RO Best Practices

There are official range commands for a reason and there are reasons why Range Officials should limit themselves to only those commands. Yes, sometimes situations arise where you might have to deviate from the list of allowed commands, but 99% of the time the official commands are appropriate and the only thing needed. Let’s look at the common range command deviations and why they are not needed or should not be used.

[Read more…] about Stick to the range commands!

Target changes at major matches need to be efficient and ensure that the target presentation is consistent over the entire match. Adding a new target over a base target is easy for a single target, but can be tricky for target arrays if they are not set up properly from the beginning.

[Read more…] about Tactful Tacking

I know our rulebooks are quite long and complicated. And I know that there are too many rule numbers. But using the rulebook effectively just takes a little familiarity and practice. We don’t expect everyone to memorize all the rules and rule numbers because it’s not necessary and we provide rulebooks as a handy reference. Here are some tips on how to get better at using the rulebooks.

[Read more…] about Use the chapters

Start positions specified in written stage briefings usually specify locations for hands and range officials need to make sure that the competitor has his or her hands in the proper position before proceeding with the “Are you ready?” range command. Why? Because if the competitor is not in the proper position, a reshoot is required. Let’s look at some common hand positions used in written stage briefings.

[Read more…] about Show me your hands

What makes a good Range Officer? There are many facets to running a stage efficiently and safely. Let’s take a look at some of the desirable qualities of a good range official.

[Read more…] about The Good RO

Regardless if a gun is dropped during the course of fire, or outside a course of fire, it is the job of a Range Officer to oversee its retrieval and return to a safe condition (see 10.5.14). But how should a RO go about this?

[Read more…] about Handling dropped guns

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 lines