About New England Regional IDPA

We are a friendly, all-volunteer, local group of action shooting sports enthusiasts. We organize and run regular pistol action shooting sporting events, mostly focusing on a discipline called IDPA. The International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) is America’s fastest-growing practical shooting discipline. Our regular matches are held at Harvard Sportsmen’s Club, located in Harvard, Massachusetts. Take a look at our upcoming events and practices.

Since its inception in 1996, IDPA has risen to fill the self-defense niche on today’s shooting-sports menu. The organization now numbers tens of thousands in over three dozen foreign countries. We have been formally affiliated with IDPA since 2007.

So what exactly is IDPA? To quote directly from the rule book: “Defensive Pistol shooting as a sport is quite simply the use of practical equipment, including full-charge service ammunition, to solve simulated ‘real world’ self-defense scenarios.”

Shooting an IDPA match is a little like a round of golf. You show up with your equipment (clubs and balls or guns and ammo), which you use to negotiate a course. The lowest score (strokes in golf and seconds in IDPA) wins. To finish the analogy, it is important to note that a round of golf is different from a golf lesson, just as an IDPA match is different from firearms instruction. Shooting IDPA events is an opportunity to practice your gun-handling skills in a competitive yet friendly environment.