We all started there…we were the “New Shooter” at some point in the past. For me, I still remember my first match in vivid detail. I went in with expectations of having fun and not DQing and, thankfully, I achieved both of these goals. I also made a bunch of friends that day and learned a TON. But let’s look at the other side of the picture for a bit. The veteran Range Officers faced with handling a new shooter. What should you do differently for these folks?
[Read more…] about New Shooter Coming OutRO Best Practices
Proper popper attitude
There are some people who have very strong feelings about poppers and calibration challenges. Yes, sometimes competitors feel that the calibration process puts them over a barrel, but the reality is that if ROs are doing their job, then there are very few calibrations and when there are calibrations, the process works fine.
[Read more…] about Proper popper attitudeRO Position and the 180
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.
[Read more…] about RO Position and the 180Otherthinking the rules
We have all done it, some more than others. We have read a rule and then tried to parse it down to every single word in the process of understanding it. And sometimes that makes folks second guess what the rule actually means, or makes a rule mean what they want or think it should mean. Stop it!
[Read more…] about Otherthinking the rulesInterference
It happens to all Range Officers now and then. Something you weren’t prepared for happens and you, someone, or something, somehow interferes with the competitor and you wind up having to offer them a reshoot. Note I said “offer them” a reshoot. Recall that interference is the only optional reshoot in our sport.
[Read more…] about InterferenceLet’s Get Retro – Part IIIc: – Shoot House
Shoot House type stages can be a lot of fun to run as staff, or they can be a nightmare. Traditionally, they are designed with generally anterograde movement combined with a fair bit of lateral movement. Sometimes they are totally enclosed leading to subdued light situations, sometimes they are just a whole lot of walls without a roof. Either way, they are a staple of our sport. Now and then you run into one that has at least a portion requiring retrograde movement due to movement down a passage to engage targets, and then having to reverse course to move to the next targets. There are, of course, several interesting variations on this.
[Read more…] about Let’s Get Retro – Part IIIc: – Shoot HousePerf to Perf vs. Edge to Perf
It used to be that all ROs were taught to align targets perf to perf. In fact many of the Classifiers are that way and still need to be setup that way, but now we are encouraging ROs to align edge to perf.
[Read more…] about Perf to Perf vs. Edge to PerfMind Your Targets
Target changes are a part of match life for ROs, but if the wrong target is used during the change-out, it can have major consequences. One wrong target can lead to squads needing to reshoot the stage, or even a stage getting tossed. Let’s talk about how to avoid this.
[Read more…] about Mind Your Targets