Any interest in an ACTS (2-Gun) Match in the area?
I mentioned this in the "Looking for a few good People" thread in Front Range IDPA, and it was suggested I start a new thread to see if folks would be interested. I'm Jon, and I'm new to the area. I'm coming from Michigan where I was a boardmember for a club called ACTS. ACTS is a defensive 2 Gun style match, geared towards mil/le/civilian training junky types. It was our best effort to create a venue in which "real world" shooting was structured in a competitive format, somewhat along the lines of what IDPA was originally intended to do. We use a scoring system identical to IDPA, enforce actual use of cover vs. laying out boundaries, and encourage problem solving rather than more choreographed stages. It's still a gun game, but it's a format in which problem solving is as important as the shooting.
A few things that set it apart- "open" format for stages: many stage briefs are as simple as "on command, shooter will engage all threats with two or more rounds each". The goal here is to let the shooter choose positions of advantage, use movement and/or cover, and to solve the problem in whichever way they deem most efficient and practical.
-Hot transitions- we don't ground or table guns, if the primary goes down, the shooter is expected to reload, clear the malfunction, or transition to the secondary and drive on.
-Use of cover- we don't lay down boundaries typically, if more than half of the shooters own "zero zone" is exposed, they need to move or get behind cover. Depending on stage design, this may force using the weak hand/side to engage threats.
-Gear restrictions/allowances- we are a small club and tend to adapt quickly to changes in what is currently being used by mil/le shooters. Our goal is to avoid guns built specifically for games, and to keep the focus on fighting guns, issued guns, work guns, whatever you want to call them. We allow most of what is allowed for an open division 3 Gun rifle, but not all. We allow optics on handguns ONLY if they are milled or mounted to the slide (this was a result of certain SOF/SF units issuing Glocks set up this way as well as a number of LE agencies approving them for use- a lot of us have our carry guns set up this way as well). Gear has to be practical- we have specific wording to enforce this, but the general idea is that carry/duty gear is good to go, race gear is not.
These are just a few bits and pieces of what the format consists of. The goal of the organization was to embrace and foster the concept of a "nation of riflemen". The matches are in no way training, but they could fairly be described as a venue in which training can be correctly applied in a competitive format, ie good practice. The biggest advantage that I've personally seen is in the community. I started shooting the matches shortly after my first deployment. I had never been exposed to the methods and techniques that Army or LE units were employing. The round table discussions amongst like minded shooters from a variety of training and work experiences were priceless, and worth the time and cost of making it out to the matches and then some. After the club gained some steam, it was a regular stop for nationally recognized trainers, SWAT cops, Marines, Soldiers, and long-retired veterans as well as civilians simply looking to work on fundamentals they had picked up at classes or to just hang out with a good group of like minded individuals.
IF there is interest in setting up a match or two somewhere in the area, I'm happy to take the lead. I've MD'd several of the MI matches and would love the opportunity to do so again. Having said that, ACTS, just like any other shooting sport, is volunteer driven. It could not be a success without plenty of folks willing to help out and put some time and effort into ROing, setting up, tearing down, etc... At this point, I don't even know if there's a local range interested in hosting an ACTS match, let alone a solid base of volunteers to make it happen. IF there is interest, IF there is infrastructure, and IF there is support, I'll do whatever I can to help make it a success. If you have any thoughts, any questions, or any opinions about any of this, feel free to email me or just post up here- I'll do my best to check back often. It would take a fair bit of effort and help to pull it off, but if folks are interested, it's well worth it!
For additional information, links to the rulebook, and the forum, the website address is www.actshooters.com
And just to throw in a quick caveat in case this is coming across as a sales pitch- ACTS is non profit. I'm not trying to sell anything, and noone generates income or profit from this. The only thing that any of us would gain is another great option in addition to the IDPA, 3 gun, and USPSA matches available in the area.
