Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. Lethal Lethal force Selling To IDPA Shooters DPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) is made up of competitive combat shooters, and the focus is on concealed carry guns and holsters, and courses of fire that stress cover, shooting multiple targets in tactical priority and “real-world” concerns. Every IDPA match and national championship is bigger than the last, and this fast-growing sport requires lots of guns and gear. Ensure participants are buying it all from you. Custom Defense Pistol (CDP) is geared for that classic combat handgun, the single-action .45. The 1911, worn cocked-and-locked and loaded with no more than nine rounds, is the usual choice here, but striker-fired Massad Ayoob I IDPA Divisions & Guns Enhanced Service Pistol (ESP) is for single-action autos in calibers such as 9mm Luger (the most popular due to its light recoil and relatively low ammo cost), .40 S&W and .357 SIG. Intended originally for guns like the Browning Hi-Power, domination of the division has seesawed between 1911s in 9mm and .38 Super, and striker-fired pistols, such as the Glock. Springfield Armory’s XD series, ruled single action by ATF, competes here, and does quite well. The power factor is 125,000, and no more than 11 rounds may be in the gun at one time. Enhanced Service Revolver (ESR) is for moonclipped guns, and Smith & Wesson rules this division. Their .40 S&W and 10mm Randi Rogers won the 2009 Women’s Championship with a 9mm Glock 34, six-shooters have competed the most popular single handgun at the IDPA Nationals. here, but it is the S&W Model polymer guns and double-action autos can also compete if they’re chambered for .45 ACP. The power factor of ammo, which is determined by multiplying muzzle velocity in foot-seconds by bullet weight in grains, must equal 165,000. Related Gear Rounds Out Customers’ Needs olsters must be concealable, and rules on this are fairly strict. Visit www.idpa.com and keep these rules handy to ensure your holster-buying customer is in compliance. They’ll need magazine pouches or speedloader carriers, too, preferably the open-top variety. At the entry level, the Fobus holster is very popular for wheelgun and semiauto, and their magazine pouches are excellent. As the customer works his or her way up the ladder, they’ll benefit from a more performance-oriented holster made of Kydex. Think BladeTech (www.blade-tech.com), Comp-Tac (www.comp-tac.com) and the relatively new Alabama Holster Company (www.alabamaholster.com). Your customers will need three magazines minimum, four to include a “starter magazine” to get the first round expeditiously loaded, and then top off with a full one in CDP, or if shooting a single-stack 9mm or .38 Super in ESP. With stock service revolvers, the tendency is to start with the ubiquitous HKS speedloader — and I’ve seen a regional championship won with those — but seasoned competitors migrate to the faster Safariland Comp III loaders. In clothing, most novices start with a jacket or untucked shirt as their mandatory concealment garment, and quickly move to “gun concealment vests.” It’s faster to draw from under them, and they don’t bind arms or shoulders, thus enhancing range of movement and speed. BLACKHAWK!, EOTAC, 5.11, SIG, Woolrich and more all make fine products in this vein, including BDU pants with roomy legs for faster running and less bind when dropping into a kneeling position. And, of course — ammo. Most champions reload to satisfy their enormous practice regimen, but a surprisingly large number of regular competitors buy generic ball, usually by the case. A tip: In SSR class, about the only .38 Special generic load that will make the 125,000 power factor is Speer Lawman 158 grain FMJ +P. Nothing turns off a good customer faster than a dealer who sells him too-weak ammo that gets him disqualified. 22 JULY 2010 H Typifying the five gun divisions of IDPA are (clockwise from top): CDP (Kimber Custom II .45), SSP (Glock 34 9mm), SSR (Ruger GP100), ESR (S&W 625 .45) and ESP (Springfield XDM 9mm). www.shootingindustry.com Read SI DIGITAL