The competition seeks to create a measure of similarity to real world situations and is considered one of the forerunners of practical shooting.
The competition format was founded in the U.S. between 1957 and 1958 and was intended to help police officers improve their firearms skills in the line of duty.
Originally this was a revolver-specific competition because most police officers carried this type of sidearm, but was later expanded to include autoloading pistols.
The sport has become popular in the United States, Sweden, Germany, Norway and Canada, and official matches are no longer restricted to police officers or military personnel.
PPC is often associated with a particular style of a revolver having a heavy barrel and a prominent sight rib.