Raceguns ?

A racegun is a type of handgun, shotgun, or rifle that has been modified for accuracy, speed, and reliability. Used primarily in NRA Action Pistol (The Bianchi Cup), USPSA/IPSC and similar styles of competition, raceguns are typically based on common guns and modified to function the best within a certain set of rules, such as weight, size, and capacity requirements.

Typical modifications include a match-grade barrel fitted with a recoil compensator, electronic optical sights, match-grade hammer and sear, a tuned trigger, and "skeletonizing" (cutouts to reduce weight.) In addition to the modifications aforementioned, a typical open class semi-automatic racegun specifically tailored for The Bianchi Cup open division has a "barricade shroud" that completely encircles the slide with "wings" attached to opposing sides, a "moving target scope mount" with a pivoting base adjustable for predetermined lead depending on the bullet's velocity and speed and direction of the moving target, and a form of grip extension that elevates the gun for better line of sight while shooting in the prone position.

Another innovative invention is Mag Well. Mag Well helps shooters with magazine changes and it does one other important thing, it helps put shooters hand in the right shooting grip each and every time they pick up the pistol.

Depending upon the competition requirement, some raceguns are modified with reduced-weight recoil springs to allow the use of lightly loaded ammunition that is just barely powerful enough to cycle the gun's mechanism, in order to reduce recoil and permit a faster rate of fire.

The Steel Challenge speed shooting championship is such an event, where in its early days a 120 power factor hit was required to activate the stop plate to stop the clock is now no longer necessary so that competitors can go faster than ever before. To prevent this, certain competitions such as IPSC and USPSA require ammunition to meet specific power factors.

Some organizing bodies in practical shooting, most notably IDPA and the production division of The Bianchi Cup, ban most or all of the modifications that distinguish raceguns from stock firearms, as they feel that such extensive modifications have turned the sport into a technology race rather than a true contest of skill, and thus are no longer "practical," i.e., applicable to real-life self-defense shooting situations.

In the case of the Bianchi Cup/NRA Action Pistol, this was also done to increase participation at the grassroots level in order to reduce the equipment cost associated with competing in the open division, which can run upwards of $3500 USD or more on a Bianchi racegun as compared to a $400 to $1000 stock gun. Many believe this new division, plus the newly implemented $100,000 cash prize award to the first production class shooter to break 1900 at the national championship, will hopefully increase participation that has seen its decline for the last 2 decades or so.

It is the opinion of the experienced individuals involved in the sport that perfect scores of 1920 accompanied with nearly perfect x-counts of the top 1 ~ 2% which were mostly sponsored professional competition shooters and very dedicated Bianchi Cup "specialists" shooting their tricked out open guns have intimidated many top shooters from other disciplines and average Joes and Janes alike to give this match a try, citing the difficulties of obtaining such high standards even with these specialized raceguns.

source From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

IPSC Handgun Open Class Raceguns