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USPSA - National Range Officers Institute

Troy McManus

What’s My Line?

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Many people understand the role of the range officer with the timer:  to issue the range commands, to supervise and observe the competitor while they shoot the course of fire, to correctly and accurately score targets, and to ensure safety and procedural rules are followed at all times.  But, what about the second, or third, or even fourth RO on a stage?  What are they supposed to do?  Most people understand that the second RO is typically considered the scorekeeper, and while the competitor is shooting, they watch the stage in general, look for foot faults, safety issues, and other procedural errors that may be made.  The scorekeeper is also responsible for accurately recording the competitor’s score, whether that’s done on paper or electronically.  The third Range Officer on a stage has responsibility for an even wider view of what’s happening while the stage is being shot, looking for faults, procedural errors and safety problems.  Let’s look at each job and its responsibilities a little closer, though.

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Be Teachable – You’re Not Always Right

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I saw this on a meme on social media and it sort of struck a chord.  I get a lot of questions describing a mistake some RO allegedly made at a match, or a declaration by a supposedly knowledgeable RO or local “rules guru” that is completely wrong and not found in the rules, but I have also been guilty of this very thing.  Case in point, I was asked recently about a situation where the RM did not disqualify a competitor for being more than 6 feet from a berm and uncasing a PCC.  The original sender wasn’t complaining as much as just wanting to know the possible reasons for allowing this.  I explained the rule, and then asked, “Who was this?  I will try to send him some information and educate him a little bit.”  Imagine my chagrin when the original sender said, “Um, well, it was you.”   Ope!  Once he said that, I remembered the match and circumstances, and I had to admit that yes, per a strict interpretation of the rules, it should have been a DQ, but at the time, he wasn’t pointing the gun at anybody, and was somewhere around 7 feet from the berm or so, with the gun in a cart.  And, remembering that match, I was probably distracted by something else at the time.  All things considered, it seemed like the right call, and I can’t say I wouldn’t do it exactly the same way again, but I got a little lesson in humility and I haven’t forgotten it. 

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RO Position and the 180

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I’ve recently received several questions concerning range officers placing themselves right along the 180° or 90° line in a stage, obviously looking for violations.  This is a very bad idea, and here’s why:  by placing yourself on the 180, you are begging to have a loaded gun pointed at you if (when) the competitor’s muzzle breaks the 90-degree median intercept of the backstop.  This is especially hazardous when a rear fault line runs slightly downrange, putting you, the RO, in an even more precarious position. 

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