In Australia, Action Pistol comprises four courses of fire shot at the National Rifle Association (NRA) of America’s Action Pistol Bianchi Cup. NRA.  The four courses of fire in Action Pistol include the Falling Plates, the Mover, the Practical and the Barricade events. Each course of fire in Action Pistol is 48 rounds x 10 points each, totaling a match score of 480 points. An inner X count of 48 allows for a maximum overall score of 1920 points (192x).

Two types of targets are used in Australia i.e. 8 inch steel falling plates and the NRA target, which is a cardboard rectangle with a rounded top. The target has a printed inner X 10 ring used for tie breaks, an outer 10 ring and an 8 ring. The remainder of the target scores 5 points.

Action Pistol is available to all pistol shooters who hold a PA holster proficiency card.

Falling Plate

The Falling Plate event is a series of six 8 inch plates, each worth 10 points and one X. The plates are shot at 10, 15, 20 & 25 yards with the time allowed to shoot all plates varying from 6 to 9 seconds. Competitors may stand, kneel or go prone to shoot the plates, but the starting position is always to stand with hands shoulder high. The plates are a hit or miss match. The saying is “there are no 8’s on plates” as they can make or break your match.

Mover

In the Mover event the NRA target will move from behind a wall, travel 60 feet in 6 seconds then disappear behind another wall. The competitor stands in a box central to the mover. At 10 yards and 15 yards the competitor needs to fire 6 shoots on each pass. At 20 yards and 25 yards the competitor fires 3 shots on each pass (done twice) – this gives the competitor 48 rounds. The competitor has 7½ minutes to complete the whole course.

Practical

The Practical Event consists of 4 stages, each stage having 3 strings and 12 shots – a total 48 rounds. Each stage is shot at 10, 15, 25 and 50 yards. At the 10 yard line one of the strings require the competitor to shoot 3 shots on each target using only his/her weak hand i.e. left hand if right-handed or right hand if left-handed. The competitor has between 3 to 15 seconds to complete some of the strings depending on the distance.

Barricade

In the Barricade Event the competitor stands in a box behind a solid barricade. The course of fire is 6 shoots from one side of the barricade at one target and then 6 shots from the opposite side. This is shot from 10, 15, 25 and 35 yards. All strings are 6 shots and times range from 5 to 8 seconds.

These four events combine to give a match aggregate. The Australian record is 1920 172x shot by Darryl Carnicelli at the 2008 National Championships in Darwin.

The competitor does not need a lot of specialised, high price equipment to compete. The important thing is that the pistol is reliable and safe. A safe holster is paramount and competitors using semi-automatic pistols will need extra magazines. In the Open class event the competitors can use red dot scopes, extended bases for going prone, wings for the barricade and adjustable mounts for the mover.  This is the pricier end of Action Pistol.  In the metallic sight class, competitors can shoot with a simpler semi-automatic pistol or revolver, as no scopes, wings or compensator ports are allowed.  There is also the Production and Production Optic classes which are intended for stock unmodified pistols and are cheaper again.

There are some specific rules for the type of ammunition used in Action Pistol competition. The lower limit of calibre is 9mm. Samples of ammunition are collected in a tournament and tested over a chronograph to meet or exceed the power factor. Power factor is calculated at bullet weight x muzzle velocity = not less than 120,000.

Not all pistol clubs have the range infrastructure to meet the requirements of Action Pistol as the mover and falling plate equipment is used specifically for Action Pistol and no other matches.  However a member of WAPA can shoot as a visitor at any club that does have a full Action range in a club competition.  There are numerous open competitions throughout the year that give members more opportunities to shoot Action Pistol.

The National titles are held around October each year.