|
|
| United States Practical Shooting
Association | |
ON ARRIVALFind the "Safe Area." Most USPSA Ranges are "Cold Ranges." You CANNOT draw or handle your gun except:
In the "Safe Area." This is a designated area where you may
take the gun out of a bag or gun rug. You may "dry fire," rack the
slide, perform minor repairs, etc., provided the gun remains unloaded.
You cannot load the gun or in any way handle ammunition in a safe area.
While you can be wearing ammo on your belt, do not touch or load
magazines in the Safe Area. You MAY load your magazines and
handle ammo everywhere else on the range.
On the firing line, when it is your turn to shoot, and the RO has given you the command to "Load and Make Ready."
Whenever you have asked for, and received, special permission;
and you are supervised by an RO; and while facing a safe direction; and
the gun points into a berm.
When you leave a Safe Area, the gun must still be unloaded, and it must
be in your holster, or in a gun rug/gun bag. If you are not shooting a
course of fire, and your gun accidentally falls to the ground, DO NOT
pick it up yourself. Call for an RO. The RO will carry the gun safely
to an area where it can be checked (shown to be unloaded), and return
it to you.
Listen to the walk-through, and read the stage description, if one is provided.
DO
NOT HANDLE YOUR GUN AT YOUR CAR. IF you carry concealed,
please wait until you have left the gate to handle your gun.
SAFETY CONSIDERATIONSShooters
are required to wear eye and ear protection while on the range;
even if you are simply walking around. We often use steel
targets on a course of fire. It is common for fragments of
bullets to rebound in any direction. While not deadly, they
can cause damage to your eyes. I know from personal experience.
I was hit IN THE TONGUE with a piece of bullet (ask me when you
see me on range. It's a funny story with an important moral).
You are expected to be in control of your firearm at all times. There
are three general rules you must always follow, whether loading,
unloading, shooting the stage, or just walking around the range.
Do not "Break the 180" degree line. At the start position of each
stage, there is an imaginary line that runs parallel and forward from
the backstop (berm). This defines the 180 degree line. The muzzle of
the shooter's gun cannot point rearward (back toward the spectators) at
any time.
Never point the gun at anything you are not willing to destroy. This is
why we have safe areas. This is why there is a "180 rule." This is why
we have a rule about "sweeping." Whenever the muzzle of the gun crosses
the shooters body (during the draw, during re-holstering, or during a
stage while opening a door), it is called "sweeping" and this is a
safety violation.
If you are ever "out of control" of your gun, you have broken a safety
violation. Examples are dropping the gun during a course of fire, or
having an "accidental discharge" (a round is fired when you did not
mean to do so, like during a reload, or at the "load & make ready"
command, or while moving from one position to another). Rounds that
"leave the range" are ALWAYS unsafe. Most "out of control" violations
are the result of sloppy gunhandling. Your finger should NEVER be on
the trigger unless you are aiming at a target.
RANGE COMMANDS
The RO for the stage will call you up to the firing line. Often they
will ask if you understand the course of fire, but this is not
required. It is your responsibility to find out what you have to do
before you step to the line.
MAKE READY. Put a magazine in the gun and rack the slide, or
load your revolver. Apply a thumb safety, if the pistol is equipped
with one. Do any thing else you must do to get the gun ready (optic
scopes turned on, etc). Put the gun in the holster (or where ever the
stage procedure specifies as the starting position for the firearm).
Assume the starting position specified by the course description.
ARE YOUR READY? If you are not ready to shoot, say so now. You will
hear several variations of this range command: "Give me a nod when you
are ready," "Just nod when ready," and so on. Actually, the official
rules say that if the shooter does not answer, the RO can assume the
shooter is ready. Speak up, if you need to.
STANDBY. The timer will go off any second. Sometimes these are set on
"instant," and sometimes there is a variable delay. Be ready to start
any time after you hear the stand by command.
IF YOU ARE FINISHED, UNLOAD and SHOW CLEAR. Once you appear to be done
shooting, the RO will ask this question. If you are not finished
shooting, continue firing. If you are finished, unload the gun (drop
the magazine and rack the slide to open, or open the cylinder and
unload bullets). Allow the RO to look down the chamber of the gun. The
RO must verify that the gun is empty. Do not rush through this part.
Unloading is not a speed event.
IF CLEAR, HAMMER DOWN and HOLSTER. Once the RO has confirmed that the
gun is empty, you will be instructed to drop the hammer and holster the
gun.
"STOP" or "FREEZE" If you ever hear the RO yell STOP or FREEZE, do so
immediately. Stand still, with your finger OFF the trigger, and the gun
pointed safely at a berm. The RO will have you unload, show clear and
holster you gun. Although this command is frequently used when a safety
violation occurs, it can also be used when there is an unsafe situation
or range malfunction that is not the shooter's fault. The RO will
explain why he stopped you once the gun is unloaded and in your
holster. If the problem was not a safety violation on the part of the
shooter, you will be allowed to re-shoot the stage.
Video Demonstrating Range Commands
VARIOUS TYPES OF STAGES & SCORING OPTIONS
The field course will test your abilities to move safely around a stage
of fire, while opening doors, glancing through windows or around
barricades, (oh, yes, and shooting at targets!) while managing to avoid
damage to those "No-Shoot" targets. All field courses are scored
"Comstock." This means that there is no fixed penalty for shooting at a
target again, if you missed it. You can shoot until your happy with the
hits. Remember, however that TIME is a factor of your score, so do not
make up shots unless you really need to do so. Any hits on a designated
No-Shoot target will earn a penalty of minus 10. Any misses on a target
you were required to shoot, will also earn a penalty of minus 10.
Speed shoots require the shooter to stay in one location. Speed shoots
may be "Comstock scoring" in which additional shots are okay, but they
may also be "Virginia Count scoring." Listen to the "walk through" or
ASK if you are not sure. Virginia Count means only the specified number
of rounds may be fired without a penalty. A penalty of minus 10 points
is assessed for any shots in excess of the stated rounds required for
the course. To add insult to injury, if there is an extra hit on a
target, there is an added penalty of minus 10 (for example, you made up
a shot that you thought was a miss, but really already had enough hits
on the target). For a new shooter, it is usually a good idea to not try
and take extra shots on a Virginia Count stage.
A speed shoot may require one or more "Mandatory" reload(s). The
procedural error is assessed at minus 10 points for each shot fired
after failure to perform a required reload. Ouch. Virginia Count stages
force the shooter to concentrate on accuracy and to pay close attention
to the stage procedure.
Fixed Time Standards are another type of course you may see. The time
frame in which the shots must be fired is established in advance. Fixed
Time is also called Par Time. There is a Start signal & a Stop
signal. There is a penalty of minus 5 for any shot fired after the stop
signal, so listen carefully. Please note that whenever you have a fixed
time stage, there is no HIT FACTOR listed on the score sheets. Your
actual points will always equal the stage points. Standards Courses do
not have to be FIXED TIME. They can also be Virginia Count. Always be
sure what type of scoring method or timing is being used before you get
to the line to shoot.
HOW DO YOU FIGURE OUT THE SCORES?
The scoring system for USPSA-IPSC matches can take a bit of time to
understand. Save this page for future reference. Most stats people will
be happy to explain your scores.
Stage Results are printed before a Final Match Result is posted. Just
what do all those numbers mean? Points are based on how well you shot.
For Major caliber: A's are 5 points, B's and C's are 4points each, D's
are 2 points, and Misses or No-Shoots are minus 10 points. Oh,
yes...any Procedural error will also cost you minus 10 points. For
those shooters using Minor caliber (9mm or 38's): B's and C's are 3
points and D's are 1 point. All other point values for hits or
penalties are the same.
To calculate HIT FACTOR, divide your points by the time. Hit Factor
tells you how many points you are earning per second. If you took 30
seconds to shoot a 60 point stage, you have a hit factor of 2.000, and
if someone else took 10 seconds to earn those same 60 points, his hit
factor is 6.000.
Stage Percentage is calculated from Hit Factor. The competitor with the
highest hit factor gets 100% for the stage, and the STAGE POINTS for
the shooter with 100% will always be all the points available for that
stage.
The Stage Winner is the shooter with the highest HIT FACTOR. All the
other shooters are ranked below the stage winner, in order of HIT
FACTOR. To get a Stage Percentage, your hit factor is divided by the
highest hit factor for the stage. The total number of stage points that
you earned for a stage are based on the total points available,
multiplied by your stage percentage. Going back to the example above,
your hit factor of 2.000 is 1/3 of the fellow who shot 6.000, so if he
won the stage & got 100% (all 60 points), then you shot 33% of the
leader, and earned 20 stage points.
Another example, a Stage is worth 100 points. You shot real carefully,
but real slowly. You earned 100 points for the stage. The fellow who
was first place for that stage only earned 80 points, but was fast.
Once hit factors and stage percentages are calculated, you are at 50%
for the stage, and the fast fellow is at 100%. The stage points will
only award you 50 STAGE POINTS, (50% of 100) and the fast shooter gets
100 STAGE POINTS.
At the end of the match, we add up the stage points for every shooter,
and get MATCH POINTS. The shooter with the most match points wins, and
gets awarded a 100%. Your match point total is divided by the match
winner's total match points. This is how we calculate a total MATCH
PERCENTAGE.
Again, please ask if you EVER do not understand the scoring system. The
scorekeepers make mistakes too. We never have a problem if you want to
see your score sheets, or request that the stage be recalculated. Your
scorekeepers are shooters, too. We want you to get every point you have
earned.
GENERAL TIPS
Ask the RO's for help if you have any questions. They are there to help
you. Always explain that you are rather new to the game, and have a few
questions. Questions are preferred over the "know-it-all" attitude
anytime.
You
will see shooters who have been shooting this sport for years run
through a course of fire at seemingly impossible speeds. Please
do not try to copy them. In the beginning, focus on safety, and
try to shoot for accuracy. Your times will improve as
you learn the rules, and become more comfortable with our sport and
fundamentals.
Most shooters are happy to show off their guns, their gear, and discuss reloading.
This is a volunteer sport. EVERYONE, I repeat, EVERYONE is
required to help with the match. At matches we have RO's who are
trained by USPSA to run the timers, watch for
safety violations, and assist shooters. ALWAYS listen to the RO. When
you are not shooting, or the next up to shoot you are EXPECTED to help
pick up brass and tape targets, and re-set the stage.
I have USPSA membership applications available. While I would like to
encourage everyone who shoots IPSC to join USPSA, let me stress that
there is absolutely no requirement to join ANYTHING. Most clubs will
encourage you to join, and offer a discount to members vs non-members,
but you never have to join USPSA or the Palmetto Gun Club to shoot in the matches we
have the first Saturday of each month. In fact, to the best of my
knowledge, there is not an USPSA club in the state that requires
membership in order to shoot in the monthly match. We want you to have
fun, shoot safely, and join us again!
EQUIPMENTUSPSA has opportunites for shooters of any skill level and equipment to compete.
Firearms range from stock pistols to custom "open" guns. The minimum caliber is 9mm.
Courses
of fire may require a minimum of 30+ rounds to complete. Please
bring enough magazines, moon clips, or speedloaders to complete the
courses as required.
Holsters must be strong side
only. No small of the back, shoulder, or cross draw
allowed as they require the muzzle to to point beyond the "180" line
when re-holstering (loaded at the start of the course of fire).
They may have a slight cant forward or back (not to allow the
muzzle to point more than 2 feet from a competitors feet). No extreme
cants are allowed. Lastly, it is strongly suggested the
holster be constructed of something that keeps the mouth of the holster
open. Nylon holsters typically require a shooter to use their
weak hand to hold the mouth open to reholster. This is a
dangerous situation whereby the muzzle of a potentially loaded gun may
sweep the weak hand.
Lastly, Shooters will need magazine pouches to hold enough magazines to complete a course of fire.
MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL
Have fun!
(Plagerized from Linda Chico)
|
|
| 
|
|