom-to-be as
the very pregnant Laurel Yoshimoto
competed, and while neither she nor
her husband Josh took home any big title,
on Oct. 15 they won a much bigger
and better title; that of proud parents
of future Steel Challenge shooter
Jonathan William Yoshimoto.
the like. You should be able to find one
that lines up neatly with whatever
equipment you already own.
Photo by Yamil Sued.
Mike and Alicia Setting discuss
how to handle the targets.
Photo by Yamil Sued.
Laurel (and the unborn Jonathan) Yoshimoto on “Outer Limits.”
AMMO FOR STEEL
Most shooters run their ammunition
on the light side. There is no advantage
to shooting heavier loads, so
most folks stick with a low-power 9mm
or .38 Special that still makes the minimum
120 power factor.
TACTICS FOR STEEL
While steel shoots LOOK like speed
contests, they’re actually accuracy contests
with a fancy wrapper on them.
Only a few courses are coarse enough
to be shot without paying close attention
to your sights (notably “Smoke
and Hope” with its extra-large steel
rectangles) and even it has a relatively
small stop plate.
As most anyone that shoots steel
will tell you, you’ve got to get your hits.
“KC Eusebio messes the whole
strategy up because he's actually fast
enough to miss and still win,” says Matt
Kartozian of customglock.com, but
he’s very much the exception.
What’s the strategy?
“Don’t miss.”
Get the gun out and shoot five accurate
shots. It’s common to beat people
that are higher-ranked, and much,
much faster simply by shooting less often.
If you have an eye toward shooting
steel, there are a few things you can do
to practice. The main thing that will
help is to improve your draw — and
shooting USPSA matches. Since steel
consists of little other than drawing and
shooting, the math is pretty simple.
“If you're off on your draw, you're
behind from the start,” says Kartozian.
Kartozian, Kay Miculek, and many
others also emphasize learning to
rapidly move the gun from target to
target.
“Transitions” are a big deal in steel,
but can be easily practiced at home
without firing a shot.
One reason for its broad appeal is that
Steel Challenge makes great
“crosstraining” for any other shooting
endeavor. You’ll find Cowboys, tactical
types, revolver specialists, even shotgunners
at the Challenge every year.
You might say it’s the newest, and
the oldest, specialty within USPSA.
16
FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011

Annual For 2010 • FRONT SIGHT
17

USPSA Going
Multi-Gun
BY ROBIN TAYLOR, USPSA STAFF, TY-
19724
Since the early days of USPSA
shooting, enthusiasts have
brought their long guns out and
held informal matches using the
USPSA pistol rules as a guide. However,
the number of rifle and shotgun
matches has exploded in the last few
years. Call it the war on terrorism, call
it what you will, new shooters and new
sponsors are jumping in right and left,
with major equipment innovations and
new matches cropping up almost
monthly.
USPSA has held a 3-Gun national
championship for years, but recently,
regional events have started cropping
up, along with rifle- and shotgun-only
events. Independent tournaments like
the MGM “Ironman” and Superstition
Mountain Mystery 3-Gun are the
biggest growth area, drawing hundreds
of competitors per match. All of them
Photo by Robin Taylor.
Jerry Miculek, U.S.
National Champion.
have gone to a
“multi-gun” format,
where shooters employ
more than one
type of firearm in
each stage.
Check out Jerry
Miculek (left), he’s
shooting a shotgun,
but has pistol mag
still on his belt. In
Multi-gun, shooters
often need to ditch
one weapon and
switch immediately to another to finish
the course.
Equipment And Competitors
Developing Fast
Since 2002, the competitive bar in
Multi-gun has been rising — quickly.
Very few shooters walk into matches
unprepared for a 200-yard rifle shot,
or without enough shell holders to deal
with a 25-round shotgun course.
Joe Cabigas and Craig Salmon are
part of a growing segment of multi-gun
specialists within USPSA. You won’t
see either of them at pistol matches
very often, but they’ve got the Multigun
bug.
“I shot pistol real heavy for about a
year and kinda got bored with it,” says
Salmon. “I still get the pistol, but
there’s so much more to 3-Gun.”
“I got kinda tired of pistol, but a
friend of mine (got me involved) in 3-
Gun down in Arizona. I went down
there and got hooked. I’ve shot Superstition
Mountain four, five years now,”
says Cabigas.
Course design in Multi-gun is developing
fast as match directors learn
what shooters really can and cannot do
with their long guns. At the 2003 Area
1, for example, shooters faced four
partially-obscured 235-yard steel targets,
and engaged them in two “shoot
four, reload, then shoot four” strings.
Very few shooters did well here, since
this course DEMANDED intimate familiarity
with one’s rifle to succeed.
However, the rise of optics on tactical
rifles has made this course much more
“do-able” than it was using iron sights
just a year or two earlier.
USPSA released a 3-Gun supplement
for the club program manual in
2003, which helped streamline policies
for Multi-gun stages nationwide.
(Members can download a copy from
the USPSA website.)
Today, we’re seeing surprising support
from the military, as the U.S.
Army Marksmanship Unit has begun
hosting 3-Gun matches of their own,
inviting various high-ranking officers.
Following the third annual Fort
Benning 3-Gun Challenge, USAMU
Commander Lt. Col. Frank Muggeo
was quoted by the on-line magazine
The Shooting Wire saying, "As the proponent
for the All-Army Small Arms
Photo by Robin Taylor.
BJ Norris dealing with a low port.

(Photo by Robin Taylor)
Multi-gun requires rapid transitions between
weapons. Here FN Herstal’s Mark Hanish leaps out of a
military Humvee, headed toward a “drop box” where
he’ll exchange his rifle for a pistol.
Championships, the USAMU is going to place a greater emphasis
on multi-gun shooting in next year's All-Army since
there is a direct correlation between this type of shooting
and what a soldier can face on the battlefield."
Technology Counter- Revolution?
Amid Multi-gun equipment, simplicity and reliability are
becoming watchwords. Shooters have so much to worry
about (ammo, mags, and ammo carriers for the rifle, pistol,
3-Gun Aggregates
Open
Fiercely competitive, Open division
applies the “Open” rules to pistol,
rifle and shotgun — except long gun
magazines may be any length (see page
11). Recoil compensators and optical
sights are practically required to be
competitive. Bipods are allowed on
the rifle, and in shotgun, shooters may
have a maximum of 11 rounds in the
gun. Shotgun competitors may even
use speed-loading devices (including
box magazines) to reload.
Standard (a.k.a. “Limited”)
Standard applies the “Limited”
rules to pistols (see page 10), and applies
the same rules to long guns with
five minor exceptions: Competitors
may use a recoil compensator on their
rifle no larger than 1 inch in diameter
by 3 inches long. Competitors may
NOT use a bipod. Long ugn magazines
may be any length. No more
than nine rounds may be loaded in the
shotgun and the shotgun may NOT
use speed loaders.
Tactical
Immensely popular from its birth,
Tactical has quickly supplanted “Limited”
as the most popular division
within USPSA 3-Gun.
The Tactical Aggregate allows an
otherwise “Standard” shooter to add a
single optic to his rifle. All other
equipment must conform to the
Standard division criteria.
and shotgun), that any firearm or accessory that requires extra
bother is a problem.
One can see this most clearly in the movement away
from minimalist race holsters to more-secure Kydex affairs.
Not only is a person less likely to disqualify themselves by
having a loaded gun drop out of the holster on the run, the
Kydex rigs aren’t much slower. To deal with the challenges
of negotiating obstacles while shooting a shotgun (for example),
a Multi-gun competitor needs much more retention
than a typical pistol shooter. One might venture to say, a
more “practical” holster. Imagine that!
Shotguns
Where Benelli Super-90’s and Winchester SX2’s vie with
the Remington 1100 in Limited, Remington 1100’s and 11-
87’s fight it out with the box-magazine-fed Saiga-12 in
Open. Each has ever-increasing bits of technical gadgetry attached.
You name it, it’s out there somewhere.
Standing around at a 3-Gun match a few years ago, I
heard one of my squadmates, Joe Hampl, talking about 3-
Gun: “This is a lot of fun, I think it’s going to take off.”
3-Gun grew steadily in the next few years, to where today
there are multiple major events around the United
States. Those events have caught the attention of two different
shooting-oriented cable TV programs (Shooting USA and
3Gun Nation), who have started sharing the fun with hundreds
of thousands of viewers.
Like Hampl, today we think 3-Gun is about to take off,
again, reaching a new level of popularity.
Photo by Dave Thomas.
Top Senior-category shooter Joe
DeSimone aims his scoped Opendivision
Remington 1100 shotgun.
FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011 19

Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
21

Local Competition,
International Classification
BY ROBIN TAYLOR, USPSA STAFF
When you participate in a
local USPSA match, you
will likely shoot one of
USPSA’s recognized classification
courses (see page 23 for an
example). USPSA tracks score data on
each of the 60-some courses printed in
the USPSA classification course book.
Once you have four valid scores within
a division on file, USPSA will issue you
a classification card that reflects how
your skills compare to the top scores
around the world. It’s easy, simple, and
has worldwide recognition.
Classification Card
Recognized Worldwide
With four scores on file, USPSA
will issue you a classification card.
Present that card at any club
worldwide, and you will be classed
with shooters of like ability.
How Does It Work?
Classification scores are based on
how your score compares to a composite
“high hit factor” kept on file
here at USPSA. Your initial classification
requires only four scores in the
system. However, as your skills improve,
USPSA continuously re-evaluates
your abilities. Each month,
USPSA’s classification system looks at
the best six of your most recent eight
scores. If your average score warrants
moving you up to the next class, we
send you a new membership card in the
mail, emblazoned with your latest classifications.
Classification Bracket
Percentages
Grand Master 95 to 100%
Master 85 to 94.9%
A 75 to 84.9%
B 60 to 74.9%
C 40 to 59.9%
D 2 to 40%
A Robust, Dynamic System
Someone once said that “changes
aren’t permanent, but change is.” Over
the last 20 years, practical shooters
have turned the shooting world on its
ear, re-inventing the way we shoot, the
way guns are built, the way holsters are
Photo by Roger Maier.
World Champion Eric Grauffel
USPSA Member No. F-38440,
lives in Quimper, France. His Grand
Master classification dates back to
the 1998 Area 3.
made, and even what bullets we shoot
in them.
Like a schoolteacher’s bell curve, as
the top end of our sport improves, the
“high hit factor” required to
achieve a “Grand Master” score
improves as well. By continuously
adjusting for change, our classification
system has become the one
universally-recognized benchmark
within the practical shooting
world.
IPSC, the world body of which
USPSA is a part, also has a classification
system, but it runs under
a different rule set, confusing the
issue. USPSA’s database is much
more mature and better-populated
than the IPSC system,
prompting shooters to place great
Photo by Roger Maier.
Jorge Ballesteros travels to the
United States from Spain to compete.
Compare his pistol to the single-stack
1911 on page 10. His “C-
More” optical gunsight didn’t exist in
1985.
22
FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011

A
B
D C A C D
©
stock in their US classification.
Today’s practical shooter wields a
level of technique and technology that
outpaces the very best shooters of the
mid-1980s. Thankfully, our system’s
ability to continuously re-set the standard
of achievement has maintained
the integrity of a USPSA classification.
When Can I Get Classified?
USPSA “runs the system” once a
month. Your local club has until the
10th of each month to submit your latest
scores. USPSA then enters all that
data (upwards of six thousand scores
per month), runs the system, and posts
the results to www.uspsa.org. When
you punch in your membership number,
all your scores become visible, letting
you check for errors and keep
track of your status.
In addition to the classifier courses,
all National-level, and many Area-level
matches are used for classification purposes.
We mark them differently so
you can tell them apart, and upload
them to the website along with the classifier
scores submitted by the clubs.
CM 03-02
START POSITION: Standing in Box A, hands naturally at sides. Handgun is loaded and holstered as per ready condition
in rule 8.1.1 and 8.1.2.
STAGE PROCEDURE
On the signal, engage T1-T6 with one round maximum
freestyle, perform a mandatory reload, then reengage T1-T6
with one round maximum, strong hand only.
SETUP NOTES: Set no-shoots to 4 feet high at top
of B-zone. Build target arrays so that the upper corner
of the waist meets the lower corner of the no-shoot,
NATIONAL RANGE OFFICERS
SCORING
SCORING: Virginia Count, 12 rounds, 60 points
TARGETS: 6 IPSC
SCORED HITS: Best 2/Paper
START - STOP: Audible - Last Shot
PENALTIES: Per current edition of USPSA Practical
Shooting Handbook.
Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
INSTITUTE
Six Chickens
RULES: Practical Shooting Handbook, Latest Edition COURSE DESIGNER: Crow Carter — Modifications by US Design Team
Target Array
Construction
Shaded dashed lines show
target edges behind no-shoot.
with the short angled waist parallel to the bottom of the
no-shoot.
“Six Chickens” is one of more
than 60 classification courses used
worldwide.
119
Why All This Concern Over
Change?
In 1985, when USPSA’s classification
system came
into being, high
technology meant
an 8-shot 1911 in
.45 ACP, supported
by a two-port recoil
compensator.
Today, competitors
in Open division
carry a modular
1911 or a CZ-75 in
one of several
9mm/.38 Super
variants. Red dot
scopes simplify
aiming, and recoil
compensators
(computer designed
with up to 12 ports, openings,
and side vents) reduce recoil and stabilize
the gun as it fires (see photos).
Magazines hold up to 28 rounds of ammunition
(yes, twenty-eight!), and holsters
look more like a mounting
bracket for a super-sized cell phone.
Technique has progressed along a
similar track, leaving a trail of outmoded
ideas in its wake. The fine
points aren’t germane, but practical
shooting experts now serve as trainers
to the world’s law enforcement and
military organizations.
The change in competitive strategy,
along with technique, would have long
ago outmoded any fixed measuring
scale.
In our classic course, the “El Presidente,”
the shooter starts facing uprange
with his hands above his shoulders.
The shooter turns to face the targets,
draws, fires two rounds at each of
three targets, reloads, and shoots two
more rounds at each of three targets.
When USPSA’s classification system
was first conceived, any El Presidente’
time under 9 seconds earned a very
high rank. Today, America’s top shooters
frequently post times under six seconds,
with isolated performances going
under five. Like the 4-minute mile,
a 5-second El Prez seems impossible,
until you see it done.
Photo by Roger Maier.
Ladies World Champion
Athena Lee earned her USPSA
classification while shooting for the
Philippine national team. Today she
lives in Houston.
In the same way a golfer must complete
many rounds of golf on courses
with a known “par” to earn a “handicap”
USPSA shooters must complete
several courses with a known “high hit
factor” to earn a classification. Once
they’ve done so, other shooters (like
golfers) can use that classification to
judge their abilities, and arrange competitive
classes where shooters compete
against others of like ability.
That’s the gist of the USPSA system.
It’s a robust system, and one that has
served USPSA well.
23

In
The Game
In The Game
Tasha Hanish:
Bringing New
Life To 3-Gun
massive support from FN Herstal. Together, they're reshaping
the face of 3-Gun shooting.
THINKING BIG
Tasha's roots lie in pistol, not 3-Gun. In fact, she's only
been 3-Gunning seriously for about four years. However,
that famous aggression has served her well.
"Tasha's definitely one of, if not THE top female shooter
in the tactical environment," says USPSA President Michael
Voigt. "She's aggressive, which helps a lot. She's quick, and
she's around Mark (Hanish) all the time, which makes her
fearless on the trigger."
“Go big or go home” describes Tasha Hanish in a nutshell.
Aggressive, daring, and talented, she’s one of, if
not “the” top female shooter in the tactical environment,
says USPSA President Michael Voigt.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY ROBIN TAYLOR, USPSA STAFF
Tasha Hanish started bringing fresh excitement to
practical shooting when she was 16 years old, and
she's doing it again.
Famously aggressive and go-for-broke, Tasha was 16
when her high school principal announced over the school's
loudspeakers that she had won an invitation to the 1995
USPSA National Championship in Reno. At 17 she went to
work for STI International, and showed up at STI's invitational
"Pig Roast" match. She finished 8th (out of 100). As
Taran Butler told me back then: "a lot of us wanted to take
up golf or cowboy shooting after that."
She left shooting for a time, getting her CNA license, a
B.A. in business management, and having children.
24
Now she's back, bringing that famous energy of hers, and
Don Kemble at STI minced no words about Tasha's potential.
Reflecting
back on her time at
STI, he said "she had
the potential to be a
world champion,
absolutely." Unfortunately
the financial
support wasn't
there in 1997 to
make it happen.
Now with FNH in
the picture and
Tasha shooting as an
adult, things have
changed.
Talking with
Tasha at her home
in Cave Creek,
Ariz., she laughed
about men's reactions
to women at
her skill level - particularly
in 3-Gun.
They're just not
used to women with
real skills and a "go
big or go home" attitude.
FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011

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Check out the flames and hot
gasses coming out around Tasha
Hanish’s SCAR-16, above.
With a laugh she told me "I've had a
lot of people say, 'Man, you shoot like
a dude!'"
Listening to her talk about the rigors
of 3-Gun, it's not hard to understand
why.
"There's not a match where I don't
come home bleeding. I've either cut
myself or hit something and got
bruised."
Tasha approached FNH about
sponsoring her as a 3-Gun
competitor about two years
ago. What started with Tasha
rapidly expanded into a small
team managed by FNH's Director
of Product Management,
Tommy Thacker. Tasha assists Thacker
with the team, running cost projections,
helping to set the calendar, and
interfacing with the public — all while
keeping an eye on two kids. Tasha's
husband Mark, Diana Leidorff, Larry
Houck, and David Neth are some of
the more-familiar faces on the team.
"There are seven of us total. Plus
some of the corporate guys come out
and shoot too," says Tasha.
Since the 2009 SHOT Show,
Tasha's "shooting
life" has
kicked into high
gear. "We had no
idea what we
were in for," she
says, laughing at
herself. Instead of
one or two major
matches a year,
now she's shooting
12 — and
bringing a team
with her. On top
of that, the FNH
team started running
the shootoff
Team FNH USA has amazing sponsor support. How many
shooters do you know that have a custom-painted Polaris at each 3Gun Nation
qualifying
off-road vehicle to carry their gear? That’s husband Mark
Hanish in the back seat.
event.
Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
"There's not a match where I don't come
home bleeding. I've either cut myself or
hit something and got bruised."
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25

Tasha and Mark Hanish’s medical
training came in handy during the 3-
Gun Nation finale when well-known
USPSA CRO Larry D’Agostino suffered
a serious laceration to his left
leg, above.
3Gun Nation
When 3Gun Nation
wrote a check for
$25,000 to Daniel
Horner after the USPSA
Multigun Nationals in
Las Vegas in September,
they transformed 3-Gun
from a little-known
USPSA specialty to the
most lucrative of all the
practical shooting sports
- and Tasha Hanish was
right in the middle of it.
With the increased TV visibility,
sponsorship of Team FNH USA has
taken off. In rapid succession, the
team's sponsors put together a custompainted
truck, trailer, and a Polaris offroad
vehicle. If you're familiar with the
shooting industry's sponsorship profile,
take special note of sponsors Polaris
and Mac Tools. Their product
lines aren't "firearm related," but
Bruce Piatt, Daniel Horner, and David Neth pose
with their checks at the 3-Gun Nation season finale.
Together, they took $40,000 to the bank.
"3Gun Nation" is a reality TV Show about 3-Gun Competition, currently airing
on the Versus Network. That $25,000 check climaxed a series of five competitions
held at the major 3-Gun shoots nationwide.
More importantly, 3Gun Nation brought each event the promise of TV coverage
on a major network. That's advertising that money couldn't hope to buy.
It's part of the rise in "shooting TV" that is transforming people like Tasha from
home-town heroes into national celebrities.
they're putting down serious sponsorship
dollars to get access.
Hanish started rattling off additional
sponsors "…Leupold, Safariland,
Surefire. MGM stepped up and
gave us practice targets. Oakley, Otis,
they brought us stuff we needed to
look more uniform as a team. We're
not a hodge-podge of individuals anymore.
We're very much a managed
team…"
"It's been an amazing experience
having so much support on and off the
range, it's been incredible," says Hanish.
"The FNH USA guys really wanted
to make sure that when they did it, they
did it right."
Back In The Fray
In professional sports, it doesn't
take long to go from being a household
word to a memory. When Tasha Hanish
showed up at last year's handgun
nationals, ready to fight it out for the
title, a few people asked "Tasha who?"
That teenage hoser that showed up
at the Pig Roast in the candy-stripe STI
uniform has matured into a more-controlled
version of her former self,
dressed in FNH USA's blue-and-white.
She's still hosing when it's called for,
but she's better able to back it off and
26
FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011

Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
27

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Last year and this, Tasha had
been focusing on 3-Gun, practicing
in the desert once or twice a
month. "Most of the time that is
making sure all three guns are
sighted in, chronographed, and
functioning," she admits. "If time
permits, we'll shoot a match at
Rio Salado or Ben Avery, which
are primarily handgun matches."
That's not much of a training
regimen, but it was enough to
Tony Holmes gets ready under the
camera eye of Shooting USA’s Greg
Simmons. Regular TV coverage is
changing the sport.
USPSA Ladies Tactical Champion Tasha
Hanish competing in the 3-Gun Nation final.
She did well, but did not qualify for the
top 16 against the world’s top men.
bring Tasha back into the top tier of
ladies' practical shooting. Though she
hadn't shot an Open gun since the
1999 Nationals, Tasha shot the 2009
Open and finished ninth. In the Limited
contest, better preparation helped
her climb to third, bested only by Jessie
Abbate and Lisa Munson.
But those matches were just a
warm-up.
Tasha won her first National title a
few weeks later, winning "Tactical" division
at the 2009 USPSA Multigun
Nationals in Boulder City. She followed
that up this year with another
victory in "Tactical," cementing her return
to the spotlight. She's still shooting
very little pistol compared to the
other top women, but it's enough to
keep her competitive.
With a full year's worth of fresh experience
on the road, and support like
she has never had before, Tasha Hanish
will be one to watch within the ladies'
contests for 2011. We're not really expecting
her to oust Jessie Abbate from
the top spot, but the shooting world
hasn't seen a fully-prepared, fully-mature,
fully-equipped Tasha
Hanish…ever. Here at Front Sight,
we'll be watching not just for a formidable
athlete to emerge, but for a
"mover" within the industry. If Tasha
Hanish and her friends at Team FNH
can help bring Multigun competition
into America's living rooms, their
legacy will affect practical shooters in a
profound way.
28
FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011

2010 Smith & Wesson US
Steel National Championship
KC Eusebio scrambling to
victory on “Outer Limits.”
STORY AND PHOTOS BY DAVE THOMAS, USPSA ED
Thunder and lighting crackled through the night at Titusville,
Fla., in March, but that show was no more spectacular than
the down-to-the-wire battle between K.C. Eusebio and Max
Michel. When the dust settled K.C. pulled it out with a total
time for the eight stages of 78.01 seconds compared to Max's 78.02.
Yes, you are reading that correctly. The winning margin was one
one-hundredth of a second. Think of that…a slight hesitation on the
draw, a slightly missed grip, a slight stumble between the boxes on
Outer Limits…how could you possibly identify the one little thing over
the course of the day that made the difference in such a tiny margin?
Dave Sevigny finished third with a total time of 89.29. Coupled
with his wins in both Limited and Rimfire this was enough to earn him
the men's Steel Master trophy. The rest of the top 10 included, in order,
B.J. Norris, Jerry Miculek, Doug Koenig, Todd Jarrett, Shannon
Smith, James McGinty, and Billy Abbate.
Jessie Abbate continued her domination in her last match as a Glock
Team member with a 22nd place overall finish, beating her now former
team mate Randi Rogers who finished 44th. Jessie completed the
sweep with first place finishes in Limited and Rimfire Divisions, earning
the ladies' Steel Master title.
For complete results, go to steelchallenge.com/match-results/.
While the times shot by a number of the competitors surpassed the
world records, they fell afoul of timing issues. Because of issues associated
with relative bullet flight time, World records can only be recognized
when the match employs "wired" stop plates (where the plate’s
movement caused by bullet impact trips a sensor). The only match currently
using wired plates is the Steel Challenge World Speed Shooting
Championship.
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FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011

Superior Machining
Eusebio, Sevigny, cradle the US
Steel “Overall and Steel Masters”
trophy.
Return To Titusville
This was the third time the match
was held at the Titusville Rifle and Pistol
Club. The range is a very pleasant
place to shoot in March. However, the
range is home to a certain amount of
wildlife not usually encountered during
SCSA events. Hence the "Beware of
Off stage: Tori Nonaka and Randi
Rogers talk and joke as they await
their turn to shoot. They stayed
cheerful and calm despite a national
title and $50,000 in prizes at stake.
Rattlesnakes" signs.
NSSF Outreach
The National Shooting Sports
Foundation (NSSF) brought their First
Shots program to Titusville, introducing
shooting sports to people who may
have never fired a gun. If your club is
interested in hosting such an event
more information is available at
nssf.org/shooting/sports/
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Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
31

Close
Call!
USPSA and Steel
Challenge folks
consume more
centerfire ammunition
than most other
types of pistol competitors.
As a result, they see
more strange and/or unusual
events with
firearms than other
shooters might.
Photos by Mike Thomas.
This rare squib had enough blowback energy
to cycle the slide. A few pounds of pressure
on the trigger would have transformed this
expensive pistol into a hunk of junk.
The attached photos were taken of a squib round fired at
the North Tennessee Practical Shooters club match the
weekend of Nov. 20-21, 2010. Typically a “squib” is a defective
cartridge that was loaded without any gunpowder.
When fired, a “squib” leaves the bullet firmly lodged in the
barrel, but generally will not cycle the action and load another
round. They’re extremely dangerous, because if the
shooter does not recognize the squib’s distinctive hollow
“pop” sound, he may load another round in behind the
lodged bullet and fire — destroying the gun and potentially
injuring the shooter and/or bystanders.
In this case, Aaron Howald fired a round that
had just enough gunpowder in it to cycle the
slide, but not enough to push the bullet out of
the barrel. Why that’s possible would take more
space than we have here, but suffice it to say it’s
very rare.
“Several people on the squad have urged me to
send (these pictures) to you,” says Howald. “I
have not been shooting USPSA for long, but I
have certainly never seen anything like this.”
The bullet from the squib stopped halfway out
of the muzzle. Fortunately Howald and his
range officer both recognized the sound of the
squib in time to stop.
“Clearly this could
have been very dangerous,
and it serves
as a reminder of how important
it is to be careful at the reloading
bench and at the range,” says
Howald. “As it turned out nobody
was hurt and we ended up
with some pretty good photos of
an incredibly unlikely result. I
probably should have bought a
lottery ticket on the way
home.”
Aaron Howald.
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FRONT SIGHT • Annual For 2011