Excitement Excitement - uspsa

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stock in their US classification.
Today’s practical shooter wields a
level of technique and technology that
outpaces the very best shooters of the
mid-1980s. Thankfully, our system’s
ability to continuously re-set the standard
of achievement has maintained
the integrity of a USPSA classification.
When Can I Get Classified?
USPSA “runs the system” once a
month. Your local club has until the
10th of each month to submit your latest
scores. USPSA then enters all that
data (upwards of six thousand scores
per month), runs the system, and posts
the results to www.uspsa.org. When
you punch in your membership number,
all your scores become visible, letting
you check for errors and keep
track of your status.
In addition to the classifier courses,
all National-level, and many Area-level
matches are used for classification purposes.
We mark them differently so
you can tell them apart, and upload
them to the website along with the classifier
scores submitted by the clubs.
CM 03-02
START POSITION: Standing in Box A, hands naturally at sides. Handgun is loaded and holstered as per ready condition
in rule 8.1.1 and 8.1.2.
STAGE PROCEDURE
On the signal, engage T1-T6 with one round maximum
freestyle, perform a mandatory reload, then reengage T1-T6
with one round maximum, strong hand only.
SETUP NOTES: Set no-shoots to 4 feet high at top
of B-zone. Build target arrays so that the upper corner
of the waist meets the lower corner of the no-shoot,
NATIONAL RANGE OFFICERS
SCORING
SCORING: Virginia Count, 12 rounds, 60 points
TARGETS: 6 IPSC
SCORED HITS: Best 2/Paper
START - STOP: Audible - Last Shot
PENALTIES: Per current edition of USPSA Practical
Shooting Handbook.
Annual For 2011 • FRONT SIGHT
INSTITUTE
Six Chickens
RULES: Practical Shooting Handbook, Latest Edition COURSE DESIGNER: Crow Carter — Modifications by US Design Team
Target Array
Construction
Shaded dashed lines show
target edges behind no-shoot.
with the short angled waist parallel to the bottom of the
no-shoot.
“Six Chickens” is one of more
than 60 classification courses used
worldwide.
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Why All This Concern Over
Change?
In 1985, when USPSA’s classification
system came
into being, high
technology meant
an 8-shot 1911 in
.45 ACP, supported
by a two-port recoil
compensator.
Today, competitors
in Open division
carry a modular
1911 or a CZ-75 in
one of several
9mm/.38 Super
variants. Red dot
scopes simplify
aiming, and recoil
compensators
(computer designed
with up to 12 ports, openings,
and side vents) reduce recoil and stabilize
the gun as it fires (see photos).
Magazines hold up to 28 rounds of ammunition
(yes, twenty-eight!), and holsters
look more like a mounting
bracket for a super-sized cell phone.
Technique has progressed along a
similar track, leaving a trail of outmoded
ideas in its wake. The fine
points aren’t germane, but practical
shooting experts now serve as trainers
to the world’s law enforcement and
military organizations.
The change in competitive strategy,
along with technique, would have long
ago outmoded any fixed measuring
scale.
In our classic course, the “El Presidente,”
the shooter starts facing uprange
with his hands above his shoulders.
The shooter turns to face the targets,
draws, fires two rounds at each of
three targets, reloads, and shoots two
more rounds at each of three targets.
When USPSA’s classification system
was first conceived, any El Presidente’
time under 9 seconds earned a very
high rank. Today, America’s top shooters
frequently post times under six seconds,
with isolated performances going
under five. Like the 4-minute mile,
a 5-second El Prez seems impossible,
until you see it done.
Photo by Roger Maier.
Ladies World Champion
Athena Lee earned her USPSA
classification while shooting for the
Philippine national team. Today she
lives in Houston.
In the same way a golfer must complete
many rounds of golf on courses
with a known “par” to earn a “handicap”
USPSA shooters must complete
several courses with a known “high hit
factor” to earn a classification. Once
they’ve done so, other shooters (like
golfers) can use that classification to
judge their abilities, and arrange competitive
classes where shooters compete
against others of like ability.
That’s the gist of the USPSA system.
It’s a robust system, and one that has
served USPSA well.
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