“I will not be subjugated”

American Tactical Shooting Association

Any mechanically sound and safe center fire handgun may be used.  However, no compensators, optical sights, or extended magazines are permitted.  If you use a compact edition (e.g. Glock 27) of a gun that exists in full size (e.g. Glock 22) your one spare magazine may be a standard length magazine for the full sized gun.  If you use a high capacity handgun, you may carry one extra magazine of ammunition.  If you use a single stack gun, such as a Government model, you may carry two extra magazines of ammunition.  Back up guns are permitted, but only the ammunition in the gun may be carried.  All ammunition must be full power factory ammunition.  No hand loads.

The goal of the ATSA Team is to help good men return to their families.  The goal is approached by creating a test that challenges the practitioner to use all of his skills development to solve problems that are posed in live five scenarios and force on force scenarios.  The test allows the practitioner to analyze his firearms training, tactical training, equipment selections and his state of readiness to evaluate his environment, situational and confrontational awareness skills.

We have no formal memberships, membership cards, meeting schedules, etc.  If you feel about firearms and the Second Amendment, tactics, and training as we do and if you participate in the NTI you are a member.

Frequently Asked Questions

The American Tactical Shooting Association, ATSA is the sponsoring entity of the National Tactical Invitational, NTI.

What is ATSA and NTI?

How does one become a member of ATSA or the NTI?

What are the goals and objectives of the ATSA?

What kind of gun can I use in the NTI?

No, the NTI is for anyone of good character who is a trained and experienced shooter; law enforcement officers, military personnel, and civilians.

Is the NTI only for law enforcement officers?

The NTI is a test of the man, his training, his skills, and his equipment.  By various means, the scenarios used in the NTI place the participant under as much stress as can be safely accomplished.  This stress, combined with the realistic scenarios, make each stage of fire a lifelike armed confrontation.

If the NTI isn’t just another shooting match, what is it?

As a group, they are a diverse lot.  They include police officers and other law enforcement officials, musicians, military personnel, bankers, lawyers, writers, doctors, and people from just about every other walk of life you can imagine.  What they share in common is the belief in individualism, honor, and the greatness of our country.

The men who shoot the NTI are superior to the common man in many ways.  This superiority comes not from physical prowess or intellect.  It radiates from the fiber of the man his spirit.  This spirit is communicated by the saying “It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.”  Alexander Solzhenitsyn said it even better.  He said, “It is better to fight on your feet than on your knees, but you can still fight on your knees.”

The inferior man loses his will and his tenacity when the matter before him advances beyond words.  The superior man looks at the conduct of such men with revulsion.  A bad man walks into a McDonalds restaurant and orders another man to lay down on the dirty floor next to his children and then executes them all, is viewed as disgusting bully and a murderer.  However, the man who allowed this atrocity to occur, without a struggle to protect his family, is putrid and sickening.

Adherents to the ATSA philosophy, and those who benefit from the NTI experience, are prepared to face deadly situations with deadly force, when necessary.

What kind of men shoot the NTI, who are they and what common traits do they share?

Yes, uniformed police officers and military personnel may compete in uniform if they choose to do so.  All others must carry their weapons concealed.

I’m a police officer, May I wear my duty rig and uniform to participate in the NTI?

You may carry or use any equipment you wish.  Note, however, that the NTI is a software event, it is not a hardware event.  Your training skills, and knowledge, not necessarily your equipment, will carry you through the event.  You may wear body armor.  You may carry a knife, or a flashlight.  You can wear knee pads or elbow pads.  You must, however, carry all the equipment and guns in the same manner and in the same location for the entire event.

Besides my gun, what kind of equipment may I carry?

The NTI incorporates several types of targets.  Some are paper targets dressed in clothing.  They are scored by the Paladin system which requires one “A” zone hit or a combination of hits which total seven points.  Other targets are metal or humanoid robot type targets which must be knocked down to score.  The simunition stages require a killing hit on the role player to be counted as a neutralized target.

The following system used in the NTI rewards efficient, competent, and capable handling in seemingly hopelessly difficult situations.  More precisely, it severely punishes bad tactics and poor equipment management.

Each stage of fire has a time limit of three minutes.  Mistakes in tactics or equipment management results in the assessment of penalty points in the form of additional time.  Because poor tactics are so costly (for example, allowing an un-neutralized hostile target to get behind you = +180 seconds), the amount of time required to actually negotiate the stage is only a small consideration.  Because of the structure of the stage, in combination with target placement, few instances exist that permit a competitor to move through the scenario at a substantially faster rate than any other competitor of like skill level.  The best performance on a stage is determined by the lowest time expended when penalty points are tabulated.

What is the factoring system used at the NTI?

Our three primary rules are:

1. No stupid gun handling.  People carry guns should be aware of safety precautions and proper gun handling requirements.  Training, experience, and common sense can distinguish between careful thoughtful gun handling and stupid gun handling.

2. No boorish behavior.  People who carry guns should be ladies and gentlemen who are familiar with, and practice, politeness and proper social etiquette.

3. No Sniveling or whining.  People who carry guns should be willing to accept the consequences of their actions without complaining or making excuses.

Violation of any of these rules will result in immediate disqualification from the NTI.  The violator will be asked to leave the premises.

What are the main rules that govern the NTI?