deacon12224 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Deacon12224 said an old RM trained him that way. Who the hell is he calling OLD??? I'm sure he's referring to the experience level - not the actual age, my friend. Um..ahh... No, No I meant BOLD not old. That was just a typo. Yea.. Yea that's it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidwiz Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 At the 2011 USPSA Ltd/Production, there were quite a few ROs on various stages using improper range commands. One of the ROs got pissed at me when I sat there and wouldn't touch my gun after he said some stupid local range command. The problem, as I saw it, was that USPSA used *a lot* of raw RO's who had never worked a bigger match than their local club. I understand that they were short-staffed, but it was a noticeable problem (very, very inexperienced range officers). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 If this was the biggest complaint from the match then I think we did pretty well. Our ROs were all NROI certified and carried the same credentials as any other RO. I personally attached the range commands to all of our timers several years ago but we failed to let the ROs know that if they had a question that the commands could be found there. We will make a note to ensure that this gets corrected. I would really hope that you guys also took time to thank the ROs for working the match, unless the improper range commands is what directly caused you to have a bad experience or poor performance on a given stage. Also if you can find the time to post in this thread I would also hope that you can take the time to thank the sponsors for supporting our sport. We learn something new each year, and each year we will do our best to improve so that you guys may have the best possible match experience. I appreciate all that attended and supported USPSA at East Alabama Gun Club. Alan, I get the sense that while the question might have come from match experience, at this point we're no longer discussing that particular situation, but kicking around how all of us, at all of our individual matches can do it better next time..... I didn't shoot the Alabama match, but I'm grateful that you and your team worked so very hard to give your competitors a match to shoot. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 As for the "Make Ready" command, if I'm not sure I heard it, I'll just stand there, looking dumb. The RO will repeat it when he sees me not moving, and will assume (correctly) that I did not hear it. Until I am absolutely sure I heard the command, I do nothing. So yes, I want to hear "Make Ready", not load it up, going hot, or any other saying. As for the "Are you ready?" Command, I always will say "Ready" or "No" when asked. It let's the RO know that I am ready or not ready, and also reminds me that the buzzer is fixing to go off and I better get my game plan completely straight in the next 1-4 seconds. I do not mind, before the make ready command, if the RO asks if I understand the COF, because it might make me look it over once more. My .02..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 As for the "Make Ready" command, if I'm not sure I heard it, I'll just stand there, looking dumb. The RO will repeat it when he sees me not moving, and will assume (correctly) that I did not hear it. Until I am absolutely sure I heard the command, I do nothing. So yes, I want to hear "Make Ready", not load it up, going hot, or any other saying. Someone recently told me to "gas it up" at the last match I was at. I just stared at him. I say "ready" when they ask "Are you ready?" as well, but as an RO, I obviously am aware that this is unnecessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaute Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 FWIW...I was not criticizing anyone, but merely making an observation. As a relatively new USPSA competitor and RO, I want to learn and be as thorough as possible. Yes...I am very competitive and can be quite fastidious about details. I am thankful to all volunteers. I think I am close to getting my GM card as a taper. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I'll just stand there, looking dumb. I do that naturally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Norman Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) Range commands are really pretty simple. Stoke'em up Cowboy Ready to rock? Hold on Beep If yer done bangin' away...open that sucker up and show us an empty pipe Ok, close it up and put it away, yer scaring the kiddies. Seriously the correct commands are important. We get people that know the commands in English but little else. We get people that are definitely Type A's they shoot a club match like it was the World Championship. We also get people that are just out for fun and get on the Type A's by 'reminding' them that "hey, this ain't the Nationals" Having the wrong commands given can mess people up. I am a little hard of hearing, add in ear plugs and people shooting it two adjacent bays and I often have to ask the RO if he has given the Make Ready. If he says a lot extraneous stuff, I definitely can get lost. So, MAKE READY Say it LOUD and CLEAR Are you ready Say it clearly, but it need not be so loud Stand By Say it clear and reasonably loud Beep, hold the timer up by the shooter, but don't interfere with his movement. Then STOP VERY LOUD AND CLEAR if needed. Last we get to ULSC, ICHD...H Clear and concise at a cadence that allows the shooter to follow. If the shooter gets ahead, have him re clear. We need to make 100% sure the gun is truly empty. and finally... RANGE IS CLEAR No it is not Safe, it is CLEAR. What about the Going Hot? or Eyes and Ears? Fine, Loud, in front of the shooter and in a manner that leaves no room for confusion with the start of the COF which begins with... MAKE READY! Edited March 24, 2012 by Jim Norman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Deacon12224 said an old RM trained him that way. Who the hell is he calling OLD??? I'm sure he's referring to the experience level - not the actual age, my friend. Um..ahh... No, No I meant BOLD not old. That was just a typo. Yea.. Yea that's it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :roflol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I'll just stand there, looking dumb. I do that naturally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPatterson Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 At the 2011 USPSA Ltd/Production, there were quite a few ROs on various stages using improper range commands. One of the ROs got pissed at me when I sat there and wouldn't touch my gun after he said some stupid local range command. The problem, as I saw it, was that USPSA used *a lot* of raw RO's who had never worked a bigger match than their local club. I understand that they were short-staffed, but it was a noticeable problem (very, very inexperienced range officers). I hope you conveyed this information to one of the Range Masters or Match Directors. We as RO's can't get better if no tells us we are making mistakes. I was on stage 4 so if I was one of those I apologize. However we are there as volunters and some of us are starting to get long in the tooth or no teeth. So the best way to help is to volunter to work one of the matches and shoot the other. Free dinners are no longer enough to keep me going back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidwiz Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Just to add that I ROed the Ltd/Open nationals last year and both nationals the year prior. There were definitely greener ROs this year than last year. I saw people have problems with ROs both years - ROs acting like jackasses to competitors, but don't know the experience level of the ROs involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p7fl Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 When I hear "gas it up" I know exactly who you mean and it drives me nutty.What makes it worse he only does it some of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitedog Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Having just taken the ro course last weekend, jay pounded them into us. And gave us the reasons why. And I have to say unless its safety related, all you will get from me is a smile and make ready.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 (edited) Possible thread hijack or misdirection here, but why is it that you do not have to respond in the affirmative to the question ,"are you ready." When I bring new shooters, I always tell them that no response is necessary, but a simple head nod is the courteous thing to do. There are those shooters who like to do all kinds of crazy things in their make ready routine and I have been told more then once that they are not ready, once they have assumed the starting position. It just seems like you aren't asking too much for a simple head nod. The competitor DOES give a reply. The default answer to "Are you ready?" is to do nothing. That tells the RO the guy is ready to go and to continue the liturgy. (You want to nod; go right ahead!) Edited March 28, 2012 by wgnoyes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krdshrk Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I heard a lot of it too, including "slide forward." Only thing that bugged me was the girl who apparently thought "are you ready" was a question and waited for me to nod. You should have done what Jay Worden does to make it memorable during his RO classes: he starts shuffling forward doing "the slide". It's a great reminder for RO's going through the class that the correct phrase is "hammer down". As for waiting for the nod, I was given the impression that in the IDPA SO training program, SO's are taught to look for some kind of acknowledgement of the "Shooter Ready." command. So I think that Ken's guess in post #2 that the RO's were IDPA certified may have some merit. Haha Yeah - George Jones did that in the class I took recently. I heard a lot of it too, including "slide forward." ... Que George Jones shuffling his feet forward a few inches at a time! I can still visualise it. Stoke it, Stroke it, Flick it, Stick it! Hah - running joke around here too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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