What is Dynamic Shooting?

Dynamic Shooting is one of several target shooting disciplines that involve competitive shooters moving around a shooting range, engaging paper and steel targets at varying distances and angles, often using multiple firearms (pistols & rifles, pistols & shotguns) across multiple 'stages' or 'courses of fire'.

These disciplines have names like IPSC (international Practical Shooting Confederation), IDPA (international Defensive Pistol Association) and USPSA (United States Practical Shooting Association). They also include newer disciplines such as Two-Gun Action Challenge Match (2G-ACM) and televised events run by 3-Gun Nation.

Newer disciplines like 2G-ACM have been popularised by their appearance in Youtube videos, but also by the breadth of firearms that can be shot in such matches. Highly modern competitions such as IPSC and 3-Gun are almost never shot with historic firearms, shooters preferring 'production' pistols and rifles or highly customised 'open class' equipment.

By comparison, 2G-ACM matches are tailor-made for competitors to bring and shoot older equipment or to challenge themselves to carry full equipment loads in certain equipment divisions. Some even compete in themed divisions such as a World War One division or a Cold War division, aiming to use period-correct equipment where local laws permit firearms from that era.  This very broad equipment specification provided for in the 2G-ACM International Rules means that competitors in regions where firearms possession is highly restricted can use the competition as a 'genuine reason' without compromising on their enjoyment of the match.

What dynamic shooting competitors say they enjoy about these disciplines is:

• that they are fast-paced
• the courses of fire are (almost) infinitely variable
• that you can learn to shoot highly competently under time pressure and stress
• that your biggest competitor is normally yourself (getting faster with each run, learning from your own mistakes)
• men and women, young and old all compete on an essentially equal footing
• you can learn a lot from watching fellow competitors on what shooting techniques work and what equipment works under stressful competitive conditions.