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Ipsc Scoring 101


howardw

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Hello All,

I'm getting back into shooting after a 2 1/2 year layoff... Anyway, IPSC has come to my area recently, and all I was ever able to shoot before was IDPA.

I really want to understand IPSC scoring, but I haven't had much luck finding an online tutorial on IPSC scoring, hit factors, and their associated tactics...

Does anyone know of such a resource? It sounds like Saul's new book might be the "dead tree" ticket, but I'd love to find some info online too...

Thanks!

Howard Walker

Edited by howardw
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Each scoring zone on the target has an associated point value.

For each stage in a match, the order of finish is determined by the competitor with the highest 'hit factor' ratio (your total points divided by your total time for that stage).

Time is from start buzzer to last shot fired.

Points are as follows:

Major caliber (minimum of 165 power factor)

A - 5pts

B/C - 4 pts

D - 2 pts

Minor caliber (minimum of 125 power factor)

A - 5pts

B/C - 3 pts

D - 1 pts

Check out the www.uspsa.com page, select the RuleBook button, download the rulebook.

Look in Chapter 9 and Appendix B2 & B3.

Edited by joseywales
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USPSA and IPSC are "hit factor" scoring

Take points scored and divide by time equals hit factor.

There are 4 scoring zones on a typical cardboard target A B C & D.

A is always 5 points. B C & D are scored relative to major or minor Power Factor.

B & C zones score 4 points for major, 3 points for minor

D zone is scored 2 points for major, 1 point for minor

Points are awared to the highest scoring zone a bullet touches. (note: one bullet can score on two targets if it touches the outside edge of both targets).

Steel is scored as 5 points if it falls and a miss if doesn't fall.

Penalties (No Shoots, Misses, Procedurals) count as -10 points

So you have a stage that has 10 paper scoring targets, one No shoot penalty target, and two steel. The stage would require 12 rounds. 12 rounds x 5 points each = 60 points available. If you got 50 of the available points, but hit one NS and didn't make up the shot so you had a miss also, in 12 seconds. your score would be 50 points - 20 points in penalties (1 No shoot, 1 miss) = 30 points divided by 12 seconds = a hit factor of 2.5

Clear as mud huh.

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Thanks guys,

This all makes sense so far...

So what's the logic on how to shoot a stage? In IDPA you shoot as fast and accurately as you can. At what point in IPSC do you go for speed and settle for some C/D hits?

I know this is a very open ended question... If it relates to this question, I have a SSP Master rating in IDPA... I suppose I might be an A or B shooter in IPSC...

Thanks!

Edited by howardw
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I use this as a gauge. If I am getting almost all A's, I am probably going to slow. If I am seeing several Ds, and lots of C's I am going to fast. and even one miss kills your scoring most of the time. 1 miss takes away 3 A's (2 in penalties, and the A you didn't get)

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Thanks guys,

This all makes sense so far...

So what's the logic on how to shoot a stage? In IDPA you shoot as fast and accurately as you can. At what point in IPSC do you go for speed and settle for some C/D hits?

In IPSC, the speed-vs-accuracy equation is much more variable than IDPA (one of the cooler things, though explaining it is tedious). If you can crank in a 10-factor on a stage, for example, every point down only costs you the equivalent of 0.1 second. Conversely, if you have a stage where you're shooting 5-factor, then each point down costs you the equivalent of 0.2 seconds. In 3-gun rifle, sometimes the HF's drop into the 2's or lower-- each point down is half a second or more. Super-close-super-hoser pistol stages can HF up to 20..

Different stages all will have different hit factors, and a different one for every shooter (except for ties)

In practice, shooting 95% of the points as quickly as you can is almost always the correct plan.

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