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First Disqualification Yesterday


Rhandhali

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I got my first DQ this Sunday. I've got maybe 15 matches under my belt and have not been able to participate in matches as regularly as I'd like, fortunately my schedule has freed up and this was my third match in as many weeks. I'm shooting production (still unclassified) with a CZ-85.

 

I posted the stage layout PDF below. The stage calls for engaging half the targets freestyle, mandatory reload, the other half strong hand only. A second string repeats with the first half freestyle, a reload, and the other half weak hand only.

 

I missed the mandatory reload on the first string. I caught myself as I transitioned to strong hand but finished the first string with a procedural penalty. Not ideal, but so be it.

 

The DQ came with the second stage when I transitioned to my weak hand. I put my rounds on the first half of the targets, reloaded like I was supposed to and transitioned the gun to my weak hand. BOOM! - the trigger was engaged and the gun discharged where it was pointed - safely downrange and at the berm, resulting in an (entirely reasonable) DQ.

 

I spent a good half hour after the match in dry fire practice, transitioning from strong hand to weak hand. I think what happened was my off hand index finger wasn't perfectly flat on the transition and on taking hold of the weapon, entered the trigger guard and engaged the trigger.

 

Lessons learned 

  1. If I'm not used to a particular transition go slow, even if it seems simple. I hadn't practiced operating my gun in my off hand enough, or in transitioning from two hand to off hand.
  2. If you have the stage description before hand read them. I had a week to go through the stage descriptions and gave them only a cursory look through. Had I read so in more detail I MIGHT have seen the transition that I didn't know about and could have taken time to rehearse the transition in dry fire and maybe have avoided the DQ.
  3. Take the opportunity to recenter. I could have just taken a minute to re-center myself after getting the procedural, I doubt anyone would have held it against me. The opportunity was there, I just didn't take it. Maybe the DQ would have been avoided, maybe not.
  4. Stick around and help out even if you get DQed. You can dump your gear in the car, help with scoring and still watch the other competitors. People appreciate it, and you budgeted the time to be at the whole match anyway.

 

Easter Sunday Stage 3.pdf

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Glad you weren't hurt nor was anyone else. Just bruised pride. At least you have learned from it. You were defiantly a good sport about it to stick around and help the match. Been there done that myself. There are only two kinds of shooters, those who have ADed and those who will AD.

IMVHO

Mike 

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4 hours ago, mlm said:

 There are only two kinds of shooters, those who have ADed and those who will AD.

 

This is put on by someone everytime someone writes about their first DQ or in this case an AD and a DQ. 

 

All I can say that is lame as all who are in this sport has not done either and to say that is what makes you a shooter is even more lame.

IMVHO.

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8 hours ago, mlm said:

 There are only two kinds of shooters, those who have ADed and those who will AD.

IMVHO

Mike 

Simply not true. There are thousands of USPSA shooters who never have, and likely never will, DQ. 

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2 minutes ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

Oh, come on guys ...

 

Everybody knows "there are 2 kinds of shooters ..."   is a euphemism to make

the poor guy who just got knocked out of a match  feel a little better.    :rolleyes:

 

...and makes it easier to go out and practice the heck out of whatever it was you did...

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I got my fist DQ at one of the first 3 gun matches I shot.

I was using a mossberg 500 ( all I had) and I was not used to the magazine loading backwards where the last round in was the first round out.

Needless to say I thought I was being slick and loaded for the stage and put a slug in where I thought it would be needed.

Needless to say I put a slug on a steel plate at about 10 yards lol... got a big DQ for that one.

It hurt my feelings more then anything else.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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It was a little concave after that but still useable. Lol

Yea I deserved it. I figured I would be buying the plate but march director had a local guy that just repaired it or supplied another one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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18 hours ago, Sarge said:

Simply not true. There are thousands of USPSA shooters who never have, and likely never will, DQ. 

 

partly because most AD's aren't actually considered AD's in USPSA. (i.e. early shots when you are pointed more or less towards the target, or bumpfires on the 2nd shot, yadda yadda, yadda.

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Above: NRA Certified Pistol and The Well Armed Woman instructor Natasja Brandt demonstrates how easy it is to ‘get in a hurry and go home early’. This is a clear 180 violation and a DQ. On a COF start where the shooter must begin by facing up range (South) the gun cannot clear the holster until the shooter has fully-turned down range (North).

It’s been waggishly-said that there are only two types of shooters in action matches—those who have been Disqualified (DQ) from a match, and those who will be. Although it’s a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ statement there’s an element of truth there.

Safety is the paramount consideration in any action match, whether rifle, handgun, 2-Gun or 3-Gun. And it has to be, because shooters are running quickly through a Course of Fire (COF) with a loaded firearm. Unsafe gun handling will not be tolerated.

There are many different ways a shooter can receive a DQ, and the most common is violation of the 180 Rule.
 
6-180-chart.jpg
The East/West 180 degree line applies regardless of how the shooter is moving through the COF. If the muzzle crosses it pointed to the South it is a DQ.

A simple way to describe the 180 Rule is for shooters to imagine themselves standing in the center of a compass rose and facing due North (000 degrees). North is downrange from the Start position. Anything behind the shooter is up range to the South at 180 degrees. A line drawn from East (90 degrees) to West (270 degrees) passes directly through the shooter’s body.

As long as the gun muzzle stays to the North side of that East/West line, and does not wander into the 180 degree zone, the shooter is good to go. Let the muzzle wander South of that line and the 180 Rule is violated. The shooter will get a DQ.

That’s easy to understand as the shooter stands at the starting point for the COF. One certainly would not turn their muzzle up range towards the other shooters or the Range Officer/Safety Officer. The factor that complicates the 180 Rule is that the 90-270 degree East/West compass line moves with the shooter through whatever movements are required for the COF—whether they are moving forward, backwards, or laterally.

If a shooter gets ahead of themselves it only takes one careless moment to break that 180. Here are the four most common ways that shooters wind up with a 180 DQ.

Reloading While Moving Laterally

Some COFs will start the shooter moving downrange, and at some point force them to move laterally along the target array. At this point the shooter will be moving parallel to their 90-270 line. Making a reload while moving laterally is the most common way to violate the 180 Rule, and it’s not hard to see why.

2-180.jpg
Left: The ‘Over The Support Side Shoulder’ position allows rapid, and safe, movement up range. Right: All shooters have to do is remember to pivot to their support side to reacquire their shooting grip.


The most effective (and commonly-taught) way to reload a semi-auto handgun is for the shooter to drop their support hand from the gun to reach for a new magazine. The shooting hand then cants the magazine well inward, and towards their support side, keeping the gun in front of their eyes while they eject the spent magazine from the gun. The new magazine is slapped into place, the grip re-assumed, and they continue shooting.

If a right-handed shooter does this while moving from their right to their left, and parallel to the targets, the muzzle will invariably cross the 180 line to the South and be pointing up range. The same is true for a southpaw moving left to right. It’s a 180 Rule DQ that has trapped many an unwary shooter!

7-180-chart.jpg
Complex COFs requiring the shooter quickly advance down range can sometimes have a shooter getting ahead of themselves. If a shooter over runs a target, as shown at Position C, and turns up range to shoot they will break the 180 and earn a DQ.


Experienced shooters have learned to analyze a stage and choose their path through it to avoid this reloading trap. If it can’t be avoided they will change their reload procedure. Instead of canting the magazine well towards their support side, they will roll the shooting hand outward to their strong side as they eject the spent magazine, and bring the gun hand elbow slightly inward. This will keep the muzzle pointing North of the 180 line and place the magazine well parallel to the ground to allow a new magazine to be inserted. It takes a bit of practice, but it’s better than going home early.

Advancing Up Range

Shooters will see COFs that require them to start at the extreme downrange position, maybe engage some targets, but then move up range towards the 180 zone before turning back down range to engage additional targets. North is still North, even though it is now at the shooter’s back. If their muzzle gets in front of them as they move up range it will cross that East/West, point to the South, and will violate the 180 Rule.

Newer shooters are sometimes so intimidated by this that they will slowly back up range while making certain their muzzle is pointed down range. That takes a lot of time. Experienced shooters have learned two ways to safely deal with this while advancing quickly.

3-180.jpg
Left: An alternative method for rapid movement up range is to trail the gun in the strong hand. Right: With this technique shooters must then pivot back to their strong side to reacquire the targets.


One is to pivot towards their support side (pivot left for a right-handed shooter) and leave the gun in their strong hand while trailing it behind them at full arm extension, pointing down range (with their finger off the trigger in the Register Position) as they run up range to reach their next shooting position. Then they must pivot their body towards their strong side (gun hand side) to reacquire their grip and stance.

The other is to pivot towards their strong side (right side for a right-handed shooter) and bring the gun hand up and into contact with their support side shoulder (finger in the Register Position)—pointing the gun over their support side shoulder while they move up range. They must then remember to pivot back towards their support side to reacquire their shooting stance.

Both work, and require some practice to become comfortable with, as well as remembering to pivot in the right direction. Pivoting wrong breaks the 180. Performed correctly, it gains valuable movement time and a better score—all without risk.

Overrunning a Target

Many COFs will have the shooter begin at the Start Position, and then advance forward and down range through the COF while engaging targets to their right and left until they reach the final targets at the end. If a shooter gets in too big a hurry and runs even slightly past a target, turning back to shoot it will break the 180 and will result in a DQ.

4-180.jpg
Natasja demonstrates how easy it is for a right-handed shooter moving laterally to their left (or a Southpaw moving right) to break the 180 while reloading. The ‘standard’ reloading technique will point the muzzle South of the 180 line and can be called for a DQ.


Speeding through a COF is good. But, the most experienced shooters have learned that ‘controlled speed’ is best. Their stage planning will make certain that their shooting points for every target they engage is forward (North) of their 90-270 degree line.

5-180.jpg
A safe way to reload when moving in the ‘wrong’ direction is to roll the gun hand wrist outward and bring the elbow into the body while ejecting the magazine. This keeps the muzzle pointing down range while allowing the quick insertion of a fresh magazine.


The Facing Up Range Start

There will be times when the COF specifies the shooter start by facing up range (South). At the buzzer they turn downrange, draw, and engage targets. Jeff Cooper’s El Presidente is a classic example of this.

Sometimes, in their haste to achieve fast times, shooters get the ‘turn’ and ‘draw’ reversed.

When the buzzer sounds there is nothing wrong with the shooter’s hand going to and gripping the holstered gun. But if the gun clears the holster—regardless of where the muzzle is pointed—before the shooter has fully-pivoted down range, the 180 will be violated. It’s a DQ. As an IDPA Safety Officer I have been ‘swept’ on more than one occasion. It’s not fun, but it was just an example of a shooter moving faster than they were thinking.

Moving faster than thought pretty much sums up how shooters receive a 180 Rule DQ.  It only takes one careless moment to end their match day. Thinking through the upcoming evolutions, and planning the movements through a stage, is the best way to avoid the 180 DQ.

 

 
 
 
 
 
This article came out yesterday. I thought it has merit to this topic.
IMVHO
Mike 
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