The shooter would be ordered to reshoot the stage for range quipment failure. As per the calibration procedure: "5. For initial calibration, each popper must be set to fall when hit within the
calibration zone with a single shot fired from a designated handgun using
the calibration ammunition. The shot must be fired from the shooting location
in the course of fire furthest from the popper being calibrated." This procedure is outlined in APPENDIX C!, page 84 Jan 2004 Ed. Rule Book ( Green, 14th)

All A's!!!!

The popper is scored as a miss.

Appendix C, US7a - If the first shot by the calibration officer hits [on or below] the calibration zone and the popper falls, the popper is deemed to be properly calibrated, and it will be scored as a miss.

Wind, like rain and mud, are acts of God. The calibration officer knocked it down. If it was not adjusted by a human between the calibration shots before the shooting started for the day and the calibration test after the shooter completed the course of fire the popper is a miss. If Range Equipment Failure (4.6) was to be exercised it should have been before the calibration test. If the RM judged the popper to be faulty because of the loose adjustment bolt the shooter is ordered to reshoot the stage - with no calibration test. The popper would be adjusted, set, and recalibrated before the reshoot. The gray area is for the RM to offer the shooter the option of a reshoot for Range Equipment Failure or the calibration test. However - the shooter must decide before he sees his time or score for the stage.

The popper is scored as a miss. Appendix C, US7a.

The RM determined from observation the popper bolt was loose and appeared to be heavy which was confirmed by the stage CRO with the explaination of gusty wind causing problems. If the shooter knew his time and probable score by now (most likely as the RM had to come to the stage and all the other targets would have been scored) then the option of a reshoot for Range Equipment failure is a moot point. The calibration gun and ammo dropped the popper however slowly. The popper should be reset and recalibrated prior to anyother shooters running the course. Fate is a fickle mistress and steel must fall to score. It is the goal of the match staff to provide as equal a chance on each stage as possible. However, shooting under bags due to rain, or steel affected by wind is not under staff control.

I would have to agree with Dave Myers. You either need to order the reshoot before the calibration test, or deal with whatever fate results from the calibration test. Once you perform the test, you have passed the point of no return IMHO. If the popper was set heavy, and wind was a consideration (wind is an arguable topic in and of itself), the RM needs to make the call up front. That is afterall why the inspection exists...isn't it???? The popper waivering and barely going over is not a consideration, as the rulebook doesn't have a "almost didn't fall" clause in it. However, we all have the advantage of hindsight here. Hopefully, we all learn from this.

Just to clarify this you-make-the-call scenario, the popper in question was shot down by the shooter DURING the stage. It was stated very clearly in the shooters meeting that if you knock down a piece of steel during a stage there is NO recourse. The proper call should have been no reshoot. Introducing wind into a scoring call is wrong because there is absolutely no way it could ever be called fairly for all competitors.

"the popper in question was shot down during the stage."

There is no recourse. No re-shoot. The shooter made the error here. The shooter is responsible for knowing the rules as every member of USPSA recieves a copy of the rule book. Therefore, the shooter WAS aware of the rule and the shooter OPTED to shoot down the popper (we all must make that split second judgement while shooting a stage -that is how the game is played, at least how it should be played if the field is level). Moreover, the shooter was REMINDED of the rules during the shooter's meeting.

As for "wind gusts" I fail to see how this is different than a multi-day match held in variable weather. If I shoot in the rain or wind on Friday, may I demand a re-shoot on sunny Sunday? On Friday, there was wind and rain. The targets were bagged. My vision was affected. Am I entitled to a re-shoot due to wind, rain or bagged targets? Certainly, the COF is not always "the same" due to weather; granting re-shoots for weather sets a bad precedent and I believe we should not go in that direction.

Regards,

D.C. Johnson

I may be overlooking something in the description of the situation, but nowhere does it say that the popper is still standing or has fallen. only that it has three dead center hits. What is the official word from Mr. Hirst and McManus? If the popper is still standing after the shooters says he or she is finished, then i believe that the Cal Procedure would need to be done. Hence , range equip. failure could be the correct answer if the popper fails to fall, giving the shooter no recourse to reshoot. If the popper falls, it would be a miss, no reshoot. I understand that being on site, i would be able to see the whole situation tasked to me , but if i had to hear second hand or via other communication, I would hope I ask for more details ( I have senior moments at age 30!!!).
ALL A's

There are so many aspects to this scenario, fortunately, they are all covered by the rule book. The real question here is why would the Match Staff decide to deviate from the rulebook?

I believe it's the RO's duty to adhere to the rulebook. Neither he nor the MD have the authority to deviate from the rulebook because it's "the right thing to do". They are not judge and jury, they are rule enforcement officers.

I think the RO should have scored it a miss and then, with great sympathy, urge the shooter to file an arbitration.

Score it as a miss! Whats the point of having a rule book if we're going to pick and choose which rules we're going to follow and which ones we decide to interpret our own way?

The rule book is very clear regarding poppers. If you shoot it and it doesn't fall and you shoot it again; its a done deal. If you don't shoot it again and challenge it and during the challenge it falls, its a miss! Very simple...very straight forward. Using the "wind" as an excuse is petty in my opinion.

FAIRNESS TO THE OTHER COMPETITORS WHO SHOT THE SAME STEEL UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED. THE STEEL WENT DOWN WHEN THE RM SHOT IT,THEREFORE IT WAS IN CALIBRATION. THE SHOOTER DOES HAVE THE RIGHT TO ARBRITRATION. SCORE IT AS A MISS AND LET THE COMMITEE DECIDE.

I would like to hear further discussion on this, I think I am still missing some things such as : Was the popper not down when the RM was called to the stage? Or was it Up? My local club has a website with an open forum. The link is at : http://www.utahshooters.org/forum.php. All A's.

seeing how clarification has been made over the status of the popper upon arrival of the RM, I would have to agree with Steven Zopfi. If its down, the stage is scored with the steel popper being knocked down, no reshoot ordered, and ensure the popper is properly adjusted before the next shooter.
All A's.

IF WIND BLOWS DOWN A POPPER IT'S RANGE EQUIPMENT FAILURE, AND THE SHOOTER GETS A RESHOOT. IF THE COMPETITOR HAS THREE CENTER HITS, IS SCOREING MAJOR, AND THE POPPER IS STILL STANDING, I WOULD HAVE TO BELIVE THAT WIND COULD BE A FACTOR, OR THIS COMPETITOR HAS REALLY TICKTED OFF THE SHOOTING GODS. I WOULD CONSIDER A RESHOOT. THE RULE BOOK IS NOT BLACK AND WHITE, IT IS TO BE USED AS A GUIDE.

The current rule book is an excellent "guide" and has for years enabled match officials to make fair decisions and operate with a high level of consistent standards. That said, if a Range Officer noted the gusting wind and determined it is a condition worthy of consideration along with the mechanics of the prop "requiring repair" further suggesting an inconsistent standard, the benefit should go to the shooter with repairs made and reshoot required.

Gee, nobody thinks 2.3.4 applies?

How would 2.3.4 apply ? The stage has one problem, or temperary condition, if you will. Makes no sense to dump it.

If the RO saw that the bolt had come out, that could cause inconsistancy with the popper and at that point the shooter should have been awarded a reshoot. The RO should have never shot the popper. The wind and all the other stuff is insignificant. it was Range failure.

Given the actual description of events printed at the top of the page. The popper is scored as a miss. The popper is then repaired and retested to ensure it does not go out of calibration as shooting continues.

The RM has not choice at all. If the popper goes down during calibration, it can only be scored as a miss.

However, the CRO of the stage should have been aware that the popper setting was working loose, and that the (prevailing?) wind from behind the popper may cause erratic response to 'fair hits'. Here, I'm assuming that there is a dedicated RO staff which has been in position to observe the fall of the steel over an extended period of time. The CRO should have noted a continueing tendency of that popper to fall in an increasingly sluggish manner, and for the wind to exacerbate the resistance to a fair hit.

It is NOT the responsibility of the RM to be aware of these stage-dependent factors; that's the CRO's job.

Perhaps it would be a good idea for the RM to instruct the stage CRO's, prior to the beginning of the match, to be observant and to anticipate this sort of problem.

A good CRO may, and should, note these events without instruction. May the CRO call for calibration during the match even though the setting of a reactive steel target has not been called into question by a competitor? The rules are not clear on this, but I think it should be allowed.

If only to prevent this sort of apparent inequity, the CRO has a responsibility to ensure that the targets on his/her stage present a uniformly consistent challenge to every competitor in every squad. If it requires that participation of a single squad be temporarily halted to insure that the shooting problem is equivalent to that presented to earlier squads, it's a small price to pay.

It takes a few moments extra for the RO squad to personally reset reactive targets, but it saves a lot of time and trouble by avoiding exactly this kind of arbitration-generation controversy.

More important, it's only fair to the competitor when the pro-active CRO acts to correct what may become a REF situation.

I have to ask one simple question then. If, as is stated in the brief above, the RM says that the popper is "tilted forward dramatically, and appears to be set heavy", then why wasn't the reshoot simply ordered to begin with? Why does this "inspection" even exist then if the popper is going to be shot anyway? Should not the RM advise the CRO BEFORE shooting the popper. A simple statement like: "Before I shoot this, are you confident that this competitor was given a fair and equal chance to knock down this popper with the range conditions as they were?".

I feel that by shooting that popper, the RM takes away a lot of the CRO's credibility, if he (the CRO) later decides to allow the reshoot. It puts the CRO in a precarious situation, and should have been avoided. It makes it look like he is "waffling" on the call. Not a good idea IMHO. I can accept the call, if it is made before. The RM is supposed to be the "cooler", and try to offer perspective, not escalate things, or cause additional controversy...so why even shoot it? If the RM feels that the call should've been made before he got there, then why wasn't that issue discussed BEFORE calibration? Now the CRO looks like a bafoon, and it wasn't necessary IMHO.

I only bring up these points to offer perspective, not to offend any individual. This could have happened to anyone at anytime, and as I said before, hindsight is always 20/20.

I would have declared REF based on the hits observed. The fact that the popper later fell upon calibration only means that I made a mistake on a judgement call. Since I declared REF, I am required to have the RM do a recalibration. When the popper fell slowly with no wind, I would ask the RM to adjust the popper & recalibrate. As the CRO on a stage it is my responsibility to ensure that every competitor receives the same opportunity to shoot the stage equatably.

To say that the CRO should have been aware that the popper was setting heavily implies that the CRO should have been resetting the popper personally. Since we don't know if this was the 1st shooter or the 10th, this may have happened between squads which is the only time the CRO should actually be handling the equipment unless he is told of a problem.