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.