One of the potential new Classifiers, 22-05, is a fixed time stage. Many don’t understand that Fixed Time Scoring is simply Virginia Count (limited number of shots allowed, specific number of hits per target allowed) with a limited time to shoot in.
In Fixed Time scoring then, there are no miss or Failure To Shoot At (FTSA) penalties, but there are penalties for firing shots over the allotted time. This is the only 5-point penalty in USPSA, and it is applied when using a timer for a par time, not for mechanically activated appearing and disappearing targets. If the time displayed for your last shot is greater than 0.3 seconds above the fixed time, you will incur an overtime shot penalty, worth 5 points and designed to remove any A hit you may have achieved with that shot.
Extra shots, shots fired in excess of the specified number for that string, are penalized at -10 points, and are assessed at the shooting location, same as in Virginia Count. If the WSB specifies 12 rounds per string, and your fire 13, you will incur one extra shot penalty.
Extra Hits (hits on a scoring target more than the number specified) are assessed when scoring targets, and only count as extra hits if they strike a scoring target. If they strike a No Shoot, then that hit counts as a No-Shoot, but not an extra hit. If they hit in simulated hard cover, they don’t count at all. Keep in mind that it’s possible to incur extra hit penalties without firing extra shots, since you could have hit a target in error and have less hits on another target.
Also, misses are not penalized, and FTSA is not applied, because when the time is up, the targets are deemed to have disappeared. Sometimes NOT shooting at a target in a Fixed Time stage is the best strategy, especially if the risk may be greater (read: No Shoot) than the reward.
Lastly, even though PractiScore shows hit factors for Fixed Time stages, that “hit factor” is the points you shot. Those points go straight into the match point total and are not factored, because the time is the same for everybody.