Successful Classifier Match

We would like to thank everyone that braved the humidity to come out to the Heartland Public Shooting Park on Sunday. We had nearly twenty shooters take part in the match, and there were six fast paced and challenging courses of fire. We will be uploading the scores to the USPSA this week.

The stages that we shot include the following:

• 99-10: Times Two
• 99-33: Raw Deal
• 99-50: Better make Sure
• 99-56: On the Upper Pad II
• 08-03: Six
• 06-03: Can You Count

 We hope to see you guys join us at the park for our next league beginning on June 30.

Who Takes Part In USPSA?

The first time that you step onto a USPSA range, you may feel somewhat intimidated, especially if your previous experience was in just shooting at paper targets. However, this should be the least of your worries, as our shooters are of all skills, speed levels, ages, health, and fitness levels. We are all out to help each other and have a good time, so we can fit in anyone.

Competitors in USPSA clubs and matches come from every walk of life and socioeconomic level. Some of the career paths that some of the USPSA national members follow include the following: doctors, lawyers, mechanics, engineers, small business owners, pilots, law enforcement personnel, homemakers, students, security officers, ministers, and many others. In fact, it would be hard to find a career that wasn't represented. Many women also take part in the sport, as fifteen percent of the USPSA members are women. Youth are also discovering the sport, as ten percent of the members are under the age of twenty one. However, it is not just the young who are taking part. A large number of USPSA members are either approaching, or have already, retired. The members are also of many different races and religions, as the national bylaws require that membership be open to anyone that can legally own a firearm.

As you can see, there is room for anyone in the sport, and we would be glad to host you at Heartland Public Shooting Park. We look forward to seeing you at our next match.

Successful 1911 Shoot

We would like to thank all of the people who came out to shoot in the Centennial 1911 Match, along with all of the volunteers and other workers who made it possible. A special thanks to Mick Reynolds for all of the time that he spent designing the stages and those who were able to set up the stages behind the scenes. All of these things worked together in order to make things run smoothly. Above all, a big thanks to the Heartland Public Shooting Park for being the venue for the event, and we couldn't have done it without all the sponsors.

Despite the scorching temperatures, twenty eight shooters took part in the match, and it was a good mixture of challenging and typical courses, all with a military theme (in honor of the history of the venerable 1911). I am sure a lot of people were surprised by the unique movement and the movable platform that they faced (and who thought they would have to hit a target with softballs in a shooting match?).

Although we consider everyone who took part in the event to be a winner, we would like to issue a special congratulations to the top five shooters in the match:

1. Jeremy Millard: 686.3363 points
2. Jeff Reisland: 663.5419 points
3. Neil Davies: 640.4427 points
4. Chris Walbrecht: 495.8203 points
5. Ryan Dammon: 447.1462 points

We look forward to holding another 1911 match in the future, and we invite you to visit us at the park again.

Heartland Public Shooters featured on 10/11 News

Recently on our local 10/11 news channel, we learned that our local USPSA club was featured on their Web site. We always welcome the opportunity to welcome others to the sport, as well as the chance to show off the first class shooting park that is located in Grand Island, Nebraska.

It you saw the story or are interested in learning more about the sport or what this is all about, please call the Heartland Public Shooting Park at (308)385-5048, or stop by Thursday evening at 6:00pm to check it out. We always welcome those that would like to watch, and no matter how green you are, new shooters are always welcome. We accomodate shooters of all skill levels. If you do decide to come out to watch, bear in mind that the park safety rules require eye and ear protection. We all want to have fun, but safety is always the first priority.

Each week is always different, and we challenge all shooting levels. This is definitely not simply shooting at stationary targets. One thing that you will never hear our shooters say is that the course is boring. We try to design the stages so that something new is available to challenge us each week, and the shooters never know what to expect. We look forward to you joining us at the park, and there is never a charge to watch our matches.

Classifier Match Coming Up

Now that you have started shooting USPSA matches and have received your membership, we all hate to see the "U" on our membership cards. We all want to get classified, but since you need to shoot in six classifiers before we get classified for the first time, it may take you six months or more in order to achieve your first classification.

However, this does not have to be the case, because at our June Fun Shoot on June 26, 2011 at the Heartland Public Shooting Park, we are planning on running the match with all classifiers. Registration begins at noon, and we start shooting at 1:00 pm. This will give you the chance to get classified in a single day. For your initial classification, the USPSA will look at the best four scores out of your first six classifiers, and after this, they will look at your best six out of eight.

Classifiers are important, because when you go to a bigger match, your scores will be ranked against others in your own classification. This allows everyone to have fun and be competitive with others that are of similar skill levels in order to increase everyone's level of fun.

Your classification is figured as a percentage, which compared where you stand against other members of the USPSA. The classifier rankings are as follows:

• Grand Master (GM): 95-100%
• Master (M): 85-94.9%
• A: 75-84.9%
• B: 60-74.9%
• C: 40-59.9%
• D: 2-39.9%

One thing that you need to keep in mind is that just because someone shoots in a lower classification, does not mean anything negative. This just ensures that you are competing against a balanced set of shooters, and this means that all shooters will have the opportunity to be competitive and win prizes. If you are anywhere near Central Nebraska on that date, come out to the park so we can help you get classified. The cost for this shoot is the same as all of our other monthly competitions, $18. We can't wait to have you join us.

Basic Look at USPSA Scoring

Sometimes the scoring of the match can seem somewhat confusing. He hear terms such as Alpha, Mike, hit factor, procedural, etc. We are going to try to break down the scoring of the match in a way that is less confusing.

First, the definitions:

• Alpha: Hit in the A range of the target
• Bravo: Hit in the B range of the target
• Charlie: Hit in the C range of the target
• Delta: Hit in the D range of the target
• Mike: Miss
• No Shoot: Hit on a "hostage" or no shoot target
• Procedural: Violations that break the rules of the stage
• Major: Pistol ammo larger than 9mm
• Minor: 9mm ammo

Scoring is slightly different for major and minor shooters. Both types will score 5 points for a hit in the A range, but a major will score 4 points for a hit in B and C range (3 points for minor) and they will also score 2 points for a hit in D range (1 point for minor). The first step is to figure up the raw score by adding up the points for all the targets that you hit. At this point, it is time to figure your deductions. For each miss, no shoot, and procedural, subtract 10 points from your total, and this will determine your final score. Once you have your score, divide that by the time in seconds that it took to complete the stage. This is how you determine your hit factor, or points per second.

That hit factor is important because each stage is scored on a curve. For the final stage points, we only look at the hit factor and the total possible stage points. The actual points on the stage hit do not matter. For example, for a stage with 100 points possible, we have three shooters with a hit factor of 5, 3, and 2.5. The first shooter would get all the stage points or 100. Since the second shooter had a hit factor that was 60% of the winner's hit factor, they would receive 60% of the stage points, or 60 points. As a result, the final stage scoring would be 100, 60, and 50 points. Hopefully this clears up any scoring confusion you may have.

2011 Glock Cornhusker Classic

The Glock has been a classic pistol for many years, and shooters of these types of pistols are very loyal. Once again, the Heartland Public Shooting Park in Grand Island, Nebraska is coming back with this Glock only match where Glock shooters can pit their skills against each other. This match will take place on June 11th and 12th at the park.

The cost for this competition is $25, and if you are not already a member of the Glock Shooting Sports Foundation, there there is an additional one time membership fee of $35. Also, if you wait until the day of the shoot to register, there is a $10 additional fee. You will also have the ability to come home with a number of prizes, including guns, cash, and additional gear. The prizes are based both on performance and on a random drawing, so people of all skill levels will have the chance to come home with some prizes. All skill levels are encouraged to take part, and we strive to ensure that everyone leaves the part with a smile on their face each day. Seven classes will be a part of this match, including Civilian, Guardian, Subcompact, Competition, Majorsub, Masterstock, and Unlimited.

Anotehr feature of this match is a Hornady three gun exhibition event where the public will have the opportunity to try out three gun competition (shotgun, rifle, pistol) against reactive targets for only the cost of the ammo.

We look forward to seeing you there.