There are few competitions as esteemed by handgun enthusiasts as the International Practice Shooting Club’s (IPSC) nationals. This year’s nationals were held in Selkirk, Manitoba, and Niverville’s Paul Richards came out on top in his handgun classification.
“I ended up having the fastest time,” says Richards. “My time was 259 seconds in total. I was about ten to 15 seconds faster than the other guys, but I also had better hits than them.”
This was not Richards’ first foray into national competition. He’s previously competed in British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta where he finished sixth and ninth overall. This was the first year he came out on top. He was supported by his sponsors Campro Bullets and Fast Toys Shooting Sports.
The Selkirk event hosted over 350 competitors from across Canada, all of them separated into five divisions based on their choice of handgun. Richards entered this year with a CZ Shadow complemented by a CMore RTS2 red dot which he describes as an entry-level production gun with an electrical optic.
“It’s a bit of a tougher gun to shoot, but it’s a cheaper gun,” Richards says. “There are guys out there shooting with $8,000 to $9,000 handguns. They are in a different league.”
The annual national event runs over a four-day period and covers a lot of ground. Unlike your straightforward firing range, the competition is set up like an obstacle course with 18 different stages the competitor must pass through.
“Some stages will have just three targets set up and some stages will have 16 targets set up,” says Richards. “You can be running for 50 yards, through stuff, around stuff, over bridges. We were literally shooting for a couple of days.”
Like a typical target, the goal is to get as close as possible to the centre for maximum points. Targets varied in size and distance, and while most were stationary others were moving targets. Still others were partially hidden from view. While points were gained for accuracy, penalties were also incurred for hitting objects close to the target.
“That kind of thing I can’t train for because I don’t have the equipment,” says Richards. “That’s more of an experience thing where you go to a bunch of different matches and try a lot of different things so that when you do try something new you have a little bit of experience to lean on.”
Speed is also considered in the final point tally. Participants’ balance was tested while they traversed narrow planks and up sets of stairs while shooting at targets. Other targets could only be accessed through small openings in walls. In the end, judges divided the participants’ accuracy points by the amount of time it took to complete the course to determine their final hit factor.
Richards says that the competitors get an initial walk-through of the course to mentally prepare, but no practice shots are allowed in advance of the judged run, making it difficult for competitors to determine the best angles for their shots.
“You only get one shot at it,” Richards adds. “It’s actually really stressful, but it’s part of the fun. You have to be able to take the pressure and mentally think your way through it. If you do screw up, many people just melt down. You have to anticipate failing and come up with a plan B at a moment’s notice because time is of the essence.”
Richards was also a part of a team of Manitobans using similar handguns in the competition. They called themselves the Manitoba Machine and took top place as well. Scores were tabulated and averaged for the top three scorers on the team. Theirs came out with the highest overall score.
Since he became a member of IPSC five years ago, Richards has practiced regularly at their indoor facility in Winnipeg. In order to qualify for the nationals, members have to participate in regular IPSC matches and finish in the top four in the province. Richards also challenges himself to beat his own records. Currently, he says he can pull his gun from his holster and hit a target ten yards away six times in 1.42 seconds.
His love of firearms goes back to his childhood.
“I think I shot my first shotgun when I was eight,” says Richards. “I had a .22 [calibre] when I was six or seven. Me and my dad have done a lot of duck-hunting and clay-shooting. I’m a big deer hunter. I like rifles, semi-automatic rifles, and shotguns. I just kind of love it all.”
Today, Richards is teaching his nine-year-old son Cade to be a responsible and safe firearms user. The pair spends time shooting targets of their own with Cade’s junior rifle.
“He’s a show-off and I’m a show-off,” jokes Cade, recounting one of his more recent conquests of a difficult target his father didn’t expect him to hit.