Two of the largest pistol manufacturers in the country, Sig Sauer and Glock, have local matches that shooters can participate in, no matter their skill level. Glock Shooting Sports Foundation has given us their indoor/outdoor matches for a while now, and it has grown to hundreds of matches held all over the country. Recently Sig Sauer announced that they will start a new type of match called Shoot Sig. Reading about Shoot Sig, both GSSF and the new Sig matches seemed pretty similar. Find a breakdown below of each and the participation options that fit your needs.

Glock Shooting Sports Foundation (GSSF)

GSSF is more than just a type of match, it is an organization that involves a pistol purchasing program, outdoor/indoor matches, and a Glock armorer onsite at those matches. It is a welcoming organization that allows shooters of all levels to compete within their chosen class. GSSF has gotten huge and Glock holds matches across the United States. At GSSF matches, shooters must use a Glock pistol to shoot the match.

Registering

You must be a member of GSSF to shoot, and the membership comes with a couple of incentives. Membership provides eligibility for purchasing firearms through Glock’s partnership with the Civilian Marksmanship Program or CMP. This partnership also makes Glocks potentially available at lower prices through the Discount Pistol Purchase Program. Finally, GSSF membership allows attending Glock’s armorer classes and training.

You can register and pay for multiple competition divisions on the same day. For instance, if you have two guns that you want to shoot, but they fall into two different divisions, you can pay for two divisions and shoot twice. You can also do this with divisions such as Glock Girls or LE/MIL. If you want to be in the running to win a subcompact division but also want to compete in LE/MIL category, that will be two payments and two times shooting through the match.

GSSF matches are quickly taking over. No matter your state, a GSSF match option is likely close to you. Only three bays are required to shoot the match and it takes half a day on Saturdays and Sundays. Don’t be afraid to contact your local range to try and have them host a GSSF match. (Photo: GSSF)

Match Flow

On match weekend, shooters have the option to shoot on either Saturday or Sunday. Registration will begin at 9 am and close at 2 pm. Three stages can go by quickly, especially if there isn’t a wait. You won’t be spending all day at the range. You simply walk up to one of the three stages with your registration information and scorecard and start shooting. Sometimes the stages are so close to each other that it is easiest to find which stage has the shortest line and go from there.

Stages

GSSF matches consist of the same three stages for every match: GLOCK’M, Five to GLOCK, and GLOCK the Plates. These stages involve paper and poppers and are shared online, so studying can happen before you get to the range. The shooter will complete each stage three times. This means you will shoot the stage, grab another magazine, shoot the stage again, grab one more magazine, and shoot the stage a third time. Time provides the basis for these scores, and scoring of the paper targets will go to your overall score of the three stages. This score within your specific division and class decides the winner.

Stages involve zero movement to keep things safe and comfortable for new shooters. You will have your gun on a table in front of you and will start at the low ready at the beginning of each stage. Participants must shoot from behind that table.

Gear Needed

Competitions require a minimum of 80 rounds, but Glock and Sig recommend 100 rounds just in case you need to reshoot a stage. Bring your normal pistol shooting gear such as eye pro, ear pro, and at least three magazines so you don’t have to load magazines during your three-stage shoots.

Divisions and Classes

Classes depend on the type of Glock shot in the three stages. There are also options for shooting within divisions such as Glock girls for females and LE/MIL for shooters currently servicing in Law Enforcement or Military roles. See this chart for what division your Glock fits into. Photo: GSSF

Armorer Onsite

Something that makes GSSF different than other matches and organizations is that they put a Glock armorer onsite at every match. This armorer will look over your gun and often replace worn parts such as a recoil spring or extractor for free. This in itself is almost worth the year-long membership fee due to being able to keep your gun up and running with the help of a professional at any match attended.

Prizes

Glock gives away multiple firearms to the winners of each division. It is dependent on turnout, but there will usually be at least two Glocks given away in a match. Glock mails these after the match. I’ve personally had friends win a division and get a Glock in the mail soon after giving GSSF their information. It is a really giving organization.

For more information on matches click here. To register for GSSF click here.

Shoot SIG

Sig Sauer released Shoot SIG about a month ago, so it is still VERY new. I have not attended a match yet, and there are still some unknowns.

A membership is needed to register for matches and for your score to count toward the overall leaderboard. Shooters can bring their firearms to compete with, however, there will be Sig Firearms available to shoot on the stages. This is a pretty good marketing technique. Just like GSSF Matches, there will be three standardized stages, X-Series, V-Crown, and DH3. These stages have both steel and paper targets. Also just like GSSF, shooters will stand behind a table to engage the targets, starting with the gun at low ready. The stages can be seen here.

In the welcome video, SIig stated that, “it takes an hour to shoot three stages and 100 rounds of ammo.” There will also be prizes awarded at each match, although how many and for whom I am uncertain.

Lena Miculek is shooting Stage#2 V-Crown. This stage score will be based on the time to complete it and the accuracy of your impacts on the target. (Photo: SHOOT SIG)

Membership Benefits

-Register for SHOOT SIG matches across the country
-Access to the SHOOT SIG Program shooter ranking and leaderboard
-Participation in the SHOOT SIG Product Purchase Program for exclusive member pricing
-Access to purchase SHOOT SIG Gun of the Year
-Partner discounts
-15% Webstore cart discount after completing a match (must complete match before eligible)
-Exclusive SHOOT SIG Member events and online seminars
-Quarterly SHOOT SIG Newsletter with exclusive training tips and drills
-Entry to quarterly raffle for SHOOT SIG product pack
-Entry to SHOOT SIG Member-Only aspirational raffle

Click Here to Register for a Shoot SIG Membership.

Matches

So far there are only three Shoot SIG matches on the Calendar. You can register for these on Practiscore.com
-Date: March 11/12:
Location: Volusia County Gun + Hunt Club (SSA Outpost – New Smyrna Beach, FL
-Date: June 2/3
Location: SIG SAUER Academy, Epping, NH
-Date: July: 21/22
Location: SIG SAUER Academy, Epping, NH

Check back, new matches across the country are being added weekly!

One very different thing that Sig is doing for Shoot SIG matches is that they released a custom Shoot SIG Gun.

SigSauer made a custom gun just for members of Shoot SIG to purchase. This is a custom P320 DH3 and comes with everything shown here. (Photo: SHOOT SIG)

Membership provides eligibility for the purchase of the customized SHOOT SIG Gun of the Year. 2023 is the inaugural SHOOT SIG gun and is a P320-DH3 with a ROMEO1Pro Optic. The SHOOT SIG Founder and Team SIG Professional Shooter Daniel Horner designed this year’s gun. The gun comes emblazoned with the SHOOT SIG logo.

For more information on SHOOT SIG click here.