I’m sure most if not all have by now heard the S.O. yelling “cover” at you. As our State Coordinator Lance Biddle says “You learn IDPA 3 seconds at a time” which is how much procedural penalties cost us.This tip should give you a very good understanding of what the S.O.’s are looking at, what their looking for, and why that cover penalty gets applied.
Below are the basic rules right out of the IDPA Rule Book. I have attached a pdf document “The Art of Calling Cover” that is an excellent very short article on what the S.O. sees as a shooter is or is not using proper cover.
The guy in the first segment of the video does a pretty good job of showing you what good cover looks like, positioning your body to “slice the pie” as well as shooting through window ports. He also covers some of the reasons why you should never hug your cover close.
IDPA Rules for cover
3.5.2. For vertical cover, at least 50% of the shooter’s torso, as well as 100% of the shooters legs and feet must be behind cover. Low cover is the same as vertical cover and requires at least one knee touch the ground. For a combination of low and vertical cover, e.g. a barrel, the shooter’s legs and feet must be behind cover and at least 50% of the shooter’s torso must be behind cover; however, simultaneous exposure of the shooter’s torso above and around the cover is permitted.
3.5.3. At no time should a shooter stand directly in a window or port to engage targets. Shooters must slice the pie around the edge of the window or port. The opposite sides of a single window or port shall be considered separate positions of cover.
