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Major or Minor (Going to USPSA, why chose one over the other)


tjhj

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So I am working on moving into USPSA, I have been shooting IDPA and having fun with it but the procedural error are annoying (Must engage outside to inside, weird tac reload).

But here is what confuses me about USPSA why chose minor PF over Major?

It seems to me that shooting minor is easier on my wallet... as 9mm is cheap. Major moves me to .40 (except open, if I am to cheap to buy .40 over 9mm, can I afford an open race gun??) I saw a nice deal on a para double stack that would put me in Minor for a price that is right... But it may be a dumb move it I will want to be shooting major class. I can still shoot production until I am ready to go limited but great deals don't last, and if I commit to this gun it will be a while (Even longer if I am shooting) before I can save up to get something that would be decent in limited.

But why do people shoot Major over Minor, is it considered more prestigious to shoot major? Do more people shoot major so there is more competition or visa versa?

Any suggestions, advice or why is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help.

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The biggest difference between Major and Minor is that Bs, Cs, and Ds, are worth more points when shooting Major than Minor. So a C is worth 4 compared to 3. That being said, and A is an A either way. Major and Minor does not matter in who you compete against. Only Division (Open, Limits, Production) and Class (C, D, Master).

One thing about the Para. If you buy it and shoot Limited Minor, you can always get a .40 slide, barrel, and mags when you decide to shoot Limited Major. The Para Frame is the same between a P18.9 and a P16.40. You will want Arrendondo or Dawson basepads for the mags to get the most rounds possible.

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If you have been shooting IDPA I can understand the confusion. IDPA is basically scored time plus (every bad hit or other infraction adds to your total time)USPSA is scored by hit factor which is points earned minus penalties divided by your time (bascaly how many points you earn per second). In USPSA the A zone is always worth 5 points the B and C zones are worth 3points minor and 4 points major the D zone is 1 point minor and 2 points major. so you can see the scoring bias towards major power factor. all divisions other than production allow you to choose weather you will run major or minor ammo but you will be shooting together in the same division.

hope this helps

Mike

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Although I shoot L-10 Major now, I used to shoot L-10 Minor for about a year with my Production gun. I know people go: "Why not just keep shooting Production?" I was getting frustrated by the Production rules flux at that time, but I like the problem solving aspect of the game when trying to breakdown a stage with 10 round magazines. Since I shoot for fun primarily, it didn't matter to me if I was leaving points on the table by shooting minor.

Edited by Skydiver
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If you have been shooting IDPA I can understand the confusion. IDPA is basically scored time plus (every bad hit or other infraction adds to your total time)USPSA is scored by hit factor which is points earned minus penalties divided by your time (bascaly how many points you earn per second). In USPSA the A zone is always worth 5 points the B and C zones are worth 3points minor and 4 points major the D zone is 1 point minor and 2 points major. so you can see the scoring bias towards major power factor. all divisions other than production allow you to choose weather you will run major or minor ammo but you will be shooting together in the same division.

hope this helps

Mike

+1.

The IPSC/USPSA motto is DVC: Diligentia - Vis - Celeritas (Accuracy - Power - Speed). Power is recognized by assigning more points to those shooting more powerful rounds.

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There will that time that you want to go fast, and a C hit is easier to swallow in Major.

Now, on the other hand, you can put more rounds in a 140 mag if you choose 9mm over the 40. Same thing as minor in SS, but I dont want you to get confused.

If your club likes to shoot steel, 9mm is fun since you can have more rounds, there is no Maj/Min scoring, either you hit it or not, just make sure you shoot all A's for the papers :cheers:

OR

go 40 for Major and blast away :devil:

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ok that makes sense, you are competing against the same people, but major makes it easier to score better because of the points bias.

Production is always minor. The others you can shoot major or minor.

Minor usually means less recoil so you can shoot faster. It's also good for people with wrist problems, etc. But it doesn't take much math to see the advantage with major when it comes to scoring.

USPSA is all about trade-offs. Do you shoot slow and accurate or faster and not so accurate. Production Minor 10 round vs Limited Major 20 round vs Open Major 25 round red dot, etc.

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I started shooting USPSA with what I had, and that happened to be minor. It's also cheaper! For me it's about having fun, and that's my main goal. If you're extremely competitive and are chasing to win 1st place, I would argue that you need to be in major because of the scoring differences. If you just want to try the sport for a little while, just use what you have, and if you feel later on that you want "x" gun or want to bump up to major, you'll know it's a worth while investment.

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I have been shooting IDPA but the procedural errors are annoying

shooting minor is easier on my wallet

I can still shoot production until I am ready to go limited

Your best bet is to start shooting USPSA with the gun you

currently have (9mm) - shoot it in Production where everybody

is shooting 9mm with ten round mags.

Try that awhile, and then decide if you want to stay with it,

or try another type of shooting.

Good luck, hope you enjoy it,

Jack

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As a lot of people have said, major power factor allows you to trade off a little accuracy for speed and not be penalized as much.

In my opinion, shooting minor in Limited gives you no advantage. Sure you can stuff 4-5 more rounds in your magazine, but there is usually enough space on stages to perform a reload or two. Shooting minor Limited 10 is a huge disadvantage. You do not get the extra round benefit, and have to be extremely accurate.

Now if you were to shoot in Single Stack Division, there may be a benefit to shooting minor. Most stages that I have seen, have been designed around production division (Revolvers really get screwed sometimes). The guys shooting major are limited to 8+1 while minor is 10+1. That can be a huge advantage, as the guys shooting major are looking for a way to shoot 8 shot arrays, plus you will usually get rid of at least one reload.

As for the cost difference, if you reload your ammo, there may only be a few cents per round difference. Store bought ammo is another story.

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Here's one other thought if you shoot 3-gun...

Most of the 3-gun matches do not require a minimum power factor; you just have to have enough energy in your rounds to knock down whatever steel targets are included. So, many Tactical class 3-gunners (basically using Limited USPSA pistols) are going to 9mm for the increased capacity.

If you are speaking strictly of USPSA Pistol competition, its all about the extra points when shooting major. Most all the top shooters shoot major; there's a reason for that. If you're shooting fast enough to be competitive, you are going to shoot some C's. With major scoring you can afford to cut some corners and shoot for C's in some situations to save a little movement which equals time.

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Thank you all for your advice and help. Yeah I'm over stocked on production guns.

Ive been to a few and shot prod, but there is so much going on myself that i dont have time to figure out other classes. I know this much, I love doing it, playing with guns is a bonus, and another gun is always a good thing. My thought is it's a lot more fun to be able to be competitive instead of starting behind. I've done sports where I was trying to make the unusual work, or being to cheap and it takes the fun out of it.

So I need to vary the mix anyway so .40 it is.

Also it gives me a better answer why do you have 8 guns? Espically to my GF. In my mind that's not even a collection or very many. People don't seem to like the answer because they are fun and I'm ready for the zombie invasion. Now I just say competitive shooting. Which I gives me an excuse to buy more.

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Thank you all for your advice and help. Yeah I'm over stocked on production guns.

Ive been to a few and shot prod, but there is so much going on myself that i dont have time to figure out other classes. I know this much, I love doing it, playing with guns is a bonus, and another gun is always a good thing. My thought is it's a lot more fun to be able to be competitive instead of starting behind. I've done sports where I was trying to make the unusual work, or being to cheap and it takes the fun out of it.

So I need to vary the mix anyway so .40 it is.

Also it gives me a better answer why do you have 8 guns? Espically to my GF. In my mind that's not even a collection or very many. People don't seem to like the answer because they are fun and I'm ready for the zombie invasion. Now I just say competitive shooting. Which I gives me an excuse to buy more.

No need to wait for the invasion, come shoot a ZSA match and you get the best of both worlds!!! Shoot the gun you have and have fun and be safe. After a few matches and talking with the other shooters, you will understand the USPSA game better and can decide from there.

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  • 2 weeks later...

One thing you seem to be confused on is that Major and Minor are separated (with your mention of there being more competition in one vs the other). They're not. Major and minor compete directly with each other - it just affects how your score is calculated.

Limited Major and Limited Minor are all scored together as limited. You just use the scoring chart already shown to figure out each person's score.

In general, you are almost always competitively ahead to shoot Major when you can. It's not about being badass or anything else - it's just that it tends to bear out to higher scores.

Exception is Production division, where everything is scored Minor. To a large degree this was done as Production is seen as the "budget" division (not really a beginner's division as some amazing shooters shoot in Production - just that the equipment investment is less), and mandating minor on all means people can compete evenly when using cheaper 9mm ammo.

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  • 1 year later...

So if one is planning on shooting steel ONLY in Open Class, there should be no reason to choose .40 over 9mm . . . . . is that correct, or am I overlooking something?

Open DIVISION, not open class.... and, you will never see a legal USPSA stage with nothing but steel. To be legal, it has to have at least 1 paper target in the stage.

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and, you will never see a legal USPSA stage with nothing but steel. To be legal, it has to have at least 1 paper target in the stage.

This is a pretty common misconception. You can have an all steel stage, it just has to have at least 1 popper to be legal.

4.3.1.4 Various sizes of metal plates may be used (see Appendix B5), however, metal plates must not be used exclusively in a course of fire. At least one authorized paper target or Popper must be included in each course of fire.
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So if one is planning on shooting steel ONLY in Open Class, there should be no reason to choose .40 over 9mm . . . . . is that correct, or am I overlooking something?

.40 is the minimum caliber for Major in Limited, but .38 is the minimum caliber for Major is Open. If you're going to shoot Open Major, .38 is the way to go over .40 because of the capacity advantage. .40 Open shooters are in the minority.

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In my opinion, Production is the only "shoot what you have" division, whereas shooters in the other divisions buy pistols specifically for competition, so why would you want to buy anything but the most competitive combination? The striker fired pistol fans will be all over me, but this is my list:

Production: DA/SA, 9mm, double stack, semi-auto

Limited/L10: SAO, .40, double stack, semi-auto

Open: SAO, 9mm/.38 Super, double stack, semi-auto, with red dot sight and compensator

Single Stack: .45 1911 (I'm not sure if there's an advantage either way, but some prefer .40)

Revolver: S&W 625 6 shot .45ACP

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