“At a recent match a competitor was shooting “Pendulum”. On one string he missed a plate, hit the stop plate, then hit the previously missed plate and hit the stop plate again. His time was recorded as of the last shot fired (no question there; rule 6.2.2) but there was disagreement as to whether or not he should have received a penalty for a missed plate. Are misses “locked in” when the stop plate is hit the first time?”
The competitor’s time as of his last shot should be recorded, and a miss penalty added. There is no provision in the rules for going back and hitting a plate that was missed prior to shooting the stop plate. Once the stop plate is hit, any plate not hit is counted as a miss, regardless of the competitor’s subsequent actions. See rule 6.3 and 6.2.2 in the SCSA rules.