Dundee Jungle Run

I've published all of the usable photos from last weekend's match at Dundee on my private photo gallery, but YouTube reminds me that I haven't posted anything there lately.

Here's a video which again shows what it's like to shoot a Jungle Run in Oregon's Rain Forest.




Note that the first shooter is Brent, who then works as the Range Officer when Mark II is running the stage.
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During the conduct of this match, a competitor was Match Disqualified ("DQ" ... stopped, disallowed from continuing to compete) because he violated a Safety Rule.

The DQ occurred on this stage. The competitor moved past the "STOP" sign which marked the safe distance to engage a steel target, and then shot at the U.S. popper seen in the film.

We are all still trying to learn the 2008 rules, and this process is made more difficult because for many years the rules were not consistent. Is it or is it not a DQ situation to engage steel within the 23-foot safety distance?

The 2008 USPSA rule book is clear on this point, and (finally) consistent with the effort to mandate the safest shooting environment possible:

2.1.3 Minimum Distances – Whenever metal targets or metal hard cover are used in a course of fire, precautions must be taken so that competitors and Match Officials maintain a minimum distance of 23 feet from them while they are being shot. Where possible, this should be done with physical barriers. If Fault Lines are used to limit the approach to metal targets, they must be placed at least 26 feet from the targets so that the competitor may inadvertently fault the line and still be outside the 23 feet minimum distance (see Rule 10.5.17). Care should also be taken in respect of metal props in the line of fire.

and, defining a plethora of 10.5 "Match Disqualification - UNSAFE GUN HANDLING" offenses:

10.5.17 A shot fired at a metal target from a distance of less than 23 feet, measured from the face of the target to the nearest part of the competitor’s body in contact with the ground (see Rule 2.1.3).

Thus, if a competitor engages a steel target beyond the minimum safe distance (here marked with a warning: "STOP!"), the competitor is definitively in violation of rule 2.1.3 and subject to the Match DQ mandated by rule 10.5.17.

Thank you again, USPSA, for bringing us back to the safest possible competitive shooting environment, and for clearly defining the List of Things Which Must Not Be Done.

To be perfectly fair, it would have been better if some sort of physical barrier had been erected at the 'Safety Line', the point beyond which it was unsafe to engage a steel target. Yes, we are all responsible shooters and should not need this sort of reminder. Still, as we have seen, in the heat of competition it is all too easy to forget that a visible reminder is notionally equivalent to a physical barrier.