I think the main point is that since 1997, we have carried on shooting this excellent PISTOL competition….. with RIFLES! The shooting boxes used in the Mover match do not pose a problem as the shooter can orientate their body into a position which will allow them to engage the target over its full length of travel, safely! The obvious problem in the Barricade match when shooting a rifle is that it must be held securely into the shoulder in order to safely control it whilst shooting (especially when racking an underlever). When the rifle is shouldered, the barricade/position of the targets dictate that the shooter has to lean their body quite a way out to the side just to be able to aim at the center of the target. Unlike in the Practical, Plates and Mover matches (in most cases), an individuals agility, flexibility, physical size and even strength to some degree will all play a major part in their Barricade match performance and participation.

I’ve helped a lot of people start to get to grips with this match over the years and a large number of these shooters have needed to step onto the frame (but not touching the floor) both on the sides and rear, in order for them just to be able to get their sights onto the target and I’m sure that insisting that the feet must remain inside the frame will have a detrimental effect on the number of people shooting this match in the future. Remember, these were designed to be shot using a hand held pistol…. not a shoulder mounted rifle, so I for one am definitely in favor of keeping it as it is and letting people stand on or behind, but not touching the ground out to the side of the frame. I would suggest that this practice merely makes it possible for many shooters to actually shoot the match safely and be able to see and hit the target, and that this does not give an unfair advantage to anyone.

Given the above I can’t really see any reasonable argument for any further restriction in this match and would suggest, with some justification I think that it would be like putting a 6′ wall in the middle of a practical stage so that every shooter had to shoot over the top of without touching it, which would clearly penalize the shooters stature and not their shooting ability! If anything, (although time, effort and money would certainly prohibit it in most cases) some competitors could argue that extending the height of the barricades would be beneficial for those shooters out on the circuit who stand between 6’5″ – 6’7″ in height so that they don’t have to crouch down into an uncomfortable (and less stable) position when they shoot. I don’t think we need to “fix” something that doesn’t really seem to be broken do we? Cheers!