Chuck Anderson

My club board came up with the muzzle over the berm rule after viewing video evidence of a shooter reloading with his muzzle elevated and his finger on the trigger. They used that to boot USPSA from the range. Mind you, this was video of an IDPA match. Both organizations have rules against reloading with the finger on the trigger, but they figured THIS one would be enforced.

Hoping my new toy from Optics Planet will be here in time. Looking less and less likely.

Any idea on max rifle distance? Thinking about giving Limited a try.

Well you really don't have to worry about it. I'll be off the BOD end of next year anyway, at the latest. I'm not ignoring you. I just don't agree with you. Not saying you have to change your opinion either. Good luck with whatever sport you choose to participate.

Actually had an RO try to DQ me for that at a match in Texas I flew to. Was checking my scope in the safe area. He came up and started tugging on my magazine in the pouch. Told me I could be DQ'd for having ammo in the safe area. I told him the rule was against handling ammo in the safe area, which he was doing and could be DQ'd for. Short discussion which ended up with me not getting DQ'd (till the next day). Admittedly this was a three gun match and I really have no idea what the rules were. To your question though about whether or not I'd want a range hosting a USPSA branded match that didn't adhere to the rules entirely . Even over something you consider minor. Short answer is no. I don't want them hosting a USPSAish match. The rules are the rules. And I have a reason for that. USPSA bases it's safety record on each club following the same rules. I can go to a club and say every other club in the country is following these exact rules and USPSA does have an enviable safety record. I can tell new clubs the reason they should follow our rules is that they've been vetted and used by thousands of competitors every weekend and we know they work. If one club starts doing things, to be more safe, or because they have "x" issue, that argument goes away. So for the benefit of all clubs, I'd rather lose one. Personal opinion and I've argued the point before with people I really respect. I don't think it's a perfect solution but it's the best I can come up with. Let me turn it a bit. Would you agree with a club having a local rule that you found less safe? When I started at my local club we bagged and holstered in the parking lot at the trunk. Club was fine with it and said it was legal. When someone first raised the issue about it being against the rules it was a big deal. The MD said they played by big boy rules or something to that effect and if they didn't like it they could leave. I was still just a newbie at this point. Not even sure I'd read the rule book at that point to know what I didn't know. Once they started playing by the actual rules the club got much bigger. When they moved away from that participation dwindled. It's about a third what it used to be now that it is not a sanctioned match anymore. You say you've never received anything from USPSA for your monthly check. I think there are an awful lot of people that participate in USPSA because its USPSA and it's a known quantity. You might put on the same match you do now without USPSA. You might have just as many people come, but I doubt it. I know personally I rarely shoot matches that aren't affiliated with something. Just got tired of MD's and RM's making up rules as they go. I also got tired of having guns pointed at me and having the MD give the guy stage DQ's (note that's plural in the same match) but let him keep shooting, but that was a different sport.

There you go. It's in the bylaws. 16.4 Director of National Range Officer Institute: The Director of the National Range Officer Institute shall have general and active supervision over all operations and affairs of the National Range Officer Institute (NROI), shall hold a current NROI Range Master Instructor (RMI) certification and must be a Life Member. In the event the Director does not hold RMI certification when selected for office, he shall seek and obtain such certification within twelve months of that date of selection, failing which he may be terminated by the Board. Candidates for the position of Director of NROI shall be knowledgeable of practical shooting, principles and rules, must have experience in National Championship officiating, and must hold the minimum of a current NROI Range Master certification. The Director shall be selected from a pool of applicants by majority vote of the Board of Directors and may be removed at any time, with or without cause, only by the Board of Directors, with a written 30-day notice. In addition to the other provisions of these bylaws, the Director of NROI shall i.) Enforce the principles, ideals, rules and guidelines, as set forth by the Board of Directors and officers of the organization. ii.) attend and participate in Board meetings, but does so without vote, iii.) inform the Board of Directors and the President of all NROI and International Range Officers Association (IROA) matters affecting the corporation.

Wow, that's a whole lot of information that I have a really hard time believing. Not saying you haven't seen your AD in two years, but he did live in that state so I'm betting he was probably somewhere in the state. Each time the club rep (and I'm surprised that isn't you) signs the reafilliation form it says right on there that the club agrees to abide by USPSA rules. Who handles your reaffiliation each year? Who signs the form? If it's someone who doesn't have the authority to speak for the club, well that's another matter. Is it a legally binding contract, of course not. There is no countersignature, it's not notarized, but it is an agreement that all clubs will run under the same rules. I fully understand there may be some clubs that can't comply. I'm not saying we have any ability to force them to hold USPSA matches. But I've also been around long enough to appreciate that when I go to a USPSA match, I'll be shooting a USPSA match. And all the rules apply, not just the ones that are convenient. If you want to claim to be a national organization at some point you have to draw a line that says this is what qualifies as a match under our rules. If the club can't comply they can't shoot USPSA. Sucks but what rules would you be OK with allowing the club to make? Since I've been AD, I've had clubs try to ban the muzzle over the berm, double tapping steel targets, moving with the gun in hand, drawing from the holster and limiting the 180 to about 50 degrees. In each case I was able to work with the venue to to come up with ways of doing business that would resolve the issue without violating USPSA rules. Except the muzzle over the berm. We came up with ways, they just didn't care. The double tapping steel, the concern was bullets leaving the range as the steel was falling. Worked on course design and placement of steel near the berm, use of plates instead of poppers and FFP for activators instead of RFP. Through course design, not rules the risk was mitigated. The limiting on the 180 was an indoor range. Again, worked with course design to prevent any reasonable engagement into the walls. Drawing from the holster, they could use table starts if they really needed and movement with the gun could be addressed by stand and shoot only courses. Would the last two be boring as heck? Yep, but they'd be legal by the rules. Fortunately the clubs in the last two examples decided to allow the matches to continue without the work arounds. If you're not getting an answer from your AD on something like that email me and I'll see if I can help. Even when I'm not an AD, I still would rather try to work with the range rather than be a jerk about it. For most issues there is a way to work within the rules and keep everything on track.

Well as AD I've worked with three different clubs that tried passing local rules. With two of them we came up with solutions that passed muster with both the club and USPSA rules. With the third they dug their heels in and decided they'd pass a rule. As a result they lost the USPSA club, attendance dropped dramatically, people think the range is a joke, they didn't fix anything since they just had to close a range this month, and the club is in even more potential liability. But I can guarantee I did everything I could as an AD and a member of the club to keep it shooting USPSA. When they decided that their promise to follow USPSA rules was one they couldn't abide we left.

Sounds like Kurt has a new target idea. Can we just shoot 8" lengths of rebar?

I've had the opportunity over the last week or two to talk, in depth, with a whole bunch of different USPSA members, most of them from the East coast. What could have been a really difficult task was made much easier by the help I received. The folks I spoke with, whether we agreed or not, we helpful beyond all expectations. It sounds like there are some really good matches out there, heck I've certainly seen enough videos of them. It was really an opportunity to confirm what I already knew. USPSA shooters are a great group of people and I'm proud to be a part of the organization.

The closest are the Sleep Inn and Comfort Inn on the east side of town. Other than that there are a few on the main drag through town. Red Lion, and a few others. My pick would be the first two if I was looking for close.

I try to stick the timer in front of my face as the shooter is finishing the stage. Between me and the shooter so I can watch both. I want to watch the timer picking up that last shot and I also know what that time is. Then as soon as the shooter starts to unload the timer is facing the Scoring RO. Once he's done I call the time and he repeats it. If that time doesn't match what I remember seeing as the last shot, I'm going to take another look at the timer. If he shot a 3 yard target and the last split is 2.5 seconds, and that previous shot is what I remember, he's getting the lower time. If we can't figure it out, reshoot.

So, people who didn't earn a slot or didn't sign into the system soon enough should bump people who did from their slot choice for your convenience? Just making sure I understand your outrage. The simple solution if traveling with your friends is the most important thing is you all shoot the pre-match. There's plenty of space left, you can all even be on the same squad. But I'm guessing that isn't a workable solution for you.

The pre match is three days. Phil told me they will have a limited number of shoot through passes for those (like me) who booked their flight needing to be out in two. If you can do three perfect. If you have to be out in two you'll have to get approval to shoot a few extra stages per day.

Schedule should be updated on the website this week. Short answers are Fri and Sat night dinner at the range will start at 6PM with a shooters meeting afterwards. We'll start shooting around 8:30-9. (If it's cloudy we start a bit earlier). We'll shoot till done with 5 stages. About 2-3 Am. Awards are at Mt Bachelor Village in Bend on Sunday at noon.

Talked to Ken on Saturday night. The match is still not full. The main match slots are filling up, but the Pre Match is still pretty wide open. He's releasing entries in order so that people who are lower on the list will have more options in squadding. When you get approved, pay and squad ASAP to make sure you can shoot when and where you want. As the numbers get higher, the odds are greater that you'll be shooting the Pre Match (with me) as opposed to the main match.

Shooting the Ironman this weekend. Was just noticing today how many people use Rick's gear. Sorry to hear this.

Ruling from 2008 has been removed.

It's not about the money for the plaque. It's about having that plaque mean something. If we award divisions, classes and categories that don't meet the requirements for the rulebook, how low should we go? 5,3,1? I've heard arguments for all the above. I've heard that high junior should be recognized even if he is the only one. I just think it cheapens it. One of the kids I shoot with has a couple World Champion titles. But when he won them he was 14 or 15 shooting against a couple 9 year olds. The titles mean very little to him. And I don't think it's fair to the person who did beat 9, or 90 other people to stand with someone who beat no one, but was the only person registered, as winner of whatever match.

My bad, thought I hit the I three times. Yes 5 level II. He was referring to an Area match though which is required Level III. The recognition rules are pretty specific. If the numbers aren't there no award. It sucks for the people who shot but didn't have enough participation, but it preserves the recognition for those who did. In this particular case it was a battle in Revo. But say one of the two GMs didn't show or got DQd. Should the winner who beat a handful of C/D class shooters (and I'm guessing, not trying to slight the other Revo shooters there) receive the same Area Champion recognition the Travis Tomasie did for winning Limited?

The Leupold DeltaPoint comes with adaptors for ten different pistols. Glocks, Smiths, 1911, Sig and a few others. You don't need a specific slide to use one.

I would have loved to give an award for Revolver. Appendix A2 prohibits recognizing a Division with less than 10 entries at a level II or higher match. We've gone through this every year for the last several. It's frustrating.

The rule has changed since 2009. Why would information from a previous rule be relevant?

Sorry to hear that about Nate and Nick. I've been to Rockcastle for a few other events. Never been treated with anything but the best hospitality from any venue I've shot in the US. Not sure what happened with this event.

Way to go Kevin. Wish I'd been there to see it. Hopefully I'll be there next year to see you pick up your second win.