USPSA 2.2.1 - Guest Comment

A few days ago I wrote about the rewrite of the USPSA rule book in regards to USPSA Rule 2.2.1, which cites fault lines which "extend rearward to infinity". I noted a couple of ways in which this verbiage could be problematical.

We had encountered these kind of problems a couple of years ago in the Columbia Cascade Section (NorthWest Oregon), and found that there were a couple of simple stage construction techniques which could be used to avoid the problems.

But I didn't mention them, because I chose to focus on the problem.
"Let someone else come up with a solution", I thought.

The solutions we found in my local section may not be the only, or the best, solutions. If other solutions were available, it seemed advisable not to stifle creative thinking by presenting both the problem AND the solution at the same time.

Happily Unofficial IPSC List member Stan Penkala saw the answer to all of the problems I had identified, and laid it all out for those of us who subscribe to The List.

I asked Stan if he would be willing to allow me to post his response here, and he not only agreed but included three pictures which he had composed to illustrate the situational variations.

This is our first Guest Blogger entry, and I'm delighted that it not only resolves all of the problems identified in the original article but represents the contribution of a thoughtful, experience and skillful writer.

Stan Pekala on USPSA New Rule 2.2.1:

There's nothing wrong with this rule


It allows stage designers to construct their creations without tremendous investment in unnecessary lumber, as you only need a 3 foot charge line running perpendicular to the 180, at either end of a COF, to prevent shooters from going around a barricade to shoot... given the stage command "Engage targets as they become visible from within the fault lines."



In cases where backing up is encouraged or necessary, the stage designer should create a fully enclosed shooting area with unbroken charge lines.







In cases where the stage designer wants to prevent the shooter from finding a sweet spot way up range, that can be prevented by putting 2 more fault lines... one on each side of the stage at the end of the side fault lines, so they point toward each other, or are angled rearwards and toward the center of the bay so that the projection of them meets at a reasonable distance behind the shooter. This would effectively place the imaginary continuation of these lines across the stage well before the sweet spot some shooter would otherwise be able to use. This situation would be clear to both the shooter and the RO. This is the situation that would negate the advantage used by several shooters in Jerry's video example.


Stan Penkala

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About Guest Comments:

Sometimes, the comments you want to make just don't fit in the limited resources available in the usual 'comments' section provided by Haloscan. Stan noted that he had originally attempted to write much of these comments here, but the software 'disappeared' them when he hit the button.

As an alternative, he wrote the comment to The Unofficial IPSC List. I was so impressed that I asked him for permission to include the email as a separate article. Stan graciously allowed me to do so, and included the illustrations which he had created, and even allowed me to use his full name in the citation. I am grateful to Stan for his contribution and for his permissions.

I hope to present more extended Guest Comments in the future. If you are interested in contributing, look here for instructions.