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Radial Hits


Chris Leong

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How far off the perpendicular can you go from a target before the bullet hit becomes a radial hole rather than

a circle and doesn't qualify to be a hit? The RO I shot with the other day told me to approach a set of targets "more squarely" (losing time, of course).

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I am not 100% sure but I believe that whole radial tear thing has gone away with the new rule book.  You can cut the target in half and get the hit.  I'll have to re-read the rule book on that.

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I think what you mean is an oblong hole, which you'll get when you shoot a target from a position that is not more or less perpendicular to it. Round or oblong, a hit is a hit.

The bad thing about courses which allow these shooting angles is oblong holes can be argued as doubles instead of one hit/one miss.

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A radial tear is the tearing away from the hole on a straight clean shot through a target. Not angled shots. If you look closely there are tiny tears radiating away from the hole, these don't count but a full horizontal shot at a target scores the highest point zone it crosses, usually an A. This is one of the biggest scoring errors you will run across, RO's don't appear to know english too good. You can shoot targets at any angle they present them to you (staying inside the 180). Remember we are shooting a three dimentional sport on two dimentional targets.

Pat

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Okay, I'm going to be dense, just for the sake of super-clarity. Please note the following course:

                              M     M     M

                                 P     P

         POP     /      

                /                   B

   P      P    /

 P            /

             

                 A

           /

          /

         /

  Okay, so M is metal

           P is paper

          POP is a popper

           /  represents a prop wall with a hole in it.

           A & B are two possible shooting positions.

  There is nothing specified in terms of target engagement, save to get the popper first.

  The wall has a low port and all the targets behind the wall are low. Distance from A to low targets, between 3 and

8 yards. Obviously you're crouching or kneeling at position A.

 Distance from B to two paper around 5 yards, to the metal

around 6 yards.

 Distance from A to B, around 10 yards.

 Is there anything stopping me from shooting all targets

from Position A? From A to furthest target (that most people go to B to engage) is around 20 yards. The spacing is tight but doable, since there are no no-shoots in that group.

 In my mind, it's faster to get down to A and stay there for all the rest of the targets. Much faster than shooting A, getting up, running to B and hosing from there.

 Right?

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Chris,

Often what appears "right" in these scenarios is not the quickest way to solve the problem. Without going into too much detail, you'd be surprised how often it is quicker to run up as close to the targets as possible. Over the years, I've learned tons experimenting in this area.

Unfortunately there is no formula, or even a "rule of thumb" to guide you. In each situation, you'll have to consider the target size, distance (and distance you have to move), risk factor, and your current skill level. After some experience, as usual, you'll be better equiped to make a decision.

sorry,

be

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Hey be

The reason why I was asking is that the RO said to me that I COULD NOT shoot the second group from position A because "the bullet holes would be radial, or oval shaped, and not round, and some people would not count them as direct hits".

That's why I was posting this topic. Is there a minimum angle (other than 90 degrees, perpendicular to the target) that is permissable by IPSC/USPSA rules? 45 degrees to one side? 30 degrees off?

Or is it "if you can see your way to the A zone, you can shoot it"???

That's really the question I've been asking. More about legal shots than about advisable ones.

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The RO has no idea what he is talking about. If you can see it you can shoot it. That RO doesn't understand the radial tear rule. Tell him to look it up as well as tell him that, as I said before, we shoot two dimentional targets on a three dimentional range, theres alway going to be angle shots. It is up the the course designer to lay it out to avoid this problem. But when presented with it any hit counts no matter how long. This is not a radial tear. A radial tear are the tiny tears eminating away from the hole, even on a direct perpendicular hit. It apples and oranges.

Pat

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Freestyle baby!  Gotta love it.  

Chris, your thinking shows that you are shooting with an open mind (awareness).  I am inspired.

Knowledge is power.  I have to keep looking up the rules online.  I misplaced my little red rule book.  If you still have yours then read up, and take it with you to your next match.

Give'um hell.

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In theory you could have a scoring hit on the target, without cutting it at all.

Say your bullet was fired at an angle approaching parallel to the target, and only left a mark across it.  You should receive the score for the highest zone it touched.

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