DKorn

Are you saying you were given a reshoot each time because the calibration shot missed the popper completely? That’s incorrect per Appendix C1 7.d.

Could you specify “mandatory reload between each shot” for clarity?

I was thinking 8.1.4, then realized that you were specifying loaded chamber, no magazine. The only things I can think of that would make this a problem are Revolvers and firearms with magazine disconnects. I can’t find anything in the rules that specifically allows or disallows this - all I can find is stuff referring to loaded or unloaded starts. Again, this is probably because of Revolvers. Can you specify a loaded but not chambered start in USPSA?

I mean, you can’t make it Virginia Count to limit the shooter to 1 round since the COF includes steel, but you could have a stage that’s one popper at a fairly long distance as a speed shoot. It’d be interesting to see the risk/benefit of taking a quick shot on it and maybe needing a makeup versus taking a little more time to aim. You could also put no shoots next to (or behind) it.

Its hilarious how much pressure there is on you when you’re shooting a calibration shot. Last weekend we had a popper that was set way too light and kept blowing over, so we made some pretty significant adjustments. I was the RO on the squad and someone comments “You should probably have someone shoot it with 9mm just to be sure it’s not set way too heavy.” Not an official calibration, but also not a bad idea. I’ve never felt so much pressure off the clock to make an accurate hit, but I center punched it.

Yes, the competitor’s hit anywhere on the popper is enough to justify calibration. Appendix C1 has some more details about the actual calibration process. Basically, for initial calibration before the match, you want to hit the calibration zone and shoot from the furthest possible shot that could be taken on the popper. When it’s challenged, you shoot it from wherever it was actually shot from. You ideally want to hit the calibration zone. When the calibration shot is taken, you can have the following results: a - Hit at or below the calibration zone and the popper falls. Popper will be scored as a miss. b - Hit anywhere on the popper and it doesn’t fall. Shooter gets a reshoot. c - Hit above the calibration zone. Shooter gets a reshoot. d - Miss the popper completely. Shoot again.

For a competition gun, I get this, but for a defensive / duty gun this seems like a bad idea. Backup irons aren’t about using them because you can’t use the dot in certain situations, they’re about having an option to fall back on if the optic for some reason fails. That said, I’ve seen more than one Open or Carry Optics shooter forget to turn their dot on or have it fail during a stage and shoot without a dot, just using the window and their index to aim. Some of them even did pretty well, although this technique is probably limited in how accurate you can be and requires that you have a consistent index in order to work at all.

Even with good tape, I still personally prefer the silicon carbide / epoxy grip job on any grip that has contours, finger grooves, etc. since those can make it difficult to apply tape without wrinkles.

I think people get where their hit needs to be (anywhere on the popper) mixed up with the requirements for where it has to be hit during a calibration challenge. I’ve seen a lot of misconceptions about the rules for that even though they’re fairly straightforward (Appendix C1 7.a-d).

A couple other notes (may be obvious): -The shooter has to ask for calibration. It’s not automatic. -There has to be evidence of a hit on the surface of the target. If there’s no evidence of a hit, it’s a miss. -It doesn’t matter what or where the hit is. Low, high, dead center, edge. Doesn’t matter. Full diameter, or barely nicked it. Doesn’t matter.

Valid point. I’d definitely focus on it for targets that are close to the 180, stages where you’re advancing past targets as you engage them, and stages with rearward movement. Other than that it might be unreasonable to block all of them on some stages.

Best practice (as stated by Troy, the stage design articles from a few years back, and in the RO class I was in) is to block targets past the 180. Some would say the rules require it, others would disagree. In my mind it’s a strong suggestion, and something I’ll do if I ever get into designing stages, but not something I’m going to whine about as a shooter if it isn’t done.

Because at a large match, they might check mags at Chrono? And technically at any point an RO could pull out a gauge and check, but is unlikely to bother at a local.

How is 9mm major out of a limited gun less safe than out of an open gun?

That makes a lot more sense. 1190 FPS for a 115 grain comes out to 136.85 PF, which sounds about right for a round that I would expect to be a bit, but not too much, hotter than “gamer” ammo.

This really only works at all-classifier matches or steel challenge. Little or no resetting needed lets you get away with it a little better than at any regular match. Otherwise it’s just plain stupid, like you said.

That makes sense - we don’t have any matches locally that run multiple days like that, so I didn’t think of it.

Usually not. Occasionally clubs will allow this, especially at all-classifier matches.

I wonder if it actually makes that velocity. A lot of published velocities are much higher than actual velocities.

Yep, that’s a great match. I shot that one this year and last year. Too bad this was the last year for it, although I hear some locals are working on something to continue the flavor of the match, even if the name is done.

I don’t think the popularity of “high capacity” divisions and high round count stages are related, at least where I tend to shoot. High round count stages are popular because people like to shoot a lot, and if you’re limited to only a set number of bays, increasing the round count per stage is the easiest way to up the overall amount of shooting. Limited and Open have been around the longest, and have for a long time been considered the “most competitive” division where there’s usually a lot of heat. Carry Optics and PCC are the new and different, so it makes sense that they’d be popular. Production is still pretty popular locally as well. Single Stack is generally going to be less popular, but I think it’s less due to capacity than due to the fact that fewer guns can be used in the division. Single stack minor and Production are essentially equivalent, but you see a lot more Production shooters because more people have guns that fit into Production. For what it’s worth, our last local had 19 Limited 18 Production 12 PCC 10 Open 5 Carry Optics 4 Single Stack

As a non-serious PCC shooter who is running a CZ Scorpion, is it worth bothering to develop a separate load, or will I be ok continuing to run my Production loads (about 133 PF out of a 5” Production gun)? I feel like between my nonexistent practice with PCC and the suboptimal choice of rifle, the ammo doesn’t really matter as long as it runs and makes PF.

With the clarification, it’s still obviously not worth the risk of getting bumped to Open, especially since the magnet still has to be behind the hip bone anyway, so it’s not like you’re just leaving it on there from your Limited or Open rig. Here’s a few dumb ways you could get bumped to Open: -Screw up and put a mag on during your make ready process or at unload and show clear. -Leave the mag on the magnet as you walk towards the start position, and not get it off the magnet before the RO says make ready. -Incorrectly think you heard range is clear, and put a mag on the magnet too soon -Have a mag at any point fall and stick to the mag, either fumbled, bumped off a table, etc., bumped out of your pouches, or empty. -Forget during the COF that you’re shooting Production, fall back on what you would do for another division, and stick a mag to the magnet when you mean to stuff it into a pouch.

Sounds like you need to either join PTSG and get some personalized feedback, or find a shooter local to you that has a good grip and recoil control and ask them for help.

I just use rolled up tape stuck to the back of the target. I’m attaching to painted drywall, so I typically go for masking tape or blue tape to avoid damaging the paint.