See Bob Vogel. See Bob Vogel shoot. See Bob Vogel win...again. Photo by Yamil Sued

Today marks the official start of the 2012 IDPA National Championships down south in Oxford, North Carolina. With 350+ registered - about the max they can handle shooting 16 stages using a two-day format - the match brings in the who's who of top competitors, as well as sponsors. Thanks to a the nationwide demand for concealed carry permits, along with surging gun sales, the International Defensive Pistol Association has become the fastest growing shooting sport in the country. It doesn't hurt either that each of the sport's five divisions is structured around guns that all the manufacturer's make and are essentially the bread-and-butter models retailers everywhere carry. The result of this direct, yet simple approach to equipment means you can walk into a gun store today and be competing this weekend. But this weekend it's all about the very top shooters in the sport, and nobody signifies excellence in IDPA like Bob Vogel who shoots for the Panteao Productions shooting team, as well as sponsors Safariland and GlockTriggers.com. Among the 350 that will shoot, heck, extend that to the entire 20,000+ membership of IDPA, everybody (and we do mean everybody) will tell you Vogel will win. Besides being the number one shooter in the United States, Vogel hasn't lost an IDPA match in five or six years. Baring an equipment issue, which is unlikely since he shoots a Glock in SSP, this is Vogel's match.

Miculek relaxes with the Safety Officers after shooting the entire match in a downpour. Photo by Yamil Sued

Also falling into the category of all-but-unstoppable is Team Smith & Wesson's Jerry Miculek who shot all 16 stages yesterday in a constant downpour, competing in the Enhanced Service Revolver division. Since you're a regular reader of The Shooting Wire we don't need to explain who Miculek is or why he's headed for the win. If one of your friends reads this and asks you to explain, then just tell them that if God shot revolver in competition, he'd have a tough time beating Jerry Miculek. Competition in Custom Defensive Pistol will again be very strong. CDP is the home of the full-size 1911, making it the definitive division for those who believe unequivocally in the John Moses Browning design. Craig Buckland, last year's Stock Service Revolver champ who shoots for Wolff Gunsprings, is having a strong season but is also going up against Team ITI's Gary Byerly who took The Carolina Cup's CDP title on this same range earlier this year. But they'll have to contend with S&W's David Olhasso as well as the defending champ, Glenn Shelby of Wilson Combat's shooting team. Any of the four can take the title in what will be a CDP battle royale.

Gary Byerly is looking for another win in North Carolina. Photo by P. Erhardt

Enhanced Service Revolver will be another free-for-all with the likes of Taran Butler, CZ-USA's Matt Mink, Team ITI's Brandon Wright (Carolina Cup winner), RangeLog's Morgan Allen, Comp-Tac's Gordon Carrell and, of course, defending champ James McGinty. Throw in a trio of strong international shooters (Carvajal, Gonzales and Zanotti) and you're probably looking at the most of the top 10 shooters. In the other revolver contest, Stock Service Revolver, you'll find one of the wheelgun world's best in Gregg Kratochvil who is solidly on any revolver discipline's super squad. Plus he coasted to the title at The Carolina Cup earlier this year. But Joe Linskey, S&W Indoor Nationals SSR champ, stands squarely between Kratochvil and any title and there's no telling which will come out on top. When it comes to the ladies, the competition for High Lady comes down to Comp-Tac's Randi Rogers who is working on a solid IDPA win streak of her own. If you've been reading this column then you already know about Rogers and how strong she is across all the disciplines she shoots. Beating her at this match is more than likely going to come down to an equipment failure than another competitor simply outshooting her. Especially since Michelle Wood, who is a Master in all five divisions and came close to beating Randi earlier this year at The Carolina Cup, won't be shooting the match. Another key category match-up is the race for High Senior. Shooters over the age of 50 account for almost 30% of all the shooters (34% if you include the Distinguished Seniors) with a number of very strong competitors in that group. Chief among them is the defending champ Tom Yost of the Panteao shooting team. But for the "Silver Fox" to win - a ridiculous nickname given to Yost by the Panteao team, and used here for obvious reasons - he'll have to watch out for Gregg Garrett of Team Comp-Tac and Scott Warren of Warren Tactical who placed second and third behind Yost last year.

Don't let that smile fool you, Randi Rogers shoots like a house afire, and wins. Photo by P. Erhardt

For the Campeonato Internacional, shooters from Austria, Costa Rica, Italy, Mexico, Romania, United Kingdom and Venezuela are just over 10% of all competitors here in North Carolina. The contest for High International is essentially one of Team Costa Rica vs. Team Venezuela with Rodrigo Carvajal Costa Rica's best chance of keep the title out of the hands of Venezuela. With Miguel Gamboa, the Costa Rican shooter who won High International at The Carolina Cup this summer, not shooting this year, Carvajal will have to outshoot David Bento of Venezuela who won the title at the IDPA World Shoot. Venezuela is on a roll with last year's victory and the win by Juan Carlos Gonzalez earlier this year at the Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor Nationals, making them the emerging powerhouse in IDPA. For those interested in following the match you can find regular photos and updates on IDPA's Facebook page as well as IDPA's official blog, DOWN ZERO. - Paul Erhardt, Editor, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network Got shooting sports news? Send us an email at info@shootingwire.com.