The NRA National Defense Match: When Will We Get Official Rules?

Not all of us live near a range that offers tactical shooting. I bounced around two ranges before I settled, by chance, near awesome range with a variety of programs. If you don’t have any tactical shooting at your club, having a tactical match that is directly associated with the NRA might give you some resources to convince club leaders that this is both safe and practical. Here is a brochure to give you some idea of the rule-set and course of fire. While this might be old news to some, I think it is very important to keep sharing the match to people who may not have heard about it before. I think the NRA NDM matches are very important for getting tactical shooting accepted at the club level.

Some notes:

• The NDM match allows you to shoot what you have. There are a few different classes, but as long as you have a functional rifle you can shoot these courses with minimal equipment and still stay competitive.
• The rules state that your rifle must be on your person at all times. Chamber flagged when not on the firing line. I like this rule.
• The NDM program is still in its infancy. While the course of fire doesn’t seem as “dynamic” as three gun… it is also more friendly to clubs who aren’t quite ready to adopt a full run and gun course of fire. Some clubs and their leadership are not used to that type of shooting at all. It is imperative to introduce tactical shooting into the club at a pace that can be handled by the club leaders.

I really like the idea behind the NDM matches. They are a basic tactical rifle match that allow people to shoot their AR15 outside the target range. It is also basic enough to allow new shooters to pick up the sport without feeling like they need to dump thousands of dollars into more gear. It is important that the NDM matches stay at a basic level. The moment NDM matches turn into three gun events then not only do we close a door on widespread club acceptance, but it also discourages budget minded or new shooters from competing.

Not everyone starts out with a chest rig and thirty magazines… but starting into a sport such as the NDM will speedily encourage the shooter to think about his or her AR15 in a more serious manner. Furthermore the smaller club requirements for hosting such matches only help getting such a program started up at your local club. As it is, we are currently waiting for the NRA to start putting out resources for the NDM matches so local clubs can have the official rules and regulations. I hope to have some correspondence with the NRA about this sport and any updates they may have for us. I will post it when I get it.

I hope the NRA gets this off the ground very soon!