The Top 4 Divisions You Should Consider Competing in as a New USPSA Competitor
By: Austin Chamberlain
In this article, we are going to cover the four divisions that you should hop into as a new USPSA competitor and why. USPSA has nine equipment divisions for competitors to compete in: Open; Limited; Limited 10; Production; Revolver; Single Stack; Carry Optics; PCC; Limited Optics. This allows for different people to compete with equipment that they feel comfortable with and that compliments their shooting style. Some of these divisions allow for shooters to push the boundaries of speed, whereas other divisions are designed to force the shooter to use their creativity to work through a course of fire. We will cover the best four divisions that I believe lend themselves to be beneficial for new shooters.
The criteria for these divisions are based on a few factors: overall equipment cost, division popularity, and firearm maintenance. The overall equipment cost would include the firearm, extra magazines, holsters (kydex), and any aftermarket parts to make your equipment as advantageous as possible. There are a few things that we are assuming are constant amongst all the divisions, such as ammunition costs, a belt, and magazine carriers. Division popularity will be based on participation in that division throughout the league. Firearm maintenance will include how often your particular firearm will need to be cleaned or have parts replaced, and how much it would cost to have spare parts and/or a backup gun. One might ask why we are not including a criterion based on how easy it is to shoot firearms in a particular division; we will not include that because each division competes against itself (i.e. Production shooters do not compete against Open shooters). Therefore, you’re competing against others using the same kind of gear.
So without further ado, let's talk gear!
1. Production
Ah, Production. The OG starter division. This is the division where I got my start shooting a stock Generation 3 Glock 17. This division is a great place to start for USPSA because the entire point of this division is to take a gun, brand-new, straight out-of-the-box, and compete with it. The regulations allow no optics, minimal internal modifications, and a maximum of 15 rounds in each magazine. There is a list of Production-approved firearm models on the USPSA website for reference.I would argue that this is the most simple division because you need a basic stock pistol, a minimum of three magazines, mag pouches, and a holster and simple is a great place to be as a beginner.
Because everything is basic, that means the price is also at a basic level. The barrier for entry price-wise is amongst the lowest of the different USPSA divisions. If I had to guess, I would say that you could get into a solid Production rig (full set of equipment) for less than $600.
Basic equipment also equates simplicity. Simplicity also typically means that you can get away with minimal maintenance for most guns. Some brands to look into would be Glock, Walther, Smith & Wesson, and Canik. Buying that cheap SCCY or Hi-Point would not end up serving you well, so go for something that is mid-level in price to capture reliability for your selected platform. For reference, I carry a Walther PDP Compact that is totally stock and I am doing an experiment to see how long it will go without needing to be cleaned. I am currently over 3000 rounds and over a year and a half of every day carry. I am not recommending NOT maintenancing your firearms, this bit of information is to add credibility to the reliability of these Production-style guns. Proper maintenance is required in order to ensure your firearm will function safely, but ultimately that proper maintenance is up to you. From my research, it appears that the largest demographic of Production shooters are new, which means that they are probably headed to the next division, Carry Optics.
2. Carry Optics
Carry Optics is THE most popular division in USPSA by a significant margin. At the last USPSA Nationals match, 412 of the 532 competitors shot Carry Optics, leaving the remaining 120 competitors to be split up between the remaining four divisions (it was Factory Gun Nationals). The basic description of Carry Optics is Production with a red dot mounted to the slide and extended magazines. This division also operates off of the Approved Production list of firearms.
Add in about $300 for an optic and $100 for extended basepads for your magazines and you have evolved your Production setup into a Carry Optics rig. If you hunt some deals, you can have your Carry Optics rig for sub-$1000.
It is the natural progression for a Production shooter to turn to Carry Optics, and I believe that this is the most practical division out of them all. The cleaning and reliability side of Carry Optics is basically the same as Production. As long as you get a decent piece that has known reliability, you will be fine. As a side-note, if you have never shot a pistol with a red dot, you should definitely try it. It is an update to the handgun platform that has changed the game entirely.
3. Limited Optics
Limited Optics is where I currently reside as a competitor and I believe is the second biggest division by participation, behind Carry optics. It is an upgrade from Carry Optics, and it is almost exclusively 2011’s at this point. It’s based off of the pistols very commonly used in the Limited Division.
Limited Optics is the one division of these four that I would consider a race gun, but on this list because it is now easier than ever to get into a reliable 2011 at a decent price point (about $1500 for the firearm). The equipment also opens up to use race-style holsters (albeit a standard kydex holster does the job just as fine with some practice). I would recommend this to someone who already has a 2011 style pistol that has an optic-ready slide, or to someone who doesn’t mind dropping a little bit more coin to get started. 2011’s can be very reliable, albeit with a little more care than the Production-style cousins. I compete with a Nighthawk Custom BDS9 and have since 2023, and while making sure it is properly lubricated all the time, I’ve never had any issues that weren’t user-induced. A backup gun would be expensive, but keeping a set of springs, an extra extractor, and a few other parts for a repair kit would be fairly inexpensive to build. Again, if you shop some deals, I would say that $1,700 would be a fair estimate for a new Limited Optics rig. Look into Springfield Armory for a starting point.
4. Pistol Caliber Carbine
Adding PCC to this list would be a controversial opinion. Most PCC shooters catch a hard time from pistol shooters for “bringing a rifle to a pistol fight”. When it started, it became a large division with much participation, however as time passed it slowly started to dwindle but currently still has a substantial amount of shooters committed to it. BUT there is a certain simplicity to PCC that is unique from the other handgun divisions that deserves to be considered.
PCC does not require a holster, and being able to get high capacity magazines (60+ rounds depending on the magazine manufacturer) allows for less required magazines and mag changes during a course of fire. The lack of necessary equipment, however, is not necessarily reflected in the price. You can get a rifle for about $1100, but you will also need a few magazines (I’d recommend three), and an optic and rifle bag. The lack of equipment means you don’t have to perform a draw, and the high capacity magazines mean less reloads are required.
Reliability is pretty high on this platform, albeit the issues that I have experienced and seen others experience are broken parts and not failures to function such as stovepipes and double-feeds. Ergo, keeping a kit of replacement springs, extractors, etc would be a smart idea. Similarly to Limited Optics, if you don’t mind dropping a little more coin, PCC can be a great place to start for new competitors.
Final Thoughts
Now, all of that being said, if you have the dough and an adrenaline addiction, you could go drop eight grand on an Open gun and then basically buy the Top Fuel drag car of USPSA. These divisions, however, will capitalize on simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and reliability. The value per dollar of lessons learned with your first competition gun will be better invested in something basic like a Glock 47 or a Walther PDP for the Production division. Then you can spend the remaining $7k on ammunition and really learn a whole lot. Ultimately though, these four divisions are what I would push new shooters into who are looking to get a start in USPSA.
Have fun and happy shooting!
We would like to thank Austin Chamberlain for the contribution to our blogsite.