In late November of 2022, Team SIG Captain Max Michel earned a team gold medal and a personal bronze medal as a member of Team USA at the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) Handgun World Shoot in Thailand.  Michel competed in the Production Optics Light Division using his P320-XFIVE with ROMEO3MAX Red Dot Sight.  This was Michel’s eighth IPSC World Shoot appearance. He has eight gold medals on behalf of Team USA, an individual Gold Medal from World Shoot XVII, and two individual bronze medals.

But just getting to the Worlds in Thailand proved to be difficult as training regimens, injuries, and COVID-19 travel restrictions all combined to make Michel’s eighth appearance his most challenging. 

“This IPSC Handgun World Shoot was an incredible experience and being able to compete for Team USA was a true honor,” added Michel.  “This is my 8th World Shoot, and it was both challenging and rewarding.  The competition was fierce, and the course of fire really put every shooter’s skill set to the test.  I am proud to come home with a Gold Medal for Team USA and a Bronze Medal in my division and look forward to competing again in 2025.”

The IPSC Handgun World Shoot is the highest level handgun match within the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) which consists of several days and at least 30 separate courses of fire. World Shoot main matches are held over six days with five days of shooting and one rest day, making the competition a shooting marathon where strategy and mental focus is of critical importance. 1,345 competitors from 73 countries completed. The championship was originally scheduled for 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the match was initially postponed to November/December 2021, but due to the unpredictable nature of the COVID situation, the match was finally postponed once more until 2022, coinciding with the completion of the kingdom's full reopening.

Follow along in the videos below as Michel trains and competes in the 2022 IPSC Handgun World Shoot in Thailand.