Last weekend I had the pleasure of competing in the Steamboat Challenge Regional and the Wyoming State Championship in Action Pistol. We spent many hours driving to get there and took a side trip to see a good friend, John Linebaugh, who lives in another part of the state. We will definitely talk about John another time.
Action Pistol, commonly referred to as Bianchi Cup, is most often a 4 stage competition with demanding accuracy standards and sometimes surprising speed requirements. The Bianchi Cup is actually a specific Action Pistol match though, and not the sport itself. It’s a bit confusing. Bianchi’s traditional events are the Barricades, Plates, Practical, and Moving Target. Action Pistol has many more courses, but usually just follows the Bianchi Cup’s lead sticking to these 4 main courses. If you want to learn more about the sport, check out bulletinX.com.
Julie Golob came with me to Wyoming, (or rather I went with her, as she is one of the top competitors in the sport), and while she shot in the Open division which has the toughest competition, I shot my stock G17 MOS/RMR in Production Optics. On day 1, the regional match, JAG placed 5th in Open and I placed 4th in Production Optics. On day 2, the state match, JAG placed 6th and I placed 2nd. Neither of us shot well on the 1st day, and while the 2nd day played to some of my strengths, the open gun JAG was shooting made some aspects of that match more difficult.
Unlike sports like USPSA and IDPA, regardless of how you feel you shoot in any given match, in Action Pistol you have a standard to compare yourself to. Action Pistol has a possible score of 1920 and you can see how far off your usual score you are. Very few people shoot a perfect 1920, and it is absolutely one of the hardest feats to accomplish in shooting sports.
On day 2, we shot 2 wildcard stages, differing from the usual 4 courses of fire. Both involved reloads on the clock, which is unfortunately not usually a part of Action Pistol. My G17 is well suited for fast reloads, and that helped me shoot these stages. JAG’s open gun is nothing like a USPSA open gun. It is designed for 2″ groups at 50 yards, has wings for barricade use, and a giant prone pad which helps on, you guessed it, prone shots. The magazines have to be inserted through the prone pad, and though it superficially looks like a giant magwell, it is nothing of the sort. In fact, it slows reloads down dramatically. JAG still shot these stages very well, but certainly not as well as she might have with a more traditional open gun. That said, the rest of the shooting on these stages would then be more difficult, as a USPSA open gun is simply not competitive in Action Pistol.
I would like to commend the staff and the match director for running the smoothest match, in any sport that I have ever shot. One very cool aspect was that Andy, the match director, used to be a range officer at the NRA range in Virginia when TLG and I used to shoot there.
Anyone who thinks they are an accomplished shot, should shoot some Action Pistol. Anyone who wants to be a better shot, should shoot Action Pistol. Anyone who views a gun as a practical tool, whether hunting or self-defense, can definitely benefit from shooting Action Pistol. Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately, lol) it is so difficult that many who try, just don’t come back for more punishment. That said, if you do, you will benefit greatly.