What confuses you in the rules?

[260 Striker]

Jackie, My reasoning for dropping the 6X limit is many/some people who actually hunt with handguns may have scopes larger than 6X and use the higher magnification while hunting. In some respects I wish IHMSA had adopted an "Open" category for long course, short course and 22. If we truly meant to open PH to people who hunted with handguns then we should all ANY hunting handgun that meets Federal laws. Who cares if they have longer barrels or huge scopes. These three categories should allow ANY handgun that does not fit into any of our other categories. I'm sure we all have some handguns at home that don't fit into any current categories and would like to shoot them just for fun. Some shooters do come to local matches and shoot these type of guns for fun and don't really care if they are for IHMSA score. If we just had the three Open categories then anyone can come and shoot their strange concoctions as long as they are safe and don't do target damage. The older I get the more adverse I am to rules that get in the way of having fun. IHMSA is not a life and death situation so if someone wants to shoot a weird handgun then let them do it. Calling these categories Practical Hunter then telling a hunter he may not use his handgun since it does not fit our rules just doesn't sit right with me. Besides, I don't know of many ranges that have lots of PH entries with close entries. This sport is all about having fun and bragging rights at least till the next match where I usually get beat again. I haven't shot PH yet but would like too. Other than my irritation about the 6X limitation I really get burned where ported guns can be used in PH but not Production or Revolver. That to me is telling the P and R shooter you don't know how to be safe with a ported gun but a PH shooter is considered safe. Double standards are what is confusing our sport. I have several ported Taurus revolvers I would like to try in R and P but now can only use them in PH. I guess I am a lot smarted when I go to shoot PH than when I shoot P or R. Sorry to rant.

[JACKIE40X40]

Jackie, My reasoning for dropping the 6X limit is many/some people who actually hunt with handguns may have scopes larger than 6X and use the higher magnification while hunting. In some respects I wish IHMSA had adopted an "Open" category for long course, short course and 22. If we truly meant to open PH to people who hunted with handguns then we should all ANY hunting handgun that meets Federal laws. Who cares if they have longer barrels or huge scopes. These three categories should allow ANY handgun that does not fit into any of our other categories. I'm sure we all have some handguns at home that don't fit into any current categories and would like to shoot them just for fun. Some shooters do come to local matches and shoot these type of guns for fun and don't really care if they are for IHMSA score. If we just had the three Open categories then anyone can come and shoot their strange concoctions as long as they are safe and don't do target damage. The older I get the more adverse I am to rules that get in the way of having fun. IHMSA is not a life and death situation so if someone wants to shoot a weird handgun then let them do it. Calling these categories Practical Hunter then telling a hunter he may not use his handgun since it does not fit our rules just doesn't sit right with me. Besides, I don't know of many ranges that have lots of PH entries with close entries. This sport is all about having fun and bragging rights at least till the next match where I usually get beat again. I haven't shot PH yet but would like too. Other than my irritation about the 6X limitation I really get burned where ported guns can be used in PH but not Production or Revolver. That to me is telling the P and R shooter you don't know how to be safe with a ported gun but a PH shooter is considered safe. Double standards are what is confusing our sport. I have several ported Taurus revolvers I would like to try in R and P but now can only use them in PH. I guess I am a lot smarted when I go to shoot PH than when I shoot P or R. Sorry to rant.
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At OKCGC! PH is one of our most popular,we are seeing a big increase on entries.JIM fields & I & several other are having fun with PH Short,using our 22LR,if you hit them in the head area,they will go,although I did ring a turkey last match.

[contender1121]

Whether by plan or by accident, PH rules are very vague. Is that good or not so good?
My take on the way things are right now:
1. Someone define for me a "hunting style handgun". I'd say that would normally take you straight to a TC (right Jackie ). How many hunt with a 1911?
2. There are three definitive restrictions in the PH category as a whole: short course is restricted to Field Pistol cartridges, scopes are limited to 6 power and max length is 21 inches.
3. If PH is indeed lumped with UAS, why have it all? Right now one can take a fully tricked-out UAS .22 or BB with a 6 to "whatever" variable power scope and shoot it in PH .22 or Long Course by merely cranking the power down to 6 (of course providing it conforms to the 21" rule). I doubt that situation was a consideration in the original creation of PH. How many of you out there hunt with your UAS BB guns? How many hunt with your UAS Anschutz guns? For those of you that hunt with a scoped pistol what is the power of your scope? I would guess that the majority will be long-eye-relief with low-power and perhaps with a bipod. I'm not a game hunter so take the latter statement for what it is worth.
4. If my low-power/long-eye-relief assumption is correct then leave the max of 6 power rule in place. In my opinion that is what makes PH a challenge. If PH is to remain a viable category there must be something to distinguish it from UAS. What else is there besides the 6 power limit? If PH is officially moved to be a sub-class of UAS, then what will separate it besides the 6 power rule?
5. What is the definition of a "Field Pistol"? To me that brings to mind the definition of a "hunting style handgun". Perhaps Field Pistol and PH could be melded together somehow.

My nickels worth.

[260 Striker]

While here in OH and east of the Mississippi we make think of hunting handguns suitable for deer or feral hogs but out west for prairie dogs the unlimited guns with huge scopes are probably popular. When PH was talked about and then tried I'm sure each one of us had an idea of what our own hunting gun would look like and whether scoped or not. Trouble is when PH is shot across the whole country and even our foreign members, I'm sure they have some hunting guns we might not even have considered. I come full circle when I say we should not limit scopes to 6X. If a prairie dog shooter is using a larger scope and wants to try PH then let him/her shoot his/her normal (for them) hunting gun. To me we have to think out of our own little part of the world to allow other shooters to use their hunting guns.

[high standard 40]

The reality is any IHMSA handgun can be used for hunting depending on what animal you are hunting and depending on the regulations in your state. I've hunted with revolvers, semi autos, TCs, and XPs, rim fire and centerfire, iron sights and scopes. Who decides what a hunting handgun is? I'll also go on the record as being in favor of dropping the 6X limit. At the end of the day, PHLC and PH22 are so much like UAS they seem redundant. PHSC is the only real niche that needed filling. If someone wants to have more chances to fire an entry, it has always been there. It's called re-entry. You can use a different gun to do so if you want to.

Just food for thought

[contender1121]

If a prairie dog hunter wants to shoot his pistola with a big scope then put him in UAS BB, not PH Long Course (with more than 6X). What's the difference?
I'm saying that if you are going to have PH in the first place, something must distinguish it from UAS. Otherwise what is the point, PH and UAS would be redundant?
Perhaps a weight limit on PH is needed. That would slow the proliferation of UAS guns into PH.

[260 Striker]

I think I must be way out in left field when it comes to PH. I thought these new categories would allow IHMSA shooters who shoot the regular categories to bring along their hunting handgun and have a category for that. I didn't think the shooter would give up using his current UAS gun for his hunting gun. I thought this was going to be a "shoot what you brung" gun and really just be more of a fun category. Guess I was wrong.

[contender1121]

I think I must be way out in left field when it comes to PH. I thought these new categories would allow IHMSA shooters who shoot the regular categories to bring along their hunting handgun and have a category for that. I didn't think the shooter would give up using his current UAS gun for his hunting gun. I thought this was going to be a "shoot what you brung" gun and really just be more of a fun category. Guess I was wrong.

Lynn,
I would surmise that what you state is correct. But, I believe the original concept was not well enough defined and thought thru and the water got muddied.
Now's the time to fix it somehow.