What classifier stages are relevant?

[lroy]

I've been starting to shoot more matches, but have yet to do a classifier. I wanted to practice up on some of them, but the USPSA list has over 100?

 

https://uspsa.org/classifiers

 

Are classifier stages selected randomly from here or is there a list of a few ones that are run currently?

[ima45dv8]

They're generally chosen by whoever is putting on the match.

If there are any you really want to shoot you could volunteer to help with planning and setting up some matches. 

[Racinready300ex]

You'll probably find clubs pick them based on how hard they are to set up and how long they take to run. Maybe even what props they have available. There are some you'll probably never shoot. The newer ones are more fun, (and new) so I think I see them more. 

 

If you want to do well on them you need solid fundamentals. Like good grip and trigger control so you can hit stuff at speed, then fast gun handling. Like draws, reloads etc. It's not really anything crazy, you just need to be really good at the basic's. Crazy right?

[caspian guy]

When I used to run a club I'd ask competitors/setup crew to suggest something .... If we hadn't run it lately and it wasn't stupid hard to set up that's what we'd do. Preference went to people who were part of the setup crew as you might expect.

[motosapiens]

around here we are seeing the last few years being set up most often just because they're new, the HHF's haven't been screwed up by HQ yet, and most of them involve some movement.

[regor]

7 hours ago, Racinready300ex said:

You'll probably find clubs pick them based on how hard they are to set up and how long they take to run. Maybe even what props they have available. There are some you'll probably never shoot. The newer ones are more fun, (and new) so I think I see them more. 

 

If you want to do well on them you need solid fundamentals. Like good grip and trigger control so you can hit stuff at speed, then fast gun handling. Like draws, reloads etc. It's not really anything crazy, you just need to be really good at the basic's. Crazy right?

 

^What they said. 

 

Train on smaller/challenging targets in dry fire that force you to fix the shooting aspects you are bad at so the targets you'll see on classifiers seem easier/closer. It's rarely worth it to train for a specific classifier unless you know you have a specific classifier with some rarely-used skill (like reloading off of a table). The shooting aspects of classifiers all boil down to the fundamentals (grip, index, transitions, reloads, etc.), as do the movement components of those that include it (having the gun on target as you enter the position, moving smoothly to keep stable sight picture, blending positions).

[lstange]

The five most popular classifiers are:

 

99-11		El Presidente
06-03		Can You Count
13-05		Tick-Tock
18-04		Didn’t You Send The Mailman
18-07		Someone Is Always Willing To Pay

[regor]

2 hours ago, lstange said:

The five most popular classifiers are:

 

99-11		El Presidente
06-03		Can You Count
13-05		Tick-Tock
18-04		Didn’t You Send The Mailman
18-07		Someone Is Always Willing To Pay

 

What's that based on and how much more popular are they? 

[lstange]

3 minutes ago, regor said:

 

What's that based on and how much more popular are they? 

This is based on recent matches, Production division, before the 20 series became official. 99-11 was shot 3,833 times, the least popular classifier (99-59) was shot 165 times. Median is 1,300.

[MHicks]

Sometime they will choose specific classifiers that they have performed well in the past trying to move up in classification. 

[rowdyb]

The 18, 19 and 20 series are to me the most interesting to shoot. But whatever one you happen to be shooting at the moment is really the most relevant.

 

[SGT_Schultz]

On 11/19/2020 at 8:56 AM, lroy said:

I've been starting to shoot more matches, but have yet to do a classifier. I wanted to practice up on some of them, but the USPSA list has over 100?

 

https://uspsa.org/classifiers

 

Are classifier stages selected randomly from here or is there a list of a few ones that are run currently?

 

The only ones are not relevant are the ones that say "retired" on them.

 

Practicing classifiers will ill-prepare you to shoot matches.  If you need to learn how and what to practice I suggest you buy some books or video training materials from Ben Stoeger or Steve Anderson.

[Ontos]

Every one of them incorporate skill sets which prove to be important in some way during matches. 
 

That’s why your classification isn’t based upon one Classifier alone. All of them are relevant. 

[Ontos]

On 11/19/2020 at 9:03 PM, lstange said:

This is based on recent matches, Production division, before the 20 series became official. 99-11 was shot 3,833 times, the least popular classifier (99-59) was shot 165 times. Median is 1,300.

Interesting... where’s that information coming from?

[rowdyb]

11 hours ago, Ontos said:

Interesting... where’s that information coming from?

He scraped it.

[motosapiens]

On 11/21/2020 at 5:43 AM, SGT_Schultz said:

 

Practicing classifiers will ill-prepare you to shoot matches. 

the same skills required to excel in classifiers are required to excel in matches. Practicing to up the level you can shoot classifiers *consistently* is excellent preparation for matches, especially if you include the classifiers that have some movement.

 

However, it's not particularly helpful to just practice burning it down and hope to get lucky in a match.

[SGT_Schultz]

1 hour ago, motosapiens said:

the same skills required to excel in classifiers are required to excel in matches. Practicing to up the level you can shoot classifiers *consistently* is excellent preparation for matches, especially if you include the classifiers that have some movement.

 

However, it's not particularly helpful to just practice burning it down and hope to get lucky in a match.

 

Up until recently, hardly any classifiers required any significant movement.  Lightning fast manipulations and splits don't help much when you're slow AF getting into and leaving a position or don't know how to shoot on the move.  Never mind that reloads during a match are done mostly when you have nothing to shoot at.

 

They do help on transitions, I give you that.

Edited November 22, 2020 by SGT_Schultz

[Thomas H]

23 hours ago, SGT_Schultz said:

 

Up until recently, hardly any classifiers required any significant movement.  Lightning fast manipulations and splits don't help much when you're slow AF getting into and leaving a position or don't know how to shoot on the move.  Never mind that reloads during a match are done mostly when you have nothing to shoot at.

 

They do help on transitions, I give you that.

 

True.  But.....if you want to win majors, the skills required to do well on classifiers are also required to win majors.  They aren't the ONLY skills, as you have pointed out.  Movement skills, stage breakdown skills, positioning skills---all of those are important also.  But...to win majors, you also have to quickly handle the gun with significant accuracy, which the classifiers do test.

 

Another way of putting it, IMO:

 

People who are good at classifiers don't necessarily win major matches.  But people who win major matches ARE good at classifiers, because the skills needed to be good at classifiers are a subset of the skills needed to win major matches.