1) Shooter is
supposed to shoot his rifle first, but instead pulls his first pistol and
cocks it and then stops. Can the shooter safely decock the pistol and get
a restart, since no round has gone down range?
The shooter cannot decock his
pistol in this scenario. He must fire the pistol downrange.
2) Alternative, same
situation as with #1., with rifle being first but shooter instead pulls
his pistol by mistake, cocks it, fires it and has a squib. Can shooter get
a restart?
The shooter is a very lucky person,
in this scenario the shooter gets a reshoot since no round has exited the
barrel.
3) Shooter is
shooting a pistol string and while doing so, one round does not fire.
Shooter proceeds to go around the cylinder and refires the round but it
still does not go down range. Shooter then loads a round from his person
into the empty chamber and fires and hits the last target in the proper
sequence. Is this legal?
Yes this is legal. Shooter needs to
make sure the hammer is down on a fired round when complete and if he does
nothing after firing the just loaded round he hammer/cylinder should be in
the correct position.
4) Is it legal to
move with a loaded pistol pointed safely downrange by SASS Rules?
As long as the shooter keeps the
gun pointed downrange and does not cock the pistol until his feet are
planted at the new location, he can move with the pistol.
5) A male shooter is
66 years old, shooting adjustable sight revolvers, how many different
categories might he choose to enter shooting smokeless powder?
I count 9 categories: B Western,
Gunfighter, Duelist, Senior Duelist, Cowboy, Wrangler, 49er, Senior, and
Silver Senior.
6) Can a shooter use
a 22 Magnum caliber derringer for derringer side matches?
No a 22 Mag caliber derringer
cannot be used in a derringer side match. It is interesting that 22
caliber is allowed but not magnum caliber in 22.
7) Does a spotter
have to see or hear a hit?
Spotter should be looking for misses. If
spotter does not see or hear a hit and does not also see a miss, it is a
hit.
__________________________________________________
July, You make the
call?
1) Shooter loads 10
rounds in his rifle while the stage calls for 9 rounds. What is the
maximum number of penalties the shooter can get with this serious mistake?
A shooter can get several
penalties for not loading the correct number of rounds in his rifle. If he
over loads the rifle, i.e. 10 instead of a required 9 rounds, the shooter
gets a 10 second penalty for overloading his rifle by not following
loading table procedures. If the shooter leaves the round on the carrier
after shooting the rifle, he also gets another 10 second safety for the
round on the carrier. If the shooter fires the10th round and hits a target
instead, he could get a 10 second procedural penalty. If the shooter just
ejects the unfired round the shooter can limit his penalties to just the
initial 10 second safety for not following loading table procedures.
2) Shooter is
instructed that he has 4 shotgun targets to knock down. One of the shotgun
targets does not fall. When may the shooter reshoot the target that did
not fall, immediately, after he shoots at all four targets, or anytime he
wants to shoot the one(s) that
did not fall?
The shooter can pick up
the knockdowns that did not fall in any order he wants unless the stage
instructions specifically identify an order that the knockdowns must fall.
This is true even when a specific engagement order is given, i.e. outside
targets then inside targets (in that case if the first outside target
engaged is missed the shooter can re-engage it anytime he wants unless the
stage instructions explicitly provides an order they must fall in). Where
it gets tricky is when the shotgun targets are located in multiple
positions. In this case the shooter usually needs to complete all the
knockdowns for a given shooting position.
3) Shooter is at
loading table with a cross draw holster and sweeps the shooter in line
behind him while drawing his empty pistol (sweeping defined by pointing
barrel at the next shooter after his barrel clears the holster). Penalty?
Breaking the 170 with an
unloaded gun is a stage disqualification. Breaking the 170 with a loaded
gun is a match disqualification.
4) Shooter is at
loading table and has an accidental discharge while checking for high
primers in his revolver. Penalty?
An accidental discharge at
the loading table would be a match disqualification.
5) If the RO/TO
bumps the shooter while shooting or moving, can the shooter request a
reshoot?
If the TO/RO bumps the
shooter, the shooter can ask for a reshoot-this is interference. If the
shooter abuses this rule by purposely bumping or running into the RO/TO
when they had penalties they would like to get rid of, TO/RO is not
required to grant the reshoot.
6) Shooter shoots
stage with an inadequate number of shotshells in his belt so gets misses for targets he was not able to
engage. Can shooter claim the RO/TO should have caught his
mistake??
TO/RO is obligated to
start the shooter in the proper location. If the shooter does not stage
his guns in the right locations or does not have the required ammo, he'll
be sorry! A good and observant RO will usually help the shooter to have
the required ammo.
7) Can a shooter ask
for a restart if no round has gone downrange after he fumbles his shotgun
shells on his first stage of the day?
A restart is not a
reshoot. A restart means no round has gone down range. Shooter gets to ask
for a restart for whatever reason. If shooter has bobbles (and no round
fired) the RO can actually stop the shooter and help him get restarted.
Rules say RO must grant a restart unless the shooter is abusing the rules.
March, You Make the Call
1) The maximum cant (tilt angle) that can be used on a
cross draw holster is how many degrees from vertical? How can it be
easily measured?
The maximum tilt angle on a cross
draw holster is 30 degrees. Unfortunately there is no standard for
measurement, but if your barrel tilts more than 30 degrees from vertical
when you stand straight up, you may get called.
2) Shooter is shooting a string of five revolver targets
and the shooter is instructed to shoot them once from left to right
(i.e. 1,2, 3, 4, and 5). The targets are set very close together (almost
overlapping). The shooter actually hits targets in this order
(1, 3, 3, 4, 5). What is the call?
Call is a Miss only. The new
handbooks will caution match directors to not set up stages so a miss on
one target hits another target close by and if targets are set too close
together the shooter will get a Miss only and not a Procedural penalty.
3) A pump 1897 shooter has to engage two shotgun targets
then move a fair distance and engage another two targets. The shooter
loads one shotshell and hits the first target, loads a second shotshell
and hits the second target leaving his shotgun closed on the fired
round. Shooter then moves to the new location and on the way, loads two
new shotshells in the 1897 magazine maintaining muzzle control. When
shooter arrives at second location, shooter pumps new rounds into his
chambers one at a time and hits the final two targets leaving his
shotgun open and empty. What’s the call?
The rules say the shooter may not
load more than two rounds at a time. This has been recently ruled by
the RO Committee to be two LIVE rounds. So, the shooter can leave one
fired round in his gun chamber, and load two rounds in his 1897 pump or
1887 lever action shotgun as he is moving or before his next shooting
position. This will be clarified in the Jan 2009 handbook(s) release.
4) Same shooter is shooting his 1897 and it is the last
gun on the stage. Shooter leaves a hull in his shotgun accidently on
last shot. At what point is the shooter awarded a minor safety for the
infraction?
Shooter is awarded the safety
penalty for the empty hull when he lays his shotgun down on the
unloading table provided it was the last gun shot.
5) Shooter is shooting his shotgun and lays it down with
an empty hull in the shotgun. Shooter then moves to a new location and
picks up his rifle and after he levers the rifle (now with a round in
the chamber and hammer cocked) but before he fires the rifle, the Range
Officer informs the shooter of the empty hull in his shotgun. How can
the shooter recover from this situation without incurring a penalty?
Shooter must remove the hull from
his shotgun before he shoots his rifle or he gets a safety penalty.
With the rifle, the shooter can open his rifle and jack out his round
from the chamber, but will have to load another round from his person to
hit all his rifle targets eventually. When the rifle is open the shooter
can continue to hold on to the rifle while he moves back to the shotgun
if he wants-but does not violate the 170 muzzle rule. Then the shooter has
to go back to his correct position for shooting his rifle and at any
time then can load one more in his rifle. Most shooters would do it for
his last round. If the shooter cocks his revolver before removing the
hull he has a much more serious issue to resolve-probably best to just
take the 10 second safety penalty
6) Shooter completes his stage, and moves to the unloading
table and has checked all his guns, returned his long guns to his gun
cart, comes back to the unloading table and holsters his first revolver
and while holstering his second revolver drops it on the ground. What is
the call?
Shooter is very lucky, he has
avoided a major penalty. Under the new definition of the firing line,
it is defined as from when the first gun is placed on the loading table
until the last gun is picked up from the unloading table so shooters
dropped gun did not occur on the firing line so no penalty. If it were
any other of his guns he would have gotten the dropped gun penalty.
7) A reshoot is not a restart. What is a restart? When is
a restart granted and by whom?
A RESHOOT can only be granted by
the Timer Operator, Range Officer or other match official. This can be
for all kinds of issues. A RESTART is granted to the shooter when
requested by the SHOOTER. As long as the shooter does not abuse the
privilege a restart is granted at the shooters request. This must be
done before the first bullet leaves the barrel.
8) Shooter loads his guns at the loading table and forgot
to lower his hammer on his rifle on an empty chamber and loads the
magazine with the correct number of rounds. As he leaves the loading
table and comes to the props to stage his long guns the Range Officer
notes that the hammer of the shooters rifle is cocked. What is the call?
Shooter gets a stage
disqualification for coming to the line with his rifle cocked, even when
on an empty chamber.
07 September 2009
