I know… We’re halfway into June, and I’m just now sitting down to reflect on May. It’s one of my most intense shooting months, prepping for and competing at the Bianchi Cup.
The days leading up to The Cup, I asked the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) if they’d be open to sharing a video series on how to get started in Action Pistol. Other than being one of the most enduring shooting matches, there really isn’t a lot of information about Action Pistol beyond what the four courses of fire are and who wins. I want to fix that. They, of course, said yes, and I brought all my cameras with me to Louisiana for my first Action Pistol major of the season.
What started as a plan for 5-6 videos turned into 10, but I’m pleased with the detail and explanations. A huge thank you to the wonderful staff at the Crawfish Cup and the competitors who let me film them while they practiced and competed. It was a huge help to showcase the different divisions, gear, courses of fire, and the people who volunteer and compete.
Here’s the playlist if you’d like to check it out.
Production Optics is the Way
Bold statement? To some, but the numbers don’t lie. We see it in other shooting sports — the dramatic rise in popularity of firearms you can purchase at your local dealer with slide-mounted optics. It’s simple. Reliable guns with a dot make it easier to shoot faster and more accurately. I think Production/Carry Optics is one of the best ways to get started in any of the centerfire action shooting disciplines. For many, that can even mean using their carry or home defense pistol.
The CMP thoughtfully established the PO rules so that if you shoot a non-ported striker-fired, double-action, or DA/SA pistol with an optic in other action shooting sports, it’s highly likely that your pistol will be legal for Action Pistol competitions. This is the championship division I chose to shoot this year, and I competed with the same Springfield Armory Echelon 4.0FC and Trijicon SRO that I used at Steel Nationals.
It’s always a hard decision for me to shoot anything other than the Open Division in this sport. It’s by far the largest and most competitive division, in part because people are chasing a perfect 1920 score and because the event celebrates an overall winner. The Bianchi Cup is an enormous and coveted silver trophy that has been hoisted by just a handful of men over the past 25 years. An open gun with all the bells and whistles gives you the most advantage. The classic open gun setup includes a shroud and wings for the Barricade, a mover base and Optic for the Moving Target, and a prone pad for Plates and Practical. These custom pistols are also very expensive, often unpredictable, and finicky.
I have a love/hate relationship with Open, but I, too, want to shoot that perfect score in a major competition. Plus, there’s also the added goal of taking home the “Women’s Award.” All the women competing in centerfire, regardless of division, are lumped together. The odds of even placing among the ladies with anything but an Open gun are extremely low.
I did get a few odd looks shooting the 4-inch Echelon. Mine is outfitted with a match barrel and a trigger job, and this one happens to be the most accurate Echelon I own. More than one person asked me how a 4-inch pistol could be more accurate than a 4.5 or 5-inch gun. When I explained that a longer barrel doesn’t always make a firearm more accurate and that a red dot eliminates any benefit of a longer sight radius, there were still some raised eyebrows.
Adding to the skepticism, I used factory “range” ammo. I tested numerous loads, even my custom Open gun ammo with jacketed hollow points, but my Echelon 4.0FC shot the best with Federal’s classic and affordable American Eagle 147-grain 9mm. It’s not a super soft load, but it’s been my go-to for so many years in practical shooting sports. My best group is just over 2.5 inches at 50 yards, and my lead points for the Moving Target were easy and repeatable at each distance. The 4.0FC has such a fast cycle rate that the dot recovered quickly and consistently.
I’m so pleased with how I shot and how much I’m learning shooting this division. I know that this experience will be extremely valuable when I do go back to shooting Open. I was 1st place among the women who shot Production Optics, was 9th Overall in the division, and posted the highest women’s PO score in the history of the event. I placed 2nd Overall in the Moving Target Event with a 474 out of 480 and 28x, and the performance earned me an overall women’s event win. (Yes, against Open guns with Mover Bases!) I was also first among the women in the Standing Production Optics Match by over 140 points, another female record score.
The biggest question for me is when to go back to Open. Shooting PO exclusively in competition this year has made me a better shooter. I’m really enjoying it too. This October marks the first-ever CMP World Action Pistol Championships in Australia. I have a couple of months to decide if I’ll make the trip to Oz and what division to focus on.
Rimfire Firsts
.22 caliber divisions are another growing segment in action shooting sports. Go to a major Steel Challenge match, and you may even see more rimfire competitors than centerfire. Rimfire pistols are even more temperamental than Open guns, so there’s that, but with the hopes that our daughters would shoot Bianchi, I bought two Volquartzen Scorpions with custom work by Lionworx and Trijicon MROs. What fun guns, and they were perfect for two young women to get started in the sport with a special low-ready, Introductory Division. I’m so proud of them!
Our girls, who have volunteered for Bianchi for four years now, happily became the guinea pigs. I wish there had been more information, promotion, and excitement for this youth event. Even without that, I loved how the competitors and range officer staff congratulated our daughters and made them feel welcome for their first Action Pistol competition.
If Production Optics is the way, Rimfire is the gateway.
With soft shooting .22, you have even more time to settle and execute a good press for each shot. Rimfire also has divisions for different firearms, and it’s an inexpensive way to experience the sport.
I, too, competed in Rimfire for the first time this year. My mind was focused on our girls’ shooting, but I got to scratch the Open itch just a little. I earned the Ladies National Title in Rimfire with a great Moving Target run, 2nd Overall with a 480 and 36x on the event.
Shoot Off Success
This year, the CMP resurrected the Speed Event at The Cup. I was thrilled to make the Production Optics Division Shoot Off. With single elimination all the way up through the final, it was a pressure cooker. Shooting Steel Challenge, with the stand-and-deliver experience in the spring, paid off. I ended up taking 2nd to the Army Marksmanship Unit’s Anthony Heinauer, and it was fun to push the speed to close out the week.
Family
This May will always be special as it marked the first time our whole family competed at Bianchi. After helping the girls with Rimfire, Simon shot the Standing Match with just two days of practice and took 3rd Overall there. Performances aside, as our oldest heads to college in a couple of months, I think of how shooting sports have shaped my life. From a young girl volunteering with my dad to now being a mom and seeing how much is the same and yet different with my own family, I know I frequently say it, but I’m so grateful.
With that, I’ll close out. As always, if you have any firearm, gear, Bianchi, or other shooting sports questions, drop them below.
Until the next one,
Julie
As always so professional in your writing skills (I wish I had your talent) I shoot the 22 for the first time and I agree with you on your assessment. I do plan to shoot the PO next year as now knowing about the club in Lake Charles I now have a place to practice. The CMP asked for feedback to grow the sport. You answered that in your write up. The 22 division needs to be expanded and advertised. They need to create the same divisions for it. They need to start it earlier in the week and it needs to be 18 and under with scholarships available for first places in each. You will bring the youth in and keep the sport growing. Julie, thank you for all you do for the sport, the youth and the women. You are such a blessing, I know you have blessed me. I hope you make it to OZ land this year!
Awesome!! Thank you for catching us up! My range time is pretty much nonexistent at this time! I plan to be back on it as soon as I am back on my feet and done with this stuff! Hopefully by September! Happy Birthday month to US!!! You are the very best!