Power Factor

[Yagi]

Help me understand why do some people who shoots on regular matches load their ammo not even equivalent or above the power factor requirements. Are they trying to save some money on powders ? Or mainly to achieve a better score in a match because of better recoil management during the course of fire?

I'm still a new shooter in the realm of this, but why bother practice in a regular match with sub par PF where in fact when you are shooting a sanctioned match with chrono your gun will act much different? What are you accomplishing? Or is it mainly - sandbaggers are just all over the place?

At the end of the day, i just shake my head and not think about it. For me, what's important is i play by the rules...

What's your take?

[BillD]

Yep, sandbaggers. Trying to get an edge at a club match.

There is more of this stuff going on in this sport than I realized. I've seen A shooters tank a classifier and tell people

beforehand they were going to tank it.

I'd like someone to explain how a 44% shooter can get second C at 2 major matches, including the Nats.

It's all "classifier management".

Lord knows I'm not perfect but I've never shot a COF and not tried to do the best I could.

[Sarge]

The only time I ever shoot ammo that is not up to snuff is if I loaded a hundred or so to test out and it failed to make a good pf. Lowest I ever used in a local match was 126 stuff. I shoot it at local matches just to get rid of it and not get it mixed up with "good" ammo.

[Matt Griffin]

Yep, sandbaggers. Trying to get an edge at a club match.

There is more of this stuff going on in this sport than I realized. I've seen A shooters tank a classifier and tell people

beforehand they were going to tank it.

I'd like someone to explain how a 44% shooter can get second C at 2 major matches, including the Nats.

It's all "classifier management".

Lord knows I'm not perfect but I've never shot a COF and not tried to do the best I could.

To be fair, classifier skills are NOT match skills. I've never purposefully shot a classifier below my ability level once, and I consistently performed two classes higher at matches because I learned how to move, plan, and execute, three things that classifiers don't test. Heck, when I got my GM card at last year's Nationals, my revolver average was in the low 70s.

H.

[Dan Hefta]

To be fair, classifier skills are NOT match skills. I've never purposefully shot a classifier below my ability level once, and I consistently performed two classes higher at matches because I learned how to move, plan, and execute, three things that classifiers don't test. Heck, when I got my GM card at last year's Nationals, my revolver average was in the low 70s.

H.

I agree with this statement, I allways seemed to blow classifiers and kick butt on long field courses. I don't shoot weak handed very good and a lot of classifiers include this skill. I am not saying that there is no sandbagging going on, I know it is, but not in all cases.

[pjb45]

Sandbaggers for sure. Heck I have even seen it at Nationals where a shooter has his Chrono ammo - re: muzzle flip -- then for the rest of the match there is no muzzle flip. hmmmm.

I am probably one of the few shooters who classifier comes close to match %-this years SSNats. For most people, they shoot way below their classifier %-IMO. However, --not to start another flame war --- remember that a big match is a sample of the total number of shooters in USPSA (the statistical universe). So to be more statistical valid you need to normalize the match scores to get a better representation of the %.

[Corey]

It really shows the intergrity level of people when they shoot low power ammo at a club match they know they wont get chrono'd at, plain and simple.

[Blueridge]

In the last year I shot in a match that counted as a classifier, and it had a classifier in the match also. My percentages for the classifier stage and the overall match were almost exactly the same, separated by tenths of points. So I have to say that I shoot matches and the classifiers about the same, although I think that I shoot matches better.

As for the power factor issue brought up, no one has ever questioned if my ammunition passes what is required. I shoot major, and exceed the minimum for that with ease. People talk about reducing the powder load to lower felt recoil, but I have just become used to the recoil of the load that I use. It comes in between 170 and 175 power factor from the chromo tests that I have documented and from matches.

I shoot for me, and try not to worry about other shooters (unless they blatantly appear to be less than honest). It would be nice to see a chrono test at a state level (or higher) IDPA match, so that the power factor for the divisions could be checked.

Edited May 7, 2010 by Blueridge

[Chris iliff]

I figure that I shoot major, so I load major. I did go minor at A6, but not because I was trying to fudge close to 165 so as not to have recoil. I do know people that have stated that the rounds they shoot would not make major. Do I hold it against them? No, I really don't give a fat baby crap. To me it is not important. Let me tell you why I feel this way and correct me if you want.

Could Brian Enos, TGO, Xre, Cheely, Flex, Gman, Keen, Abbate, and on ....... beat me shooting minor? You bet they could. They are at a place where the shooting is all that matters. It's a special place that I aspire to get to some day. For me, I just don't care enough at a club match about what Joe/Jane Doe are doing.....as long as they are safe, I let them be.

I also know that for some on a very tight fixed budget, every penny counts. Is it fair to other competitors if the person is not at the declared PF? I'll let the "it's not fair people judge that", I aspire to something different, a place where only the shooting matters. At that special place I imagine that I only care about the shooting, nothing else really matters. Not PF, not $4,000 guns, not new gizmo's, not Joe/Jane Doe, JUST MY SHOOTING. My .02 cents.

[Singlestack]

Closed because this has nothing to do about Handgun Technique and I hate threads about cheaters. Ignore them.