diff --git a/docs/setup/initial_config.rst b/docs/setup/initial_config.rst
index 9330208..26b83ad 100644
--- a/docs/setup/initial_config.rst
+++ b/docs/setup/initial_config.rst
@@ -38,7 +38,9 @@ Instance Configuration
                 ["dickson.freenode.net", 6667],
                 ["morgan.freenode.net", 6667]
             ],
-            "ipv6":"off"
+            "force_ipv6": false,
+            "force_ipv4": false,
+            "bind": ["1.2.3.4", 5678]
         },
         "modules":[
             "PingResponder",
@@ -78,9 +80,22 @@ options:
     the bot must reconnect to the IRC server later, the next server will
     be used.
 
-.. cmdoption:: connection.ipv6
+.. cmdoption:: connection.force_ipv6
 
-    Enable or disable defaulting to IPv6 using the value "off" or "on"
+    Enable this option to force use of ipv6 connections and ignore ipv4 server addresses.
+
+.. cmdoption:: connection.force_ipv4
+
+    Enable this option to force use of ipv4 connections and ignore ipv6 server addresses. Enabling force_ipv6
+    overrides force_ipv4.
+
+.. cmdoption:: connection.bind
+
+    Set the local address and port to bind the connection to.
+
+.. note::
+
+    To bind to an address but no specific port, set the second tuple entry to `null`.
 
 .. cmdoption:: modules
 
diff --git a/examples/config.json b/examples/config.json
index b2119d4..0c629b5 100644
--- a/examples/config.json
+++ b/examples/config.json
@@ -1,23 +1,23 @@
 {
-	"bot":{
-		"datadir":"./data/",
-		"rpcbind":"0.0.0.0",
-		"rpcport":1876,
-		"usermodules": [ "./data/modules/" ]
-	},
-	"connection":{
-		"servers": [
-			["weber.freenode.net", 6667],
-			["asimov.freenode.net", 6667],
-			["card.freenode.net", 6667],
-			["dickson.freenode.net", 6667],
-			["morgan.freenode.net", 6667]
-		],
-		"ipv6":"off",
-	},
-	"modules":[
-		"PingResponder",
-		"Services",
-		"UserModule"
-	]
+    "bot":{
+        "datadir":"./data/",
+        "rpcbind":"0.0.0.0",
+        "rpcport":1876,
+        "usermodules": [ "./data/modules/" ]
+    },
+    "connection":{
+        "servers": [
+            ["weber.freenode.net", 6667],
+            ["asimov.freenode.net", 6667],
+            ["card.freenode.net", 6667],
+            ["dickson.freenode.net", 6667],
+            ["morgan.freenode.net", 6667]
+        ],
+        "force_ipv6": false
+    },
+    "modules":[
+        "PingResponder",
+        "Services",
+        "UserModule"
+    ]
 }
diff --git a/pyircbot/irccore.py b/pyircbot/irccore.py
index 902afba..9ff5749 100644
--- a/pyircbot/irccore.py
+++ b/pyircbot/irccore.py
@@ -43,8 +43,12 @@ class IRCCore(object):
         """List of server address"""
         self.port = 0
         """Server port"""
-        self.ipv6 = False
-        """Use IPv6?"""
+        self.connection_family = socket.AF_UNSPEC
+        """Socket family. 0 will auto-detect ipv4 or v6. Change this to socket.AF_INET or socket.AF_INET6 force use of
+           ipv4 or ipv6."""
+
+        self.bind_addr = None
+        """Optionally bind to a specific address. This should be a (host, port) tuple."""
 
         # Set up hooks for modules
         self.initHooks()
@@ -56,7 +60,9 @@ class IRCCore(object):
                 self.reader, self.writer = await asyncio.open_connection(self.servers[self.server][0],
                                                                          port=self.servers[self.server][1],
                                                                          loop=loop,
-                                                                         ssl=None)
+                                                                         ssl=None,
+                                                                         family=self.connection_family,
+                                                                         local_addr=self.bind_addr)
                 self.fire_hook("_CONNECT")
             except (socket.gaierror, ConnectionRefusedError):
                 traceback.print_exc()
diff --git a/pyircbot/pyircbot.py b/pyircbot/pyircbot.py
index 2bd708b..2c82b26 100644
--- a/pyircbot/pyircbot.py
+++ b/pyircbot/pyircbot.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import sys
 from pyircbot.rpc import BotRPC
 from pyircbot.irccore import IRCCore
 from collections import namedtuple
+from socket import AF_INET, AF_INET6
 import os.path
 import asyncio
 
@@ -42,6 +43,11 @@ class PyIRCBot(object):
 
         """IRC protocol handler"""
         self.irc = IRCCore(servers=self.botconfig["connection"]["servers"])
+        if self.botconfig.get("connection").get("force_ipv6", False):
+            self.irc.connection_family = AF_INET6
+        elif self.botconfig.get("connection").get("force_ipv4", False):
+            self.irc.connection_family = AF_INET
+        self.irc.bind_addr = self.botconfig.get("connection").get("bind", None)
 
         # legacy support
         self.act_PONG = self.irc.act_PONG