Every once in a while you get a question and just have to go hmmmm? Recently during set-up at an all classifier match, the issue of what is the shoulder of a USPSA cardboard target when the specified target height of “5 feet at the shoulder” is used. If you think about it, there could be two answers. Is shoulder height the top of the main body of the target or is the shoulder where the lateral edge of the target breaks down at an angle? I would guess most people would say the former rather than the latter example but is it as cut and dried as that?
[Read more…] about Which shoulder?Stage Design
X Marks the Spot
No, not a post discussing treasure maps, sorry. In this case, it is regarding the placement of firearms on a surface prior to the start signal as part of the make ready routine. Let’s grab our shovels anyway and and see what we can find.
[Read more…] about X Marks the SpotPrep those props for painless scoring
Shots that travel partially or wholly through props and hit a cardboard target usually require a bit of detective work by the RO to determine the proper score. Let’s talk about how a RO should score these targets and some tricks to avoid scoring issues.
[Read more…] about Prep those props for painless scoringLast six shots or three targets?
USPSA matches are freestyle, as stated in rule 1.1.5. This means that competitors must be able to solve the stage in their own way. We don’t tell them the target order, or that they have to move to the left or right first. But we do have some specific exceptions to this rule that are outlined in the sub-rules of 1.1.5, including requiring strong hand only or weak hand only for no more than the last six shots in medium and long courses. But there are some tricks to how you specify this to prevent gaming.
[Read more…] about Last six shots or three targets?No-shoot vs. hard cover in stage design
Over the years I have designed over a hundred courses of fire shot at all levels of our sport. Many people have made a comment that I seem to use a lot of hard cover targets rather than no-shoots. A good friend of mine Ray Hirst once told me, “A hard cover target is the waste of a perfectly good no-shoot.”
[Read more…] about No-shoot vs. hard cover in stage designFinding Balance
Now and then, we get questions from folks asking if thus and such is “legal” in terms of stage design. Sometimes these things are a good idea and sometimes they are not. And occasionally, we roll out the “just because it might be legal doesn’t mean it’s a good idea” response.
[Read more…] about Finding BalanceDo you DVC?
Do you know what DVC is? Have you noticed those letters on the bottom corner of the USPSA logo? Do you understand what they mean in relation to our sport?
[Read more…] about Do you DVC?Ethics and Stage Design
There is an old saying “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should”. This applies to most things in life and stage design is one of those areas. Let’s dig in a little bit and discuss how this applies to stage design.
[Read more…] about Ethics and Stage Design