What is Bianchi Cup?
The event originated in 1979, by former police officer John Bianchi of holster maker Bianchi International, as a Law Enforcement Training Match. In conjuction with the help of 1975 IPSC world Champion, Ray Chapman, he got exactly what he wanted.
In 1984, the National Rifle Association re-designated the event the National Action Pistol Championship.
The competition is now comprised of four stages, which make up the match aggregate. Each of these stages consist of 48 rounds for the total possible score of 480 for each stage and 1920 for a perfect overall score.
The four shooting events are:
- The Practice Event: From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at distances from 10 yards to 50 yards under varying time limits.
- The Barricade Event: From within shooting boxes and behind barricades, a shooter fires at targets of either side of the barricade at different distances and under varying time limits.
- The Falling Plate Event: From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at 48 eight-inch round, steel plates arranged in banks of six at distances from 10 to 25 yards under varying time limits.
- The Moving Target Event: From within Shooting boxes at distances ranging from 10 to 25 yards, the shooter fires at a target moving from left to right and from right to left with the target being exposed for only 6 seconds.
Competitors shoot all these events from both standing and prone positions and are also required to shoot with both strong and weak hands at various stages. On top of these events, the championship also features many side events that do not impact the match aggregate score. The competitors use handguns. The most popular caliber choices are 9mm, .38 Spl., .38 Super, and .45 ACP. These pitols are drawn out of holsters when the signal to fire is given each stage.
The first competitor to fire a perfect score was Dough Koenig of Pennsylvania in 1990 with a 1920×157x.
This event draws shooters from all over the world. International competitors hailed from Austria, Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Philippines, Republic of South Africa, Switzerland, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
“Action Pistol has become one of the NRA’s crown jewels, and is renowned as one of the world’s most spectacular shooting events.” Hundreds of competitors from different countries will vie for the title of the NRA Bianchi Cup National Action Pistol Champion.
The first NRA World Action Pistol Championship Match was held in the United States at the present home of the NRA Bianchi Cup in Columbia, MO. 1994 was the first year, there were five countries competing for the Open Team event and three countries competing for the Women’s Team event. The NRA World Action Pistol Championships are to be rotated to sponsor countries every two years (2006,2008,2010) and returning to the United States every eight years (2012). We are looking forward to having a great 28th Anniversary Match.