Chris Christian

Just a thought... but if you spend time travelling to matches you spend time on motel/hotels. During the last six months I stayed in two Candlewood Suites for the first time... one in FL and one in OK. These are extended stay places. They don't make the bed every morning... but then I don't at home. The prices were around 1/3 to 1/2 lower than a regular hotel and I was impressed with the facilities. Next time I have to travel I'll look to see if there is a Candlewood Suite in the area... and I'll stay there. They ain't paying me squat for this... it's just a good place to lay up for the two to five days a major match takes, and it won't eat big holes in your wallet. Chris Christian

If the popper failed to fall after three hits with 125 PF ammo... and that failure to fall caused a second target on the stage to not activate and not give the shooter a shot at it... then you have a Range Equipment Malfunction.... stop... paste... re-set. The equipment needs to be looked at/adjusted and the shooter gets a reshoot... and it doesn't make a darned bit of difference how late in a hot day it occurred. I've seen a bunch of home made Rube Goldberg contraptions at matches, and they don't always work the same for every shooter.... but they should... and it's the SOs job to make sure that every shooter gets the same look. Bad call on this SOs part... and the shooter should have pressed it and stood up for his rights under the rules. Chris Christian A23489 SO

I think... and I am not being sarcastic in any way... that your program is Brilliant! All too often we think.... we shoot... but many times we don't do them both at the same time. I love the observation, feedback, discussion, aspect of this. My group does something roughly similar with video.... but I like the interpersonal interaction better. Immediate feedback & discussion. Helluva idea. Tip of the hat from a IDPA Master. Chris Christian

All via Classifier SSP - MA SSR - Ex (will be MA after next Classifier) ESP - EX CDP - Ex (took 1st EX CDP at FL State 2009 by 19 seconds and beat 2 of the 5 MAs... but not enough shooters for a bump) ESR - don't own one... don't plan on owning one. RE: MAs at club matches. In NE FL MAs are few and far between. I've seen 90 shooter club matches with only 2 MAs, and 45 shooter matches with none. Chris Christian - A23489

When you start calling Rules based upon individual perception/interpretation/personal bias... you no longer have Rules. When you don't have Rules you have anarchy. When anarchy arrives, you no longer have a valid sport. A shooter in IDPA should be able to shoot the same COF in Virginia, Florida, California, or any other state and get called the same way. When that fails to happen... IDPA will be replaced by a similar game... and if those Rules in the "new" game are called consistently... it will flourish while IDPA dies. I like IDPA. I don't want to see it die. Let's trim up the Rule Book so things are clear... and can be called consistently. Chris Christian

+1 to Aristotle... he nailed it. IDPA is a game... nothing more. It will remain a game until the targets develop the ability to think and move in Real Time... and shoot back. As a game, it needs Rules. Those Rules are in the book. If the Rules are followed the game can be played on a level field. The Rule Book says nothing... one way or the other.. about hand stick spray. Ergo, not addressed, so yes legal. I get so tired of inexperienced SOs telling me " Well, there could be this...." To which I normally state... " Well the COF and Rule Book says there isn't 'could be this'." Run the match by the Rules. If the Rules don't suit you (and there are so many gray areas in the Rule book that it is laughable... and a new Rule Book is being developed) then pick another game. Question? What is the definition of a "Gamer"? Answer: What a Marksman Class SO calls the Master Class shooter he's currently running through the COF. Chris Christian: IDPA Master & SO

Dan. There is no such thing as a "revolver friendly stage" in IDPA or USPSA.... only "revolver survivable". Chris Christian

There are many things that the Rule Book does not clearly define. But, at some point Common Sense must rear its ugly head. Having shot the last three National Championships I can tell you how it was done on the Standards Stage... which wouldn't be any different from a multi-string COF at any club match. When the string is over you top off, regroup, and shoot the next string with a full load out. Chris Christian

A continuous string of fire under IDPA rules may not exceed 18 rounds, and the competitor is limited to the IDPA limit for carried magazines or speedloaders for that continuous string of fire. Multiple strings of fire within the same stage ( think Standards at IDPA Nationals) are not bound by the single continuous string of fire rules. You top off between strings.... off the clock. Carry as many mags or speedloaders as you need to do that. BTDT at the Nats. Chris Christian

I see you haven't changed much, Roger. Yeah... sometimes the COF description doen't 'xactly do the rules... but is it the COF... so just shoot the danged things and have fun. Besides... the rules are so ambiguous that if you went totally by the Rule Book we'd never get a match finished before midnight... too many SO/MD/competitor "discussions". Would like to shoot with you again... but in IDPA ya gotta leave your red dot at the house. Of course, at my age, I'm sure you can still whup me with iron sights... unless you're shooting a revolver... might have a chance there. Ancient shooters like me seem to have an affinity for ancient gun designs. Chris Christian

Fireant, Would love to see ya. First Coast IDPA in Jax (1st Saturday of the month) or Flagler IDPA in Bunnell (2nd Saturday of the month)... just ask the sign in people "Where's Chris?" We can squad up.

+1 to the above two posts. Engage means "shoot at the damned thing" with the required number of rounds... that's normally two for paper and only one for steel... "neutralized" is what the scorekeeper tells you ya done after they count the holes. If every "engaged" target had to be "neutralized" before a shooter could advance through the COF, then matches would really take a long time.... and if the scorekeeper is down range scoring my targets to see if they were "neutralized" while I'm sitting at the last shooting position.. waiting to run to the next one...on the clock..., I'm gonna yell " Score faster!". Engage a target is what you do during the COF. Neutralize it is what the scorekeeper says you did, or didn't do. The two are not the same. The Rules say ya have to engage... they don't say ya have to hit it. The "hitting" is determined during scoring... and you pay a severe penalty should you fail to hit. Chris Christian

As a IDPA SO, and veteran shooter (SSP MA... EX in SSR, CDP, ESP) I can tell you that the CSO will set the tone for the squad. If the CSO is a POS... then that's what you'll get from that squad. I cut new shooters a reasonable amount of slack during their FIRST match... and explain to them what they did wrong that I did not penalize them for. Beyond that, subsequent matches, the Rules get enforced. SOs are the ambassadors for the sport. If the SO is a Range Nazi he will turn off new shooters and they won't become repeat shooters. If he is too lenient, then every gamer in the group will want to shoot on that squad. It can be a "fine line" to walk... but an important one... at least in club matches.... Sanctioned Marches are a different story... Rules enforced fairly, fimly & consistently. If the CSO on the squad that the original post referred to is not doing his job... and letting a "buddy" play fast and loose with the rules... that SO needs to surrender his Red Hat. Chris Christian

+1 to what Zero Down said. If you have the standing in your club that you have stated, and are a certified SO, you should have no problem SOing his squad. Watch him shoot... call him fairly... but firmly... and let him know that you have "eyes on him". You do sound highly competitive... and there's not a darned thing wrong with that... I exhibit the same traits and can't fault them in another shooter. Maybe he just needs a dose of the Rule Book to bring him back into the fold. Chris Christian

Put one scenario in front of five SOs and you can get five different answers. That's the problem with some parts of the current Rule Book. In this case I think it all comes down to the COF description. If it says "steel must be engaged" then ya got to shot a round at it. "Engage" doesn't mean "hit"... it just means shoot at it. If you engage in proper order you can wander on down the target line... and come back to pick up misses without incurring a procedural. If the COF says " neutalize" then the steel has to fall before the shooter moves on. At least, that's the way this SO sees it. If the MD writes the COF properly, this shouldn't be an issue. Chris Christian