If your gun is malfunctioning, breaks, or if your sights fall off or break the rules state that you must get Range Master approval before any modifications are made, or the gun is replaced. Let’s learn a bit more about the rule and the reasoning behind this rule.
[Read more…] about Why is RM approval required?Rules Insights
Table manners
We have previously discussed the appropriate ready conditions for loaded firearms that start the stage on a table, but what about unloaded firearms and their placement. I recently worked a match where a stage required magazines to start on any of the barrels and the unloaded firearm to start on the table. It was a fun stage, but we had competitors earn a DQ before they even fired a shot on the stage. Can you guess why?
[Read more…] about Table mannersStart positions: When is out, in?
Rule 3.2.1 requires that the competitor start position is included in the Written Stage Briefing (WSB) for each stage. We’ve all seen a wide variety of start positions at matches: anywhere inside the shooting area, feet or hands touching a marked location, heels or toes touching the rear fault line, etc. Words matter, of course, and it is important that WSBs are clearly written and that the start position is consistently enforced. This article will discuss one specific nuance of the competitor start location relative to the shooting area.
[Read more…] about Start positions: When is out, in?Virginia Count lessons on the range
Last weekend I worked my local sectional match and I got to work a Virginia Count, two string Standard Exercise. I was sure it was some sort of atonement for all my blog posts about Virginia Count, but I got to witness a ton of learning among staff and competitors in those two days.
[Read more…] about Virginia Count lessons on the rangeLet’s NOT Keep it Quiet(er)
One question we get frequently to rules@uspsa.org is around the use of suppressors, or more specifically, why we don’t allow them. Most of the time the person sending the query is upset that we are infringing on their rights. Nothing could be further from the truth.
[Read more…] about Let’s NOT Keep it Quiet(er)QOTM Virginia Count Redux
It seems that the Question of the Month caused some consternation and discussion around the proper application of penalties in this example. First, keep in mind that this blog and the discussions and questions posed here DO NOT represent any official rulings or interpretations. They are simply designed to generate conversation and to inform and educate. We never said we were right all the time, and in some cases, given a good enough argument (despite the apparent urge to issue penalties because the competitor “just didn’t do right”), can change our minds. NROI is always happy to entertain different opinions, but we don’t crowd-source the answers off social media or other forums. Almost all of these items come from actual match happenings: we can’t make this stuff up…
[Read more…] about QOTM Virginia Count ReduxHow The Sausage Is Made
Otto von Bismarck said, “Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.” While “rules” may be substituted for “laws” in USPSA, here’s a little insight into the process used for the recent rules audit and other rules proposals.
[Read more…] about How The Sausage Is MadeGoing to DQ
There is an old saying in our sport: “There are those that have DQ’d and those that will DQ.” It’s true, as near as I can tell. I made it almost eight years before my first called DQ. I actually SHOULD have been DQ’d at my second match and several more times along the way but I was not. Let’s talk about this whole disqualification thing and why I made it eight years (and ended up calling the DQ on myself, by the way).
[Read more…] about Going to DQ