FAQ

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How does scoring work?

There are two kinds of targets – steel and paper.

Steel counts for 5 points, if it is knocked over.  And –10 is you don’t knock it over. So knock it over!

There are two kinds of paper targets – metric and classic

 
Metric Target                                        Classic Target

Both have A,  B, C, and D zones.

A is always worth 5 points per shot.
B & C are always worth 4 points per shot if you are shooting “major power factor “ (usually.40 or higher), and 3 if shooting minor power factor (9mm usually).  Power factor is explained below.
D is worth 2 if  using major, and 1 if using minor.

If a target requires 2 hits (holes in it), and you miss one or more, then you get –10 point for each miss. So don’t miss!

Occasionally you will see a pure white target (regular target stapled back side front). These are NO-SHOOT targets, and if you hit them you get a 10 point penalty for each hit. So don’t hit them!

Also, note that the “points” on the target are weighted to the upper center, not the direct center of the cardboard. Aim higher than you naturally want to!

What is Power Factor?

The USPSA game makes you trade between speed and accuracy and power. Power is determined by power factor of the ammo you shoot.  There are three power factors:

• major – power factor 165 and higher
• minor – power factor 125 to 164.99
• sub-minor – less than 125

Now if your load is chronographed and measured as sub-minor then you can shoot, but your scores won’t be used in the match calculations.

To calculate power factor, you need to weight your bullet and measure the speed coming out of the barrel at 10 feet.  Multiply the two and divide by 1000.  So, for instance, a 180.1 grain bullet, moing at 962 feet per second is 173 power factor – and is “major”.

Just to confuse things a bit… if you declare you are shooting Production Division – you will be scored as minor no matter what you are shooting. Fun!

What is a hit factor?

Put simply… hit factor is the ratio of POINTS you got when shooting a stage to the TIME you took to get those points.  So, if a stage has 110 points of targets on it, and you hit 100 in 10 seconds when you shot it, your hit factor would be “10.0” – or 10 points per second.

Higher is always better when it comes to hit factors.

What are Match Points?

Let’s say a stage has 110 points available to shoot on it.  And you get the highest hit factor of those who shot it.   You will get 100% of those 110 points for the match – Match Points.   If somebody else had a hit factor that was 80% of your’s (the highest), they get 80% of 110 points for the match.

Add these up stage by stage, and who ever has the most wins the match.

What is a classification or class?

Classification, or class, is the USPSA handicapping system.  Well, not a true handicapping system, in that it isn’t used to normalize match scores like a golf handicap.  Instead, if you are a C shooter, then in larger matches, you will really just be competing against other C shooters for trophies and awards.

Classification is derived from averaging scores on a couple hundred standard “classifier” courses that everybody in the world shoots.   Our club shoots a different one each match and sends them in to USPSA headquarters, where they are compared to everybody else’s scores and then averaged like this:

Grand Master 95 to 100%
Master 85 to 94.9%
A 75 to 84.9%
B 60 to 74.9%
C 40 to 59.9%
D 2 to 40%

For more info on the classification system see this USPSA explanation.

What are Divisions?

Divisions are what kind of gun you shoot. Again, this is an attempt to keep it “fair” and also to make it easy for people to get into the sport without having to buy fancy race guns.

Open   – this is the almost anything goes division, with big magazines (30 rounders) and optic sights.
Limited – metallic sights, lots of modifications permitted, big magazines, but NO optics

Limited 10 – for California (ick) – same as Limited but 10 round limit on magazine loading
Production – factory guns, no major modifications,  can only load 10 rounds no matter what your gun holds. Scored as minor power factor, no matter what you are shooting.
Single Stack  – 1911 pistols, 10 rounds in minor, 8 rounds in major. Very limited modifications permitted.
Revolver   – revolvers. There is Open Revolver and Revolver. Open can have 8 rounds and optics.

Divisions each make their own match. So you don’t compete, in Production, against Open shooters (except for fun and bragging rights).