Since it was released, I read in some places of the Interwebs that this set of rules is the equivalent of the Nazi extermination laws. I even read somebody accusing Joyce Wilson of being a dictator! Lots of misinformation has been spread and I have no idea why…well, I do, some people may have not liked losing certain gaming edge and are royally pissed about it. And please, if you gonna argue about any of the points I made, make sure you have read the new rules at least twice and do not depend on what the guy who sells the ice cream to your brother-in-law said he read in some blog.

First: IDPA remains IDPA and did not become USPSA Light which was the fear many had. Round count, distances and the basic designs for a Course of Fire remain pretty much the same. I see an increase on safety rules and clarifications that can only improve our sport, specially with the influx of new and inexperienced blood we had lately. A Club/Match Director/Safety Officer/Shooter that bitches about this or does not have it to bring new shooters into a safe way to shoot the sport should do everybody a favor and quit IDPA. How serious is HQ about safety? It even recommends the minimums for Ear & Eye Pro.
S3: IDPA recommends that hearing protection have a minimum 21dB NRR rating and that eye protection have a minimum ANSI Z87.1 impact rating and side shields.
This sets pretty much the tone for the rest of the safety measures.

A big soulful howl was heard about Muzzle Safe Points and the 180 rule. OK complainers, seriously, What kind of club have you been shooting at? And no, you are not gonna get an instant DQ if you get too close to a Muzzle Safe Point as it takes three screw ups to send you home and frankly, if you don’t get the info the first time, you shouldn’t be at the range to begin with. And if the CoF Designers are too damn dumb to come up with a stage that does not have a target riding on top of the Muzzle Safe Point, maybe it is time to find a new one.

The new rule book has a ton of clarifications from the old one and yes, there are some things on this version that need either clarification or re-writing but that is why we are having a comment period. The definition of old esoteric things like “engaged” and FTDR or even what are now the two (2) types of reloads for IDPA are greatly welcomed. I particularly like the fact that a call for Cover is officially just something nice to do for the shooter and not an SO obligation. Some are gonna be mighty surprised about all those accumulated procedurals at the end of a CoF.

Then we have the “STOP TOUCHING ME!” complaint I heard/read in some places. Apparently people will die unnecessarily because HQ says it is OK to physically stop an unsafe shooter from having a dangerous moment. People, we are not talking about tackling somebody to the ground but simply stopping a shooter from becoming one with the ground or a bullet from becoming part of somebody else internal organs.  The people I heard complaining about this have either shoot with super-duper ultra experienced shooters or the Safety Officers are not doing their jobs (and that is scary crap right there.) Any SO who has had any dealings with very New Shooters probably had to stop or control the movements of at least one person during his tenure.  It is not uncommon that a shooter is so concentrated on the stage that fails to hear a STOP command and a simple touch (not a knee clipping or body checking) will result on the shooter coming back to his/her senses and the SO controlling a potentially dangerous situation. But I suspect that the real reason for the outrage is that the shooters do not get a reshoot if the SO touches them and then get a a Procedural.  I suspect that part of this rule change comes from some less-than-honest-Gamers that have actually bumped or forced an SO to contact if they feel they are having a bad run in a particular CoF…and yes, I have seen it happen.

The third thing that is sending people into the cliff and commit suicide is the new definition and Classifier times for SSP. If you listen carefully, you can hear the wailing of those who find two seconds difference between ESP and SSP unfair. Example: The before times to make Master in SSP was 98.82 and for ESP was 89.41. The new times are now 91.00 for SSP and 89.00 for ESP. You could do marksman in SSP by shooting 210.00 or better before, but now you must achieve 191.01 or better which is the same time for ESP.  As it says in the new rule book: Changed to make SSP closer to ESP since their performance in standards stages and scenario stages are similar. Which is a nice way to say that if you have been shooting a Glock 34 with a two-pound trigger, you are closer to a 1911 in 9mm than a venerable Beretta 92 that also belongs to SSP. Those of us shooting DA/SA or DAO have been sucking the difference in equipment forever so it is no skin off our teeth.

We also have the “This is not a circus” rule:
SC19. Non-inclusive list of dis-allowed targets:
Bowling Pins, Texas Star, Plate Rack, Polish Plate Rack, Dueling Tree, Slider Triple Dropper, Golf Balls, Balloons, Eggs, Cowboy Poppers, IDPA Practice Target, Animal Shaped Steel Targets, Tombstone Popper, Coffin Popper, and other similar targets including other novelty targets, etc.

Some stages were getting to be pretty much a carnival’s shooting gallery that did not reward defensive shooting but looked more like an episode Impossible Shots.

And to end this already long post, kudos to the teams who came up with the rules of conduct for all IDPA members: From shooter to Area Coordinator. If it only helps down the level of whining at matches, it will be a well accepted rule. You are an adult, engaged in a sport with rules and it behooves you to abide by those rules.

PS: I almost forgot the Range Lawyer Rule A.K.A. The Appeal Process. Just the $100 fee for filing the appeal at a sanctioned match will make any Match Director happy knowing the level of BS will be kept to a minimum.

PS2: Go read rules… yes, I know you lazy bastard have not done it yet.