Poppers at the '08 Nationals

[George Jones]

If the person makes Chronograph then you must assume that he is shooting legal ammo.

In an ideal world, perhaps. There are a host of reasons that any single round fired by the shooter might not be up to the task. Some of them are accidntal, some directly related to a shooter decision.

We've all seen enough squibs to know that the reloading process isn't fooproof. There's the "other batch of ammo" potential. Then, there are edge hits, low hits, angled hits - all of which are the responsibility of the shooter.

While not perfect (and won't ever be) calibration challenges as specified in the rules take all of the above into consideration. If the match staff is doing their job properly and if the popper is of good design and in good condition, the rest is up to the shooter. If the popper does not show any malfunction or damage, the RM's shot is the final arbiter. Even then, all the requirements are to the shooter's advantage. If the popper is indeed too heavy, the potential for a "Mike" call on the shooter is not that common.

[Punkin Chunker]

Not sure what part you point to as incorrect.

What I pointed out as incorrect was the part of your statement where you said that "properly calibrated poppers serve the same purpose of A/C/D zones on a cardboard target".

This, according to the rules, is not true: they serve different purposes.

I have already said it, properly calibrated poppers recognize PF (they do not reward it, scoring 5 points ammo if dropped, PF notwithstanding), meaning they should not fall if hit in the calibration zone with sub-minor ammo, they should not fall if hit outside of the calibration zone with minor ammo, and they might fall if hit outside of the calibration zone with major ammo. This is recognizing PF, and this is what poppers are supposed to do in a stage, otherwise you might just use plates.

Paper targets, on the contrary, do not recognize PF (they get perforated by a BB gun as well), but they reward PF, specifically for peripheral hits, with different scoring for major and minor PF: a C-hit with major PF ammo scores 4 points, same hit with minor PF ammo only scores 3 (but you already know this all). This is rewarding PF, and this is what paper targets scoring zones are supposed to do in a stage; incidentally, this is why a stage composed of all paper targets showing only the A-zone should not be allowed: no reward for shooting major over minor PF, thus no V part of the DVC equation equitably evaluated.

Yeah, I see where I wasn't really clear about the point I was making, and you're right (is it that semantics thing again?) in the way you are stating it.

The point I was making about the A/C/D (actually should have been just the A/C) analogy was that for a popperly operating proper, a hit in the cal circle would be analogous to a hit in the A zone for both major and minor -- full score (popper drops). Hit slightly under the circle, and the minor PF should not succeed (penalized by points or time), while the major PF should (rewarded) -- which is analogous to the C zone, where minor PF is penalized with a lower score, but major is rewarded.

And then, of course, there's the ultra-major PF BB hit at the base . . . .

Edited September 26, 2008 by Punkin Chunker

[Skywalker]

And then, of course, there's the ultra-major PF BB hit at the base . . . .

Once a long ago, I had a LEO friend who showed up at the training range I was with a 6.35mm Starlite, and he was truly believing he could've knocked down a full size popper @ 15m ...

He took careful aim to the steel, squeezed off a round that hit it dead centre, and the popper replied with a jingling laughter ...

Edited September 26, 2008 by Skywalker