Pistol Ontario was founded in 2012, with the idea of becoming the new Provincial Governing Body for ISSF Pistol in Ontario (at the time the Ontario Council of Shooters was looking for someone new to take over the job). Fairly quickly I determined that was way more that I was prepared to do on my own, so I was pleased when ONTarget got the job instead.
From there Pistol Ontario pivoted to being the organization for the ISSF Pistol matches we would run a couple of times per year.
In 2019, in partnership with FSESO, training was added to the portfolio, delivering the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and Canadian Restricted Firearm Safety Course, furthering our goal of spreading safe and legal use of firearms to the broader community.
Our Team
Ian Pattison (Founder, Chief Instructor – ON1285) came to the shooting sports in 2008, having had no prior firearms experience. After some exploration he discovered ISSF pistol shooting and never looked back. In 2009 he began competing at the club level and making new friends along the way. 2011 had him expanding into sanctioned competition as well as his first trip to the Canadian Nationals. In 2016 he began sharing his knowledge, getting certified by CSSA as a Club-Level Safety Instructor to be able to train new club members. In 2019 he added teaching the CFSC and CRFSC to his skillset and, as of early 2024, nearly 250 additional people are eligible to apply for a new or upgraded firearms license.
Stewart Attlesey (Proctor – PN1043) has more than a decade of experience in the shooting sports. As proctor he is responsible for supervising students during written exams and provides general classroom assistance outside instruction hours. He has served as director of ISSF pistol shooting at Burlington Rifle and Revolver Club since 2016 (so he tells Ian what to do all the time!) and is Vice-President of the Ontario Intercounty Handgun League. Beginning in 2016 he began writing stages for the SASS Cowboy Action Shooting matches run at BRRC. In addition he provides informal coaching for new and experienced ISSF and Cowboy Action Shooters. Finally, in the above roles, he is responsible for ensuring range safety during practice and competitions.