IMA-SMM3G Rules

Page 2 of 6 2.4.5 A shot which occurs while transferring a firearm between hands. 2.4.6 A shot which occurs during movement, except while actually engaging targets. 2.5 A participant who performs an act of unsafe gun handling will be stopped by an Event Official as soon as possible, and shall be disqualified. Examples of unsafe gun handling include: 2.5.1 Dropping a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, at any time after the “Make Ready” command and before the “Range Is Clear” command. 2.5.1.1 Dropping an unloaded firearm before the “Make Ready” command or after the “Range Is Clear” command will not result in disqualification, provided the firearm is retrieved by an Event Official. 2.5.2 Possession of any unsafe ammunition as defined in Section 3. 2.5.3 Unsafe abandonment of any firearm. Firearms may only be abandoned as stipulated in the stage briefing and in one of the following safe conditions: 2.5.3.1 Loaded, all safeties fully engaged, muzzle pointed in the designated safe direction (i.e. pointing down into the receptacle). 2.5.3.2 Completely unloaded (no live ammunition anywhere inside the firearm), detachable magazine removed, muzzle pointed in the designated safe direction (i.e. pointing down into the receptacle). 2.5.4 Unloading any firearm in an unsafe manner, or discharging a firearm while not legitimately engaging a target. 2.5.5 Allowing the muzzle of a firearm to break the 180 degree safety plane. 2.5.5.1 In the case of a participant facing downrange, the muzzle of a loaded handgun may point slightly uprange while drawing or re- holstering, so long as it does not point outside an imaginary circle of three (3) feet radius from the participant’s feet. 2.5.6 Engaging a steel target in an unsafe manner, such as by: 2.5.6.1 Engaging a steel target with handgun ammunition at a range of less than 23 feet. 2.5.6.2 Engaging a steel target with shotgun birdshot ammunition at a range of less than 16 feet. 2.5.6.3 Engaging a steel target with shotgun buckshot ammunition at a range of less than 23 feet. 2.5.6.4 Engaging a steel target with shotgun slug ammunition at a range of less than 131 feet. 2.5.6.5 Engaging a steel target with rifle ammunition at a range of less than 164 feet. 2.5.7 Allowing the muzzle of a firearm to point at any part of the participant’s body during a course of fire (i.e. sweeping). 2.5.7.1 Exception - sweeping of the lower extremities (below the belt) while drawing or re-holstering a handgun, provided that the participant’s fingers are clearly outside the trigger guard. 2.5.8 Using a tube-type shotgun speed-loading device without a primer relief cut. 2.5.9 Pointing a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, in any direction deemed by Event Officials to be unsafe. 3 Ammunition 3.1 Handgun ammunition shall be 9mm Parabellum (9x19mmNATO) or larger, unless otherwise stipulated under equipment division rules. 3.2 Rifle ammunition shall be .223 Remington (5.56x45mmNATO) or larger, unless otherwise stipulated under equipment division rules. 3.3 Shotgun ammunition shall be 20 gauge or larger, unless otherwise stipulated under equipment division rules. 3.3.1 Birdshot must be no larger than #6 birdshot, and be made from lead or bismuth only. Iron/steel/tungsten birdshot is unsafe and prohibited. 3.4 Ammunition containing tracer, incendiary, armor piercing, steel jacketed or steel/tungsten/penetrator core projectiles is unsafe and prohibited. 3.5 A chronograph may be used by Event Officials to verify compliance with Heavy Metal division power factor requirements. Participants may be selected for testing on any basis approved by the Match Director. The chronograph procedure is as follows: 3.5.1 An Event Official will collect five (5) rifle rounds and five (5) handgun rounds from the participant. 3.5.2 One (1) of the rifle bullets and one (1) of the handgun bullets will be pulled and weighed to determine actual bullet weight. 3.5.3 Up to four (4) of the rifle rounds and up to four (4) of the handgun rounds will be fired by an Event Official over the official chronograph. 3.5.4 Power factor will be calculated according to the equation: PF = Bullet Weight (grains) x Velocity (fps) / 1000. 3.5.5 At least one (1) of the rifle rounds and at least one (1) of the handgun rounds must make the required power factor. 4 Firearms 4.1 All firearms used by participants must be serviceable and safe. Event Officials may inspect a participant’s firearms at any time to check they are functioning safely. If any firearm is declared unserviceable or unsafe by an Event Official, it must be withdrawn from the event until it is repaired to the satisfaction of the Range Master. 4.2 Firearms capable of fully automatic- or burst-fire (“machine guns”) may be used only in semi-auto mode (i.e. not more than one (1) round fired with each pull of the trigger). Violation of this rule will incur a 30 second time penalty per occurrence. 4.3 Participants must use the same firearms (handgun, rifle and shotgun) for the entire event. 4.3.1 If a participant's firearm becomes unserviceable, that participant may replace their firearm with another of a substantially similar model, caliber and sighting system only with the approval of the Range Master. 4.4 Participants generally may not reconfigure any firearm during the course of the event. Explicitly prohibited acts include changing caliber, barrel length, shotgun magazine tube length, sighting systems and/or stock style. Explicitly permitted acts include installing or removing support devices (e.g. bipods), slings and other minor accessories (e.g. scope covers). 4.4.1 If a participant's firearm becomes unserviceable, that participant may repair their firearm with directly equivalent replacement parts. If replacement parts result in a significant change to the firearm configuration, then the repair must be approved by the Range Master. 4.5 Unless otherwise stipulated in the stage briefing, the participant’s equipment will start the stage in the following conditions: 4.5.1 Handgun loaded to division start capacity and holstered as follows: 4.5.1.1 Single-action auto must have a manual safety catch set to the “safe” position. 4.5.1.2 Double-action auto must be decocked. 1

IMA-SMM3G Rules

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