Today we will look at a USPSA classifier stage, CM 22-01 “Righty Tighty”. The stage diagram and written stage brief are below.
Being my first classifier breakdown here, let's go over what a classifier is and a quick primer on stage planning. USPSA classifiers are standardized stages shot across the nation for record by any registered member of USPSA. Your hit factor is scored against the posted high hit factor (HHF) for that stage and used to classify you by skill level. More info here.
When planning a stage, first go over the stage brief so you know what type of scoring is used, how many targets, start position, and other special notes for the course. Then, I like to find all the targets along with where I need to be to shoot all of them. Once I have identified all of my shooting positions, I can plan where to go first, what order I will shoot each target, and plan any reloads. I'll have another post relatively soon going into more detail on stage planning, which will also be linked here when it is posted.
Classifiers often answer a lot of those stage planning questions for you by using Virginia count scoring or specifying in what order or engagement method you must use (strong hand vs weak hand, forced reloads, etc.). However, in recent years USPSA has moved away from stand and shoot type classifiers to ones resembling field stages you’d find in a typical match, even opting for Comstock scoring more often.
Now, let’s get the stage brief out of the way.
Written Stage Briefing
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Righty Tighty is an 18 round Comstock course. There are 9 USPSA cardboard targets. The start position is both feet touching start stick, facing downrange. Handgun is loaded and holstered, wrists below belt. PCC is loaded with safety on, held in both hands, stock on belt. On audible start signal, engage targets from within the shooting area. The last three targets must ONLY be engaged strong hand only. Are there any questions? You have five minutes to inspect the stage. |
This is what you should hear prior to running this classifier. You would be allotted some time to look it over, walk the stage, air gun it and find the exact spots on the ground you need to be to engage all target arrays. Here, you have the option to engage them in any order. The only requirement is that you engage the last three targets using your strong hand only. There is one partial target with a no-shoot in each array. Consider these carefully.
So, we see the start position is loaded at the start stick (middle of the shooting area). You have three banks of three targets each with the shooting positions for each being roughly equidistant from the start stick. Where to first?
How I planned it
When walking this stage for the first time, I saw that I could see all three of the front targets with a large step while drawing to my 2 o’clock, all the way against the right wall and a foot or two forward from the start stick.
Having all the targets available to me at once by the time my gun would be drawn and up, I decided to engage them from left to right. The reason for this is the left target is exposed for the least amount of time if I opted to shoot while exiting this position and moving to the next, which I did. Now the nearest shooting position is where I can engage the right target array, roughly 10 feet behind position one. Shooting L-R on a slight retreat I could go right to position two and engage that array.
I couldn’t decide on left to right or right to left. The wall wasn’t going to be a huge issue, but its in the way nonetheless. I opted to shoot this left to right as well so my first shots would be on a full size target as I came around the wall, leaving some room for error in case I got a little too aggressive on my transition. I could use a slightly higher level of visual confirmation on the last target (the partial) taking a slight step out of position.
This leaves the left side array for last, to be shot strong hand only. Now, this is a point you should consider carefully as well. Is it going to cause issues being a right-handed pistol shooter using my right hand around a left side barrier? I didn't think so at the time, and I really liked my plan to shoot the middle array first, so this made sense. This time I went right to left, again taking the full size target first as I knew I would be settling into the position on my first shots with minimal space to have my gun up and tracking the A zone through the barrier. I didn’t want to take a partial at speed firing one handed.
How it turned out and lessons learned
Overall, the stage went really well for me. Still could have been better, but we shoot and learn. I ended with a raw time of 11.94, A-15, C-2, D-1 for a score of 82 points. This gave a HF of 6.86 and a 79% run, mid A-class.
I picked up one C hit on the middle array with all As on the second. The D was the first shot on the last array shooting strong hand. The other C was in this group of targets as well. I called the shot as I [too] aggressively stopped coming into position for this target, but opted not to take time for a makeup shot and hoped it was still a C. Something I should have been more aware of and seen in my sights. Again, we shoot and learn.
In hindsight, I felt my stage plan was fine. I would probably shoot it that way again and pay more attention to my visual confirmation levels on each target to shave some time. Of course, I could have done much better coming into that last set of targets. Partially because of my stance/steps into position and partially because I didn’t look to a small spot on the target, coming in a little loose on that first pair causing the delta. I would strongly recommend being aware of exactly where you will step to engage the left and right target sets and being right against the rear fault line. That fault line does not give a lot of room to get your gun around the wall, especially if you are shooting strong hand only going weak side around the wall like I did. Taking as much room as you’re allowed to clear the end of that wall will let you have your gun up earlier and track the A zone as you clear it to make your first shot.
Our sights drive our shooting, not our stance or footwork. Being more disciplined in focusing on a small aiming point and confirming the dot near that point would have fixed that problem. However, knowing how to properly roll into position and control my elevation (shoulders) would have also kept me more stable and allowed me to index better.
This is a really fun classifier. I prefer these newer ones resembling an actual stage over the classic stand and shoot types. Post in the comments below if you have any questions or your own experience on this classifier.