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USPSA - National Range Officers Institute

Steel Challenge

The Aiming Point — Point AT It

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I received the message below from a concerned range official and I think it sums it up quite nicely. I did notice and correct some competitors not aiming at the aiming point during the WSSC match, but obviously couldn’t catch every stage every time. We deliberately specified a diameter for the aiming point to accomodate a little bit of variation, but sized it so that the RO should be able to tell if the competitor’s muzzle is pointing at it. In the past, there was an imaginary circle of acceptability, but now there is a defined area to aim at. If you are running Steel Challenge matches, then you should be following the rules in this regard. And, the range of height is indeed 18-24 inches, but that doesn’t mean that if the aiming point is 18 inches high, you can aim at 2 feet. That’s not what the rule says.

As a range officer on the stage, you must not start the competitor until they are in the correct starting position–you wouldn’t start a centerfire handgun shooter with his wrists below his belt, would you? This is no different. If the competitor objects, get the Range Master involved and move on to the next competitor. I also strongly suggest that your match uses 9″ diameter aiming points, and 24 inches is a good aiming height.

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Failure (to paint) Is Not An Option

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I got an email the other day from a member, asking if not painting at level one was an option. Because he didn’t mention what discipline, I told him level one matches were exempt from painting but that it’s strongly recommended that steel get painted between hits even though the rules don’t require it. He also informed me that his entire squad had been told to leave by the match director because they didn’t want to paint. I thought that was a little extreme, but to each his own, I suppose, and thinking about it, I can see the reasoning behind it.

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Preparing to Make Ready

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I often go to matches and hear folks comment on how it takes 3-4 hours for only a few minutes of shooting. Yes, it’s true that SCSA and USPSA matches are half day events where the competitors spend very little time shooting. The time is spent on stage reset between competitors and socializing with squad mates. However, sometimes there is a lot of time wasted between competitors, especially at local matches which lack stage ROs to keep things moving. Let’s look at how you can be ready to Make Ready and keep your match flowing.

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Outer Limits penalties

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Outer Limits is the only SCSA stage with movement on the clock and plate engagement requirements from each box. But what happens if the competitor doesn’t follow the stage procedure? In this Question of the Month we asked: In a SCSA match on the Outer Limits stage, a competitor shoots all plates from the left side shooting box during one string. How many penalties did the competitor earn?

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Steel Challenge Q&A:

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Having been the RM for a recently completed SCSA Tier 3 match I got to answer a lot of questions, especially from folks who were not very familiar with SCSA rules. For competitors that are used to USPSA competition, there are some differences between the rules that can cause some confusion which can lead to a lot of questions. Let’s look at a few of the more common ones.

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