Rules Insights

USPSA matches allow for competitors to challenge scoring and penalty calls and a couple other things, but there is a process. The goal of this post is to provide some basic information to both range officials and competitors about how arbitration works. Arbitrations rarely occur, but everyone needs to know how the process works for when it does happen.

USPSA has had a certified ammunition program in some form for quite some time. See rule 5.8 in the 2021 USPSA Competition Rules. Currently, there are 9 approved vendors who can supply certified ammunition in almost every caliber common to a USPSA match, from PCC-specific ammunition to fodder for Open guns. But, what happens if you choose to use certified ammunition?

We see a lot of questions regarding various handguns and the Production Gun List because a word, maybe two, in the handgun name do not appear specifically in the list under that manufacturer. In short, the majority of these are approved because they belong to the same family as an already approved handgun. Let’s dig deeper.

Walls have been in our sport virtually since its inception as an action sport. Whether serving as part of a small barricade or creating a maze-like shoot house; they are an important prop. And, like most props in our sport, someone is going to shoot holes in them and it will be on the ROs to figure out what to do with those hits.

Yes, the rulebook is long. Yes, there are rules that reference other rules. And no, citing any rule that mentions the term is not necessarily the best rule to use. Whether it is during your RO exam or renewal exam, or on the range, citing the correct rule is very important.

“10.7.1 -All persons are required to be in complete control both mentally and physically during USPSA matches.” Simple sentence that I think we can all agree is exceedingly important considering what we do in our sport…that is, run around with loaded guns. And really, all of section 10.7 in the rules (it is the same in all of our rule books) is predicated on this one sentence. 10.7.2 addresses “recreational” things like alcohol and other recreational drugs, 10.7.3 addresses medically related issues, and 10.7.4 leaves the door open for drug testing should performance enhancing drugs become a problem in our sport. But let’s dig a bit deeper.