Military and Tactical Pistol League
The Holmesburg Military and Tactical Pistol League was created to provide shooters an opportunity for friendly competition with handguns they likely already own. Matches are held Sunday mornings and are open to the public; match dates can be found posted here as well as in the monthly newsletter. A match fee of $7 is charged. These are intended to be fun matches so, regardless of your skill level, come out and give them a try!
We shoot year round, in all conditions, so plan accordingly. Outdoor matches start at 1000, but between Memorial Day and Labor Day, we shoot indoors and start at 0900. B-27C targets are used on the 25 yard outdoor range while B-29 targets are used for indoor 50 foot competitions. For indoor matches, you MUST use ammunition appropriate for indoor range use; lead rounds only, no jacketed rounds or magnum rounds.
Permitted Pistol Configurations
For Military pistol matches, you may use any centerfire, fixed-sight pistol or revolver. Adjustable sights are only permitted at the "Target” or “Unlimited” gun matches while optical sights are only permitted for the February "Unlimited" match.
For Tactical pistol matches, you must use either a center-fire semi-automatic pistol with a barrel that does not exceed 3 1/2 inches (Makarovs and Walther PPKs are OK) or a center-fire revolver with a barrel that does not exceed 3 inches.
Only those pistols meeting the eligibility criteria will be counted for a match and/or year-end award. That stated, if you use a pistol at a Military match with adjustable sights or optics outside an allowed match format, or a pistol that exceeds the designated barrel lengths at a Tactical match, your score will not be counted for an award.
Match Formats
Our course of fire consists of 50 rounds fired in stages of Slow, Timed and Rapid fire with a maximum possible score for each match of 500–50X. The Slow fire stage consists of 10 rounds fired in 5 minutes. Our “traditional” Timed fire stage consists of four 25 second strings of 5 rounds each while the “traditional” Rapid fire stage consists of four 15 second strings of 5 rounds each. Scoring occurs on each target after 10 rounds have been fired. No “alibi” strings are permitted for either Timed or Rapid fire stages. All Tactical pistol matches use a traditional course of fire.
Courses of Fire Variations
Five of the league’s for record Military matches, including the “Vintage”, “Target Gun” and the fixed sight, “Semi-Auto” match, use a traditional course of fire. The remaining five Military matches involve a “mystery stage” drawn at the start of the match. During a mystery stage, targets may have a backwards or sideways orientation, or may have “no score” or penalty areas. Additionally, there may be variations in the manner of fire or rounds fired per string. Once a stage is drawn, it is removed from the pool of remaining mystery stages for the remainder of the year. Speed loaders for revolvers and multiple magazines for automatic pistols are recommended.
Award Qualifications
The Military pistol league consists of 10 “for record” matches; the annual “Unlimited” match is not a “for record” match. To qualify for a year-end award, a shooter must compete in at least 6 for record Military matches. Year-end award qualification in the Tactical pistol league requires participation in at least 2 Tactical matches. Individual match awards are based on a Lewis class system and year-end awards for the best shooters in each class are distributed at our annual luncheon (which we share with the Military Rifle League) in February.
Hope to see you on the line!
| 2023 Military and Tactical Pistol League Schedule |
|
| Date |
Match Format |
| February 26, 2023 |
Military Pistol - Unlimited |
| March 26, 2023 |
Tactical Pistol #1 |
| April 23, 2023 |
Military Pistol #1 - Straight |
| April 30, 2023 |
Military Pistol #2 |
| May 7, 2023 |
Tactical Pistol #2 |
| May 28, 2023 |
Military Pistol #3 |
| June 25, 2023 |
Military Pistol #4 - Vintage |
| July 30, 2023 |
Military Pistol #5 - Target Gun |
| August 6, 2023 |
Military Pistol #6 - Semi-Auto |
| September 24, 2023 |
Military Pistol #7 |
| October 22, 2023 |
Military Pistol #8 |
| November 12, 2023 |
Tactical Pistol #3 |
| November 26, 2023 |
Military Pistol #9 |
| December 3, 2023 |
Military Pistol #10 - Straight |
| February 25, 2024 |
Military Pistol - Unlimited |
|
