Rules

Safety

During matches, the range is cold. This means that shooters only fire under the supervision of a Safety Officer and all firearms are unloaded until the shooter is ready to start a stage.

Please do not retrieve your firearms until after the safety briefing. Shooters will only need their rifles. Pistols are not allowed -- even if they are unloaded.

The four Basic Firearm Safety Rules:

• All Weapons are Loaded
• Do not point your weapon at anything you do not wish to destroy
• Know your target and what is in front and behind it
• Do not put your finger on the trigger until ready to fire

Any accidental discharge, shots placed on range props (vehicles, barriers, etc), or repeat warnings on breaking any of the safety rules above, will lead to a disqualification of the shooter for the event. The Range Officers are under strict instructions to follow this rule and it is not subjective.

Event Format

The best way to describe CFDCC is as "IDPA with rifles". It is competitve event that strives to exercise practical rifle skills in using well thought out defensive scenarios.

You cannot exercise skills you do not have. In this way, CFDCC is primarily an event for people who have had some kind of formal rifle training or some experience with competitive shooting sports.

Equipment

Part of our goal is to limit the amount of gear required to compete. Therefore, we only require the following:

• A suitable rifle -- Any rifle chamberd for a center fire intermediate caliber round smaller than equal to 7.62x39. This includes pistol caliber rifles.
• At least 200 rounds of ammunition -- We usually shoot well under 200 rounds but we will design matches assuming you have at least this many.
• Three magazines and a means to carry them -- Mag pouches are great. Pockets are fine too.
• Eye protection
• Ear Protection -- electronic strongly preferred
• A Boonie Packer “Chamber Checker” Chamber flag for every rifle you bring. These are usually available for sale at the range for $3.00 each.

Though we try to set the barrier to entry low, we also try not to limit what you bring. Nearly any kind of tactical gear is welcome as long as it does not pose a safety issue. This includes properly registered NFA items.

Who Can Participate

CFDCC is open to anyone but we'd prefer to see people with:

• Some formal civilian oriented training from a respected training group.
• Experience participating in other shooting sports like IDPA, IPSC, or 3-Gun.
• Strong understanding of safe fire arms handling and operation. This includes strong trigger discipline and muzzle awareness.

New Shooter Introduction

The Shooters' Meeting:

ALL SHOOTERS MUST ATTEND THE SHOOTERS' MEETING held at the beginning of a match. Each shooter will be briefed on general and special safety rules or concerns. The shooting stages will be described and special instructions for the stages will be given. Additionally, new shooters will be identified and assigned an experienced shooter to help them through their first match. A New Shooter Introduction will be given before the match that will cover the following topics.

Basic Skills:

There are a few basic shooting skills that the new shooter should know or be learning. Shooters should have the following basic knowledge and skills in order to safely shoot in our matches:

• Gripping the firearm with the trigger finger OUT of the trigger guard
• Controlling the muzzle of the firearm at all times, keeping it down-range
• Loading and unloading the weapon safely
• Sight picture, how to align the sights
• Trigger control, how to squeeze the trigger
• Reloading the weapon (tactical reloads and slide-lock reloads)
• Moving with a drawn weapon (finger off the trigger, muzzle down-range)
• Range commands and procedures

How is an CFDCC Match Organized?

A CFDCC match consists of several "Courses of Fire", also called "COFs" or "Stages". Each COF is run by a Safety Officer. The Safety Officer is there to see that the stage is run safely and consistently for all shooters. The Safety Officer's commands and judgments are final. Each COF is setup on a separate range to contain the bullet's trajectory and provide a safe backstop for the bullets as they pass through the targets.  Each COF is started with a "beep" from a timer and ends when all the targets have been neutralized. The timer actually "hears" the gun shots and records the time from the beep to the last gun shot. The total time it takes to complete a stage is your score, but the time is adjusted for accuracy. That is, poor accuracy adds time. The lowest total time for all stages is the winner of the match.

Weapon Safety Check:

The Safety Officer may ask to see your weapon. He/she will give you specific instructions on how to hand it over. The Safety Officer will give the weapon a quick safety check to see that the gun functions properly, including any safety mechanisms built into the gun. You may not shoot a match with unsafe equipment.

Muzzle Control:

The Safety Officer will explain what is meant by muzzle control. The muzzle must point in a safe direction at all times. This includes when shooting, when moving, when doing reloads, or when clearing a malfunction. If the muzzle of a shooter's gun sweeps past a person, the shooter will be disqualified on the spot.

Straight Finger:

The Shooter's finger must NOT be inside the trigger guard UNLESS the sights are aligned on a target. When the gun is drawn and the shooter is not immediately firing, the trigger finger must be straight and outside the trigger guard.

If the shooter has his/her finger inside the trigger guard and is not immediately shooting a target the Safety Offices will yell "FINGER". If the shooter does not immediately remove his/her finger from inside the trigger guard the shooter will be disqualified.

Negligent Discharge:

Any time a shooter's gun goes off and the muzzle is not pointed directly at a target, it is considered a Negligent Discharge, (ND). The shooter is disqualified from the match for a ND where the bullet lands closer than two yards from the firing line. All NDs are dangerous, and the shooter responsible for a ND will be taken aside for a safety briefing. A second NDs no matter where the bullet hits is grounds for a match disqualification.

Dropping Your Weapon:

If a shooter's gun is dropped on the ground, DON'T TOUCH IT. Only the Safety Officer may pick up a dropped gun. The gun will be made safe and returned to the shooter, and the shooter is disqualified.

Cold Ranges

A "COLD" range is one where the shooter's guns are not loaded until the shooter is at the firing line of a shooting stage. The shooter must show the Safety Officer that the gun has an empty chamber and empty magazine well at the end of each stage.

The CFDCC range is always COLD.

Targets:

The standard CFDCC target is made of cardboard and is roughly a man sized silhouette. We utilize IDPA targets.  The target has four scoring zones on it, marked with perforations in the cardboard. Not all targets are to be shot. The shooter is penalized 30 points or 30 seconds maximum for each non-threat target shot, even if the bullet first passed through a threat target.

Typically it takes 4 points to neutralize a silhouette target, however the COF description will advise how many points it takes to neutralize a target. The shooter is penalized 10 points or 10 seconds for each threat target that is not neutralized.

 The COF will explain which things are targets, and how to neutralize them.

Use of Cover:

Because CFDCC simulates real world self defense situations, the shooter must make use of available cover and concealment.

Both the shooter and targets may have cover or concealment in a COF. If the target has "Cover", it is considered that bullets will not pass through. Any holes made in the targets by the shooter's bullets after passing thought cover are not scored. If a target has "Concealment", holes made in the targets by the shooter's bullets after passing through concealment will be scored.

The shooter must make use of available cover when shooting targets. That is, more than 50% of the shooters torso must be behind cover. Failure to do so will result in a Procedural Penalty. The shooter will receive one verbal warning, the word "COVER" will be yelled at the shooter. If the shooter then gets behind cover no penalty is awarded. If the shooter continues to shoot and not move behind cover, a Procedural Penalty is given.

Movement:

Most COFs require movement, and some require shooting on the move. The shooter must pay extra attention to the direction of his/her muzzle, and keep his/her finger OUTSIDE the trigger guard. The Safety Officer will keep up with the shooter's movements, and the shooter must be aware of the Safety Officer's presence, and safety.

Helping Out:

There are a couple of simple things that can be done to make an CFDCC match run well. The shooters waiting to shoot a COF are expected to help out to make the stage run smoothly and quickly. The next shooter in line will help the Safety Officer by marking the score sheet of the current shooter. The shooter in line after that will help the Safety Officer by putting tape over the holes made by the current shooter, after the Safety Officer has scored the holes. The next shooter in line after that will pick up empty brass for the current shooter, and will hand the brass to the current shooter after the stage is complete. All empty cases need to be picked up, even if the current shooter does not want the brass. Your participation in helping out is expected and will be greatly appreciated.

Failure To Do Right

Within CFDCC there is a Failure To Do Right, (FTDR), penalty. It is only given in those rare instances where a shooter tries to circumvent the rules or intent of CFDCC. For example, a shooter loading 14 rounds into his/her magazines, instead of the maximum of 10 would get a FTDR. A FTDR is a 20 point or 20 second penalty for that stage.

Procedural

Within CFDCC there is a Procedural Penalty. It is only given in those rare instances where a shooter does not follow the COF description, and no other penalty applies. For example, in a COF where a shooter is required to shoot T1, T2, and T3, then do a Tac-Reload, and finally shoot T4. But, the shooter shoots T1 through T4 without the reload. This would yield an unfair advantage, and no other penalty applies. Thus the above shooter would get a Procedural Penalty, of 5 points or 5 seconds added to the score for that stage.

Do you have any questions?

At the end of the New Shooter's Introduction, the Safety Officer will ask you if you have any questions. Please ask your questions. We are more concerned about safety than we are about going over something again in a different way to make it crystal clear. At the beginning of each COF there is another opportunity to ask questions. Please ask your questions.

 Trooper Class

We are incorporating an idea put forward by M.Highsmith of Florida Defensive Carbine Club called 'Trooper Class'.

If you choose to participate in Trooper class, please notify your R.O. and they will mark the score sheet accordingly. An icon, like that shown above, will be placed next to your name in the results.

You must complete the entire event according to the following rules in order to qualify:

1. The shooter must transport all firearms, ammunition, equipment, and cleaning supplies with them for the duration of the match from the moment they sign in.

2. The amount of ammunition the shooter begins the match with, is all they are allowed to use for the duration of the match. The shooter may have as much ammunition in their pack, vest, or ammunition carriers as he/she wishes

3. Any back up guns the shooter may wish to use should their primary firearm become inoperable during the course of the match must be carried with them for the duration of the match.

4. The equipment must be carried via any man portable means and in a safe manner. No wagons, wheelbarrows, carts, sleds, etc allowed. The shooter must transport all their equipment to the next stage in one trip. If the shooter fails to do this, they will be made to return to the previous stage and walk back again carrying all their equipment in one trip.

5. The shooter does need to carry all this equipment during the course of fire, they may not ground their rucksack and use only the equipment on their person.

6. Trooper class shooters must start with at least one liter of water on their person or in their rucksack. Additional Water will be provided at all stages. The shooter must carry the container of water for the duration of the match. The shooter must carry any beverages other than water themselves.

7. Any food a Trooper Class shooter wishes to eat must be carried on them. This means not even accepting a piece of gum, candy, beef jerky, or other food item from another competitor. Trooper shooters may ground their gear on a stage when going to lunch, if eating on the range.

8. Safety equipment including ear and eye protection may be replaced if it is lost or damaged during the match. It may only be replaced with equipment of the same general type. i.e. sun glasses may only be replaced with sun glasses, not clear glasses.

9. The only assistance allowed to a trooper class shooter during a course of fire, is verbal direction from the Range Officer only.

10. If a trooper forgets something on a stage, they may hike back with their entire loadout to retrieve it so long as this is done within one stage of where the equipment was unintentionally left at

11. Shooter may ground their gear upon reaching a stage for the purpose of pasting targets etc. But must take their pack with them if they leave the staging area for any reason. Shooter must put their pack back on to shoot the stage.