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The 4 rules of gun safety
The 1st Law of Gun Safety - The Gun Is Always Loaded!
The 2nd Law of Gun Safety - Never Point A Gun At Something You're Not Prepared To Destroy!
The 3rd Law of Gun Safety - Always Be Sure Of Your Target And What Is Behind It! The 4th Law of Gun Safety - Keep Your Finger Off The Trigger Until Your Sights Are On The Target! |
Return to Tactical Journal Table of Contents |
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One of the challenges of putting on fun, realistic matches is
putting up the walls we need to simulate the multitude of hallways and rooms we
dream up in our scenarios. We have lined up several Bianchi barricades to make
walls. We’ve made frames with support legs and even used hinges and hasps to try
and make good reliable walls. At our first State IDPA match, we had all of the
walls blow down the night before the match(!). Besides the wind, using
barricades or
walls with "feet" makes maneuvering through the course of fire
more difficult and increases the chance of someone tripping. A solution we came
up with at our club was to make walls out of full 4x8 sheets of building
material using fence "T" posts for support.
We were
fortunate to have a construction company donate unwanted sheet material they had
used for signs and temporary walls at construction sites. Starting with a full
4x8 sheet we added an 8’ 2x2 to both of the four foot sides. The 4 feet that
extend off the plywood will become the legs. We then completed a box frame
around the plywood by adding top and bottom 2x2s to the 8’ side.
We drilled
through the 2x2 legs at about 5’ height to allow for attachment points. We
painted the completed panels to provide some weatherproofing and then stenciled
"do not shoot" so non-IDPA folks would know they weren’t target stands!
ve fence "T" posts into the ground at the
desired location then wire tie the wall to the post using the holes we drilled
in the leg. With a number of these panels, the COF designer can make some pretty
interesting room configurations. When erected, the wall stands 8’ high and
extends to 4’ above the ground. This prevents even the tallest shooter from
seeing over the wall and still allows the SO a final check under the wall to be
sure the COF is clear for the next shooter.
By making some 4’x4’ versions of the walls you can really add to
the variety of rooms you can configure. Also the 4 foot walls can be inverted
between two 8’ walls to simulate a window. Add a top cross piece and some
curtains and your stage will really be set. When the match is done, untie the
walls, pull the fence posts and dream up more stages with your new wall system
for next time.
