Knock-over steel plates are great when they fall, but what if they are hit and don’t fall? Do you know how to handle them as a Range Officer? Let’s test your knowledge in this Question of the Month.
At a local match, a stage has a couple knock-over steel plates. During the course of fire, a competitor hits a plate on the edge and causes it to spin 180 degrees, but not fall. The competitor moves on to engage other targets believing he knocked the plate over. What is your call as the RO?
So what is the correct answer? Let’s first look at the rule that applies, 4.3.1.6: Unlike Poppers, metal plates are not subject to calibration or calibration challenges. If a scoring metal plate has been hit but fails to fall or overturn, the Range Officer shall declare range equipment failure and order the competitor to reshoot the course of fire, after the faulty plate has been rectified.
The correct answer is to immediately stop the competitor for a Range Equipment Failure (REF). The plate is supposed to fall when hit, and if it doesn’t then it isn’t working properly. And in this situation it actually turned and the competitor isn’t able to reengage the target.
But what happens if the plate is hit, doesn’t fall, can still be engaged, and the competitor shoots at it again? That is when rule 4.3.1.6.1 comes into play: A plate that has been hit a second time and falls or overturns before a Range Officer can stop the competitor, will be scored as hit and there will be no reshoot issued.
Basically when you are the RO, you need to stop the competitor immediately for a plate that doesn’t fall, but if the plate gets shot down before you can say “stop”, then the competitor proceeds as normal.
When writing the results post, I realized another answer can technically also be correct because it was poorly written. Yes, at the end of the course of fire (COF) a reshoot is ordered because the stop command was used for a REF. That answer was supposed to say, “Let competitor complete entire COF and then order reshoot.” We have received some questions indicating that some bad information is being passed along. We have heard that some ROs are being told by Range Masters that you don’t stop the competitor immediately and let them complete the COF as to not distract them. That is not what the rules say, and why should the competitor get a practice run on the stage and also waste ammo? When a REF occurs, it is an immediate stop.
And just scoring a plate that was hit and didn’t fall as a hit is not supported by the rules. Steel must fall to score. Yes, plates mean the RO needs to watch closely and be ready to say stop if needed.
Remember to cast your vote in the current Question of the Month poll!