A recent post about scoring when a squib occurs brought up another question that several range officers asked. Since a squib is not considered a shot because the bullet didn’t pass completely through the barrel of the firearm, is it a disqualification if a competitor has an accidental discharge that turns out to be a squib?
The definition of a shot from Appendix A3 also applies to other instances in the rulebook such as those under section 10.4 which deals with accidental discharges. Some of those rules, such as shots that travel over the berm or shots that impact within 10 feet of the competitor, can’t apply if the bullet doesn’t leave the barrel.
But what about ADs that happen while clearing a malfunction; while loading, reloading or unloading; during movement; while transferring a firearm between hands; or while retrieving a staged firearm? All those rules also use the word ‘shot’ which means that if it turns out to be a confirmed squib, then yes it would not be a DQ. The stage would be scored as shot. If it was not a squib, then it was a shot and would be a DQ.
However, the chances of a squib occurring during an accidental discharge are very low. But I can’t say it will never happen and if it ever happens to you, you might want to buy some lottery tickets on the way home from the match.