difference between "fault line" and "off limit" lines?

[3djedi]

What's the difference?

[Youngeyes]

Crossing a fault line and engaging a target is a procedural penalty. Crossing an off limit line gets you a zero score for the stage. Only an RO can cross the off limit. 2.2.1.5

[PatJones]

It's all in the rulebook. If you have the PDF version, the search function is your friend.

2.2.1.5 Off-Limits Lines may be used to define an area of the range floor which has been declared off-limits. The written stage briefing must identify the presence and location of Off-Limits Lines (if any). The off-limits area must be clearly delineated with rope, caution tape or other materials and must be at least 2 feet high and at least 2 feet from any Fault Line or Shooting Box. (See Rule 10.2.11). Crossing an off-limits line will result in a zero for the stage. Openings in off limits lines are allowed for RO access only; competitors may not use the openings to enter any off limits areas or move through the course of fire in a manner not indicated by the off limits lines. The lines are deemed to extend through the open areas.

[Poppa Bear]

Most off limits lines are safety based. An example would be a stage where the shooter can run to the front of a stage by going around the walls, but in the process he would cut off the RO's visual access. If the RO tried to follow it would place the RO down range of the muzzle. The off limits area would allow the RO to keep the shooter visible without ending up down range, and would stop the shooter from taking the same shortcut.

[3djedi]

I am asking because I have to set up a stage for the first time next week and I picked a stage on-line that looked easy to set up and pretty fun to shoot. It uses "caution tape" for lines. And I remember reading in the rule book that caution tape was used for "off-limit" markings. So in the stage below, are they using the caution tape as a "fault line" or are they using "off limit" tape to direct they shooters down the course? Sorry, I know nothing about stage set up/ design.....

[PatJones]

Things may have changed since '02 when this stage was drawn up.

Fault lines must have dimension, they cannot be flat:

2.2.1.1 Shooting Boxes and Fault Lines should be constructed of

wooden boards or other suitable material, must be fixed firmly

in place, and provide both physical and visual references to

competitors. For hard ground surfaces clear of debris, 0.75

inch material is the minimum allowable size. On other range

surfaces, such as covered with turf, sand, gravel, wood chips or

similar, thicker material which rises at least 1.5 inches above

the surface is recommended

If you want to control the shooters movement with the lines, not just where they can shoot from, you can use the tape as off limit lines. They must be elevated at least 2 feet off the ground, and you must note them in the stage briefing.

If it's your first time setting up a stage, make your life easy and just use whatever raised fault line material the club has in stock.

[Poppa Bear]

In the drawing it appears as if they are using caution tape as a fault line. Be very careful about using caution tape to direct a shooters movement. As Pat noted it needs to be at least 2' off the ground, AND it tends to be movable .

I shot a stage where they used tape like that to mark the "Fault Lines". With a slight step to the side we moved the tape enough to take several targets without having to bend around the wall as the designer intended. We had several other stages that used a similar setup and we gamed the hell out of them by stretching them or jumping over them as we moved to the next array. We are talking a squad with CRO's, RM's and an AD.

Make things right and use what ever hard/raised material the club uses for their fault lines. There are people out there that know the rules, who will use caution tape to their advantage if you try to take the easy way out.

[3djedi]

Thanks guys.

Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk

[grapemeister]

2.2.1 Competitor movement may be restricted or controlled through the use of physical barriers, Fault Lines, Shooting Boxes, or Off-Limits Lines.

Its right there in black and white. And, it is common in USPSA and IPSC to use off limits lines, tape, rope, or similar material to restrict a shooters movements. Its very simple to word a written stage briefing to indicate what areas are off limits...the rest, of course is the shooting area. Detailed wording is key, or otherwise you'll have folk's game your stage and pretty much consider everything the shooting area. In other words, simply putting up some kind of lines does not mean anything unless it's explained in the written stage briefing.