If you shoot enough matches, eventually you will have a situation where your gun breaks and becomes unreliable or nonfunctional. But what to do now? Do I just get my backup gun and carry on? Do I need to notify anyone? What is the proper way to handle this per the rules?
[Read more…] about When the gun breaks, the RM must be calledTending your fault lines
No, this is not a foot faulting post, at least not directly. One of the things I see at major matches are stage crews not maintaining the fault lines. As hundreds of competitors go through the course of fire, certain corners are getting buried by dirt and gravel that is kicked up as people stop in prime shooting positions. Is this an issue? If a competitor earns an unfair foot fault, it sure is!
[Read more…] about Tending your fault linesUnloaded starts
We don’t see a ton of unloaded starts in USPSA matches, but when there is one, the Range Officers usually have to advise the competitors to get the firearm in the proper ready condition. And usually it is a fair number of competitors who need some guidance. So, let’s chat about unloaded starts and what that means for pistols, revolvers, and PCCs.
[Read more…] about Unloaded startsZero score?
Now that magnets are allowed in all the divisions, most competitors have added them to their gear, but some run afoul of the distance of the magazine from the inside of the belt. Which is why we asked this Question of the Month: During the course of fire, a Production competitor places a mag on a magnet that is attached to a mag pouch. The magnet is on the side of the pouch opposite of where the belt attachment is which puts the edge of the magazine, that is retained by the magnet, 2.5 inches away from the inner most surface of the belt. What is your call as the RO?
[Read more…] about Zero score?Where’s your chamber flag?
Often, my ideas for posts come from questions asked at matches. This particular question came up at two separate matches over the last couple weeks. What happens if a PCC competitor comes to the line without a chamber flag? We are not talking about someone who had a flag in and removed it, we are talking about a competitor who uncased a PCC and came directly to the line without a flag. What is the call? Both times it was brought up, the ROs thought it would be a DQ, but is it? Let’s look at what the rules say.
[Read more…] about Where’s your chamber flag?Unpasted targets and you
What to do if unpasted targets are noticed during the course of fire is one of the things that is often misunderstood by competitors and range officers, especially at local matches. Often at local matches, the competitor stops or the RO stops the competitor and a reshoot is issued after the target or targets are taped. But, that is the wrong thing to do and often leads to a painful learning experience for a competitor at a higher level match. Let’s look at what a competitor and RO should do, and not do, when they see an unpasted target during the course of fire.
[Read more…] about Unpasted targets and youIs that a laser trainer in your chamber?
Or are you just excited to shoot the stage? With the ammo shortage, I am sure everyone is getting more dry fire time, and many people use laser trainers or snap caps. But what if this happens at the match: “You are the RO and you give the competitor the ‘Make Ready’ command. The competitor inserts a magazine, racks the slide, but can’t seem to get a round to chamber. The competitor drops the magazine and locks back the slide. You see a laser trainer cartridge in the chamber. What is your call as the RO?”
[Read more…] about Is that a laser trainer in your chamber?Start position equity
Even though PCC is now a normal part of USPSA Competition matches, we still get the occasional questions about PCC start positions and ready conditions in relation to handgun divisions. Yes, PCC competitors only compete against other PCC competitors, but that doesn’t mean that the PCC start position and ready condition can be completely different than the handgun divisions.
[Read more…] about Start position equity