Northern Defensive Pistol Club hosts inaugural league shooting day

The Northern Defensive Pistol Club (NDPC) hosted its inaugural league shoot at the Polokwane shooting range last Saturday and just under 40 entrants registered to take part.
Faheem Khan, Spokesperson of the NDPC explains that the club is a South African Defensive Pistol Association (SADPA) accredited club which is, in turn, overseen by IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) in America. “The simplified principle of the sport is the use of various firearms in defensive scenarios. The sport of IDPA does not allow modified firearms which means that almost any person who owns an unmodified firearm may become a member and participate in the sport. It also does not require specialised equipment and large amounts of ammunition for matches like some other shooting sports may require. This makes the sport very accessible to a wide range of firearm owners,” Khan says.
According to Khan, preparation for the league began three months prior to the event where the “courses of fire” were worked out. A course of fire is the scenario in which the shooter shoots a specified minimum number of shots at humanoid targets while ensuring that they do not shoot any “non-threat” targets or hostages. These scenarios are based on situations that may be faced in everyday life where one may be forced to defend oneself. “So the courses of fire may range from engaging threats from a motor vehicle, from sitting in a bathtub to where a person may be at an ATM withdrawing money; the possibilities are almost endless and are only limited by imagination,” Khan told Polokwane Observer.
Competitors were challenged with scenarios ranging from having to shoot from a “vehicle” to engaging threats and while tying their shoe laces during a walk in the park. There was even a stage where the shooters had to carry a “baby” and then defend themselves against attackers. All skill levels were tested by the exciting scenarios which saw even master shooters make simple mistakes after losing focus and concentration.
Entrants came from as far as Hoedspruit, Modimolle, Vaalwater and Mokopane, although the bulk of the entries were from the Polokwane area.
The day was finished off with an awards ceremony and prize giving ceremony where medals and certificates were handed over.
The Overall League Winner was Wayne Coetsee. In the Enhanced Service Pistol Competition for sharpshooters Victor Bekker came first with Henriette Erasmus second. Toffie Potgieter won the marksman section and Burger Heyneke ended second, while Lourens Erasmus came first in the novice section, followed by Kobus Klopper and Henk Stander.
In the Stock Service Pistol Competition, Li Lotriet (master), Wayne Coetsee (sharp shooter), Benny Khan (marksman) and Shamoon Chaya (novice) were the winners. In the Custom Defence Pistol Competition Kobus Loubser and Janco Erasmus came first in the expert and novice sections respectively. In the Stock Service Revolver Competition, Sharp Shooter Gerrit-Jan Bakker was the winner.
The lady with best score for the match was Henriette Erasmus while Marze Bekker was the junior with the best score. The senior with the best score for the match was Rafik Khan and Li Lotriet was the most accurate shooter.

Story and photo: BARRY VILJOEN
>>barryv.observer@gmail.com

Featured photo: Taking part in the NDPC inaugural league shoot are Mouseen Patel, in the “car”, Ebrahim Khan, Henriette Erasmus and Wayne Coetsee are in the first row with Casper Erasmus, Faheem Khan, Ahmed Khan and Rafik Khan at the back.