Poppa Bear

We have a couple of debit cards tied to our club accounts. When the scores are uploaded, we also pay the fees with the card. The account is an online account so we make sure it has just enough money to cover fees. Major purchases are made using the checkbook.

4 gets you the classification. A C for the purposes of this post. Then they start averaging the best 5, then best 6. This 5 or 6 will automatically include the first 4 plus any new scores that are within your classification range. Eg. you are classified as a C shooter after your first 4 (21%, 45% 50% 50%). Classifier #5 is 34%. It will not count because it is more than 5% below your C classification, while the 21% will continue to count because it was part of your initial classification. Classifiers 6 and 7 are both above 35% so they will count because they do not duplicate a prior classifier. This gives you 6 valid scores. Now any non-duplicated classifier you shoot that is above 35% will knock out the 21% that was part of your initial classification. From this point forward you will always be classified on the best 6 of the best 8 non-duplicated classifiers THAT ARE VALID for your classification.

We built fabric walls that are 20' 30' and 50' long that are attached to 2x2's at each end. We roll them up when not in use and unroll to the needed length during COF set up. We put steel hooks on the 2x2's so they hang off the rail system. If the wall is so long that it sags in the middle we will hang a 2x2 from the rail and use cable ties to attach the wall to the 2x2. We attach steel weights to the 2x2's using bungy cords to keep things tight. We use the same walls outdoors by attaching them to posts pounded into the ground.

Another important point is to plan your magazines according to the stage. My magazines are capable of holding 19, but 18 go in real easy. The stage needed 18 rounds so I planned to shoot 12 then reload for the final 6 while moving to the 3rd array. The first shot went off and the mag dropped out of the bottom. Downloading the mag just a couple would have assured that the mag seated completely. Proper planning would have been load a 19 round mag at the start and have 16 rounds in the second with a planned reload, or barney mag the start and hope to shoot it clean leaving me with 2 extras for just in case.

I design a lot of illegal stages. I build a lot of illegal stages. I am one of those 3 to 5 members who does a lot of the work, rather than sit back and let others do it all. Once everything is set up we find the little things, or sometimes the big things, to change so that it becomes a LEGAL stage. We are encouraging as many people as we can to design stages they would like to shoot as we try to involve more people in the match set up process. As one who does design stages there is a certain measure of pride involved when others complement you on a stage or even an entire match. I no longer make big mistakes like requiring 8 targets be engaged from one position, but I still make small ones like having a piece of steel available from a second position that is less than our 8 yd minimum distance (noticeable during the initial walk through). You can say OUR club OUR rules, and anyone who shoots just those local matches will never know the difference, but anyone who shoots other clubs will. You can set up the illegal stage and unknowingly shoot it illegal because NO ONE pointed out where it was illegal. You can set up the illegal stage and then modify the stage or the briefing to make it legal. You do a disservice to everyone if you knowingly and intentionally break the rules.

Your first 4 classifiers above 2% in a division will create your initial classification. After that you will be classified on your best 6 of your most recent 8 that are valid. This means that if your initial classification is a C shooter (40%-59.9%) then only those results above 35% will count towards your classification in the future. It is therefor possible to have a 30% score counting towards your classification if it is one of the original 4 and subsequent scores of 34.99% not counting because it is more than 5% below the 40% floor of C class.

Shot a classifier and I was the only shooter to NOT reload between arrays. My brain caught up just as I shot the final time. Shot 06-03 a week ago and ALMOST shot the second target without reloading. Caught it before I squeezed the trigger but it threw off my time for that first string. Mistakes like yours are not if they will happen but when they will happen. Everybody will brain fart a reload at some point.

I have seen two squibs, one double, and a couple of HOT loads. The squibs were on Dillon 550's where the operator did not verify the powder charge before seating the bullet. The double was a 650 where he stopped mid load and restarted by doubling the case. The HOT loads were errors where the machine was not dropping the right charge and the operator did not check it when the run started. I would guess he went from PF of 170 to a PF of 225 to 250 for a couple of shots. I know I always drop within .1 grain on my machine but I still check every so often (about 1 in 50) just to verify.

I look at factory configuration as meaning NON-ported, threaded, or compensated and of stock length. So if the only difference is the lands and grooves then I think of it as factory configuration.

We upload the classifiers as soon as we can after a match is shot. This month we shot on the 10th and I had the scores uploaded and fees paid prior to the end of the day. They were included in Aprils classifier updates.

We shot a match today that I think all shooters enjoyed. Stage 1: Path down middle while engaging targets to the left, the right, and finally at the end. All targets were in the open with walls separating arrays, and we still had targets missed because the shooters were fixated elsewhere and went right by them. Plan your targets order and stick with it. Stage 2: Long run & gun, plan your reloads, stick to that plan, DO NOT miss the steel at the end or your time will suffer. Stage 3: A LOT of vision barrier forcing the shooter to take targets to the left, right, or middle while moving in an 8' by 8' shooting area. Which targets are visible from each location, DID you already engage it? Are you sure you engaged it? Several late shots as they realized they had not engaged it. Stage 4: Small shooting area with 3 arrays, one through a port. What is the quickest way to shoot the COF? Where do you reload? None of the stages was all that complicated. None required complicated or contorted shooting positions. ALL made you think, and if you blew your plan everyone noticed the hiccup. If you blew your reload, everyone noticed. If you had a good plan and stuck to it, everyone noticed. No stage had a simple everyone shoot it this way solution.

As the one who runs EzWin for our club a possible problem could be operator error. The program moves the cursor by default to the next box if the total round count is 10 or greater for that box. Ie. the Alpha box has 11 hits and EzWin moves the cursor to the B box without the operator having to hit the enter button. IF the operator hits the enter button the cursor moves to the C box. IF the operator did not intend to move the cursor to the C box yet, it is possible for scores to now be off by one box. IF the program is off by one box and the operator does not catch it then it is possible to turn a D hit into a Miss. The program verifies the total number of shots scored, it does not verify the number of shots in each scoring area. That is the responsibility of the stats officer. We initial all score sheets even at a level 1 match so that no one can complain if the score sheet comes to me with no time listed or the wrong data entered into the scoring area, they initialed it as being correct.

Right now we are shooting Monday the 19th as a practice match. 6:30 PM April 24th as our opening USPSA match at Adventure Shooting Sports, 10:00 AM. (We will be shooting outdoors through at least September) May 1st as an introduction to Steel Challenge shooting, 10:00 AM. (Again at Adventure Shooting Sports) Otherwise we are working on several Monday practice matches every month and one Saturday a month for a sanctioned USPSA match. It is our hope to introduce many people to USPSA shooting over the summer as well as an occasional Steel Challenge match so that we have a strong core group when we move back indoors this fall. We are also working on the development of a FMPSA web page with calendar.

Our reshoot policy is we allow reshoots for anyone looking to be classified in another division. We also allow reshoots for anyone that is looking for an initial classification AND who had an equipment failure or a brain failure. Eg. Shooter is competitive against B or C class shooters, but they do not have their official classification in a division or maybe any division. They score well below their ability due to penalties. We will allow them to reshoot the classifier so that an HONEST evaluation of their abilities can be entered into the system. After they are classified the scores will start to average themselves out. We will not allow them to reshoot until they get the score they like just like we will not penalize them by making them submit a sub-standard score that keeps them classified below their true abilities. It is not fair to anyone if the newly classified D shooter (30%, 55%, 58%, 5% ) is consistently beating C shooters, or even B shooters. Allow the party to reshoot and score a penalty free 50% and we are now looking at a high C shooter starting to knock on the door to B class. We have several new shooters whose initial classification will be as a high D or even a low C. I myself just tanked a classifier by double tapping all six targets before my brain remembered that the WSB called for 1 each, reload, 1 each.

When I RO, I will sometimes see what MIGHT be a trigger violation. It is not always easy to determine with the shooter moving the gun as they go around obstacles or are in the process of reloading. If I suspect a possible violation I will talk to the shooter after the CoF is completed. New shooters are told to practice their movement skills. Get into the habit of pulling the finger out of the guard even if the movement is nothing more than transitioning from one array to the next while shooting from a box. When moving between arrays put a little more effort into keeping the finger well outside of the trigger guard because hands reflexively tighten when we slip or fall. It is easier to build good habits than break bad habits. More experienced shooters are just given a general warning that their finger was iffy. I will then keep a closer eye on their trigger finger during CoF's. I have had some admit that they might have been close, and they make a conscious effort to keep their finger visibly outside of the trigger during the rest of the match. I'll be honest, I could not tell you where my trigger finger is with 100% certainty while moving. It should be solidly Viagra stiff right above the trigger guard, BUT it is an ingrained position that I do not even think about as I move or reload. I figure it must be in the right position because I have never been called for a trigger violation or even warned about it.

Because I like the competitive aspects of trying to improve MY A count while removing the D, M, or NS count. Time only counts when it comes to how I performed against those in my class who shot the course using a different plan.

Shot 99-23 Front Sight. First string T1 good hits, T2 good hits, T3 D/A hit so I IMMEDIATELY cranked off another round for THREE hits. Final tally was 9-A, 3-C, the single D hit and 2 penalties for Extra Hit and Extra Shot. Cost me 2 HF. Same match required you to engage targets in front of table A, move briefcase to table B while engaging targets through the PORT, leave briefcase on table B and engage final target array. Procedurals for not having the briefcase in your weak hand while engaging targets through the port, or any targets engaged while the briefcase was on the ground. Engaged the first two targets through the port before I realized I forgot to grab the briefcase off table A. Same COF, the MD engaged the last array and immediately realized that the briefcase slid off the table. He gigged himself before the scoring had even started. "Well that's 3 procedurals!!" We were the ones that wrote the rules for that stage.

I like to use UPS as long as I can change shipping to my work address. They deliver here every day and I have never missed a package. If it ships to my house I prefer USPS. UPS and Fedex either drop the package outside my door, or hang the call tag and I have to drive out to pick it up. I have had times where they did not want to change shipping to other than my CC address, but they changed their mind when I said I will order from someone else so cancel the order.

I can see using the porportions for long range practice. I use Matt's site for the range commands and beeps only. I have several IDPA targets set up at work with a total length of 40 yards. After everyone else has left for the day and it is quiet, I go to Matt's page and start the commands with whatever par time I want to train with. It really makes a difference using the actual targets for dry fire training. I do the same thing at home but am restricted to 10 yards. I am thinking of recording 5 minutes sections of commands and par times, ie. 5 minutes of 2.0, 5 minutes of 1.9, 5 minutes of 1.8 etc and burning them to a CD. I can then use ear buds inside my muffs to practice live at the range. Just page through the tracks until I get to the time I want to train at.

We are lenient on the rules for new shooters. Because they are new, their times are not a threat to the experienced shooters. We will therefore tell them that they were a little too exposed while doing their reload, or failed to pie the corner and were exposed to T2 while engaging T1, or any of a number of things that could earn them a PE. This way they learn the rules and we do not chase away a new shooter. In my case I still forget to pie the corner or any one of a number of errors that earn me a PE or two every match. In my defense, I tend to forget the rules when I shoot. If I can see both targets, I will shoot both targets and forget about engaging the second from the otherside of the barrel.

This is my first year as an IDPA member. We shot the classifier last weekend to prep for our upcoming regional match. Things I have been practicing over the last several days are: Dry shooting on the move. Start at 25 yards and move up to 5 yards trying to keep the sights as steady as possible. Will help me shoot the classifier better next time, but more importantly it will help me shoot the CoF's better. Dry firing at 25 yards on full size IDPA target. Start at low ready and bring the sights into alignment. Reset the weapon and repeat. Will help me improve target aquisition at a long range, then 15 yards, 10 yards, 5 yards become a lot easier. I am placing more emphasis on good sight picture than speed. -1 hurts a little, -3 or -5 hurts a lot. taking that extra bit to make sure the weapon is properly aligned still puts me time ahead. I can't shoot fast enough to make up for a miss. I did not have a problem with the head shots. I lost most of my points shooting on the move in stage 2 and long range in stage 3. I shot too quick and did wait for a proper sight picture.