Shooting sports
Action Pistol is the discipline. The Bianchi Cup is a major match in that sport with a classic four-event programme. The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) runs the Bianchi Cup in the United States. The organisations and their events are not the same thing.
NRA Action Pistol, CMP Bianchi Cup and BDMP
The National Rifle Association of America ran Action Pistol as a competitive discipline for decades. The sporting name NRA Action Pistol comes from that period. Internationally I compete in this programme for Germany. The 2025 world championship in New Zealand was an NRA Action Pistol World Championship, not a CMP world championship.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program hosts the Bianchi Cup in the United States and publishes the current Action Pistol rules. The Bianchi Cup is the best-known match of the classic four-event programme. NRA and CMP and their events are not the same thing.
The Bund der Militär- und Polizeischützen e.V. runs Bianchi Cup in Germany. I compete under that sporting affiliation and represent Germany internationally. In the 2025 World Championship Production team event the result is recorded as Team BDMP Germany.
Rulebook: CMP Bianchi Cup (opens in a new tab) CMP Action Pistol Rules 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Action Pistol combines high accuracy with tight times, position changes, a moving target and falling plates. It is not an IPSC course and not rest shooting. The stages are known; the shooting still has to hold under pressure.
The Bianchi Cup name comes from the match founded in 1979 by John Bianchi and Ray Chapman in the United States. For a long time it was the NRA National Action Pistol Championship. Today the CMP runs the Bianchi Cup in the United States. Internationally the name NRA Action Pistol remains common. The 2025 World Championship in New Zealand was an NRA Action Pistol World Championship, not a CMP world championship.
In Germany the BDMP runs Bianchi Cup as a discipline. I mainly shoot Production and Production Optics with 9mm Luger. Starts in Metallic and Rimfire are documented in the results.
Classic programme
The classic Bianchi Cup programme has four events of 48 shots each, 192 shots in all and a maximum of 1,920 points. That applies to this programme, not to every Action Pistol match.
Scoring uses the AP-1 target. A hit in the ten-ring scores ten, an X hit also counts as an X. Falling plates score only if they fall: 10 points and 1 X per plate. The classic programme has a maximum of 1,920 points and 192 X.
Course of fire according to the CMP Action Pistol Competition Rules 2026, tables 2 to 5. National matches may use metres instead of yards. This is not an IPSC course.
Two AP-1 targets. Start with the pistol holstered and both hands at shoulder height. After the two-shot string the pistol is holstered again. The six-shot string at 10 yards is weak-hand only. At 15, 25 and 50 yards standing or prone is allowed.
| Distance | Shots | Time | Course of fire |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 yd | 2 / 4 / 6 | 3 / 4 / 8 s | standing; 6 shots weak hand |
| 15 yd | 2 / 4 / 6 | 4 / 5 / 6 s | standing or prone |
| 25 yd | 2 / 4 / 6 | 5 / 6 / 7 s | standing or prone |
| 50 yd | 2 / 4 / 6 | 7 / 10 / 15 s | standing or prone |
At each distance, six shots from one side of the barricade, then six from the other. In Production and Production Optics the pistol may not rest on the barricade. Start with both hands on the barricade.
| Distance | Shots | Time | Course of fire |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 yd | 6 + 6 | 5 s per string | one side of the barricade each |
| 15 yd | 6 + 6 | 6 s per string | one side of the barricade each |
| 25 yd | 6 + 6 | 7 s per string | one side of the barricade each |
| 35 yd | 6 + 6 | 8 s per string | one side of the barricade each |
Six 8-inch round steel plates per string. Only plates that fall score. Start with hands at shoulder height. Two strings per distance.
| Distance | Shots | Time | Course of fire |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 yd | 6 + 6 | 6 s per string | standing, one plate per shot |
| 15 yd | 6 + 6 | 7 s per string | standing, one plate per shot |
| 20 yd | 6 + 6 | 8 s per string | standing or prone |
| 25 yd | 6 + 6 | 9 s per string | standing or prone |
An AP-1 target runs 60 feet in 6 seconds across an opening. There is no audible start; firing begins when the target appears. The whole event has 7½ minutes from “Load and make ready”.
| Distance | Shots | Time | Course of fire |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 yd | 6 + 6 | 6 s per run | right-left, then left-right; standing |
| 15 yd | 6 + 6 | 6 s per run | right-left, then left-right; standing |
| 20 yd | 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 | 6 s per run | four runs of 3 shots; standing |
| 25 yd | 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 | 6 s per run | four runs of 3 shots; standing |
Production uses open sights on a production-type pistol that meets the Production rules.
Production Optics allows a legal optical sight. On semi-automatic pistols the optic sits on the slide under the rules.
In my main events I shoot 9 mm Luger. What counts is a legal firearm, accurate ammunition and a process that holds under time.
