In the RO seminar we stress counting shots during Virginia Count and Fixed Time scored stages, and for divisions with limited capacity, especially on unloaded starts. Even though Production has changed from 10 rounds in the magazine after the start signal to 15 rounds, you still need to count! Let’s discuss why in this Question of the Month.
The stage is a Comstock, Long Course with an unloaded start. A Production competitor fires 16 rounds before the first reload. What is the penalty?
I chose this question to highlight the change to the maximum capacity of Production Division, and to help everyone learn where to find one of the hardest rules to find under pressure is located. First, half of the answers are correct, it’s a bump to Open Division. If a Production competitor fires 16 shots on an unloaded start, that means there were 16 rounds in the magazine after the start signal and that’s a violation of the division rules (App. D4, 9). I used to shoot Production a lot, and when I got to a stage with an unloaded start, I always stripped that extra round from my first mag so I didn’t get that bump to Open.
I am not surprised that about half the answers were incorrect, first because the rule is hard to find, second we see very few low-capacity competitors anymore, and third many times the ROs forget to count. A couple years ago I was a RO on a stage with an unloaded start at the Area 1 match and we only had to count for a handful of low-capacity competitors. Basically the situation is so rare, that it isn’t one of the common rules everyone knows. It also is the one rule that takes forever to find because it isn’t in the chapter it should be in (in my mind). One would think the applicable rule would be in Chapter 5 which deals with Competitor Equipment, but it isn’t!
The rule we are looking for is in Chapter 6, Match Structure. It’s rule 6.2.5.1: However, if a competitor fails to satisfy the equipment or other requirements of a declared handgun Division during a course of fire, the competitor will be placed in Open Division, if available, otherwise the competitor will shoot the match for no score. If a competitor fails to satisfy the equipment or other requirements for PCC or Open Division during the course of fire, he will shoot for no score.
Since this was a violation of Production Division rules, the competitor is moved to Open Division. The good news is he can now load the mags to the maximum capacity. The bad news is that he is competing in a division dominated by Major Power Factor while shooting Minor. But if he gets those Alphas, it won’t matter!
File that rule number away in your brains. It only took me about 10 years to remember where to look for that one! And get in the habit of counting shots for all competitors during all stages, even for normal capacity divisions and Comstock scoring. You may catch someone with an extra long mag or it may help you keep track of how many targets were engaged. And remember to vote in the current Question of the Month.