New CO high hit factors

[GJM]

USPSA updated high hit factors today. I believe these are the changes.

85391

[JCS]

USPSA updated high hit factors today. I believe these are the changes.

85391

PCC got a nice bump also. Guess it’ll be that much more satisfying to classify up now!

[RJ]

Thanks, good to know. Looks like about 55% of the CO classifiers stages got modified, second only to PCC.

I went looking for the USPSA Stage Diagrams on the web site. If they are there, they are pretty hard to find. Anyone have a link as to where I can find the official USPSA stage diagrams for all the 85 (?) Classifier Stages?

[JCN]

Thanks, good to know. Looks like about 55% of the CO classifiers stages got modified, second only to PCC.

I went looking for the USPSA Stage Diagrams on the web site. If they are there, they are pretty hard to find. Anyone have a link as to where I can find the official USPSA stage diagrams for all the 85 (?) Classifier Stages?

If you Google “USPSA classifiers”

You get this.

https://uspsa.org/classifiers

[GJM]

Thanks, good to know. Looks like about 55% of the CO classifiers stages got modified, second only to PCC.

I went looking for the USPSA Stage Diagrams on the web site. If they are there, they are pretty hard to find. Anyone have a link as to where I can find the official USPSA stage diagrams for all the 85 (?) Classifier Stages?

If you go to the USPSA app, there are a bunch of sections with stage diagrams, your classification, rules, and a classification calculator. As of yesterday they had not updated the classification calculator on the app but it did work on the main USPSA website.

[RJ]

If you go to the USPSA app, there are a bunch of sections with stage diagrams, your classification, rules, and a classification calculator. As of yesterday they had not updated the classification calculator on the app but it did work on the main USPSA website.

Thanks, I just was (and am) a bit surprised there's no hotlink (I can see) that can take you from the main USPSA web site, to the list of classifier stages, you have to go VFR direct, as it were. It'd be nice if they added that. But anyway I did get the info as above, thanks. Also, confirmed that the web site calculator for HHF matches the release of HHF posted in the pdf above.

Reason for question was last October when I went through all 84 USPSA classifier stages, 1 by 1 by hand, to create a spreadsheet to compute each specific stage time I'd need to beat for M, A, B, etc., I had missed stage 13-05 Tick-Tock. So I was wondering if maybe it was a retired classifier. So I wanted to check, and apparently I just missed including 13-05 in the 84 stages in my sheet (which is now updated correctly with the times for all 85 stages).

[JCN]

Reason for question was last October when I went through all 84 USPSA classifier stages, 1 by 1 by hand, to create a spreadsheet to compute each specific stage time I'd need to beat for M, A, B, etc., I had missed stage 13-05 Tick-Tock. So I was wondering if maybe it was a retired classifier. So I wanted to check, and apparently I just missed including 13-05 in the 84 stages in my sheet (which is now updated correctly with the times for all 85 stages).

RJ, you might feel that I'm picking on you but I really am trying to help and really trying to highlight the parts of your engineering brain that creates more work and less helpful because of back-calculating fudge factors not accounted for.

Please keep an open mind and read below to see my perspective. I deconstruct classifiers as well so I have some experience in this.

1. When you calculate the "time" needed on a stage, that's assuming some proportion of alphas and charlies.

2. The proportion of alphas and charlies required on different stages are very different for the same skill level shooter. If you have close wide open targets versus far partials, the time taken to make an alpha versus a charlie differs. You might opt for fast charlies on something like "eye of the tiger" where you really don't have time to waste guaranteeing alphas on head boxes. In addition, if you're talking about a classifier with steel or tuxedos, they're either alpha or miss so if you're calculating alpha to charlie ratio in a gross overgeneralized way, you have to take them out of the equation. You don't get to shoot more charlies on that stage on the open papers just because you had to shoot alpha on steel. That's not how it works.

3. So instead of wasting time on "what you'd have to do for each level" across 80+ classifiers that has so many overgeneralizations to not be useful, you can use the classifiers and times to break down and tease out component parts of skill.

What I mean by that is: there are many shared elements in classifiers. 6 reload 6 is a very common pattern. If you break down a few different specific classifiers, it's like those logic puzzles from elementary school. You can assume a split time on a 10 yard target is X and a split time on a 10 yard partial is Y and that scales to a 20 yard open similarly, so subtract those and figure out how much time you'd need for an unloaded table start, blah blah.

Stoeger breaks down the component skills for GM and B level as well. That's really what to focus on. What's the draw speed reproducible 8/10 times to a 7 yard A zone. What's the recoil control splits at 10 yard alphas, etc.

It's funny you mention Tick Tock because it has skill requirements that are kind of unique. The unloaded table start and table reload. The other skills are similar to El Strong and Weak Pres so can be deconstructed.

So for example, when I was testing that specific skill I knew where my shooting skills were at so I knew the time suck was all in the load and reload and I could focus there. The real time thought process was done in this practice video.


https://youtu.be/ZurLtsFJlOY

[JCN]

RJ so I pick a couple specific classifiers to work with because they represent different skill sets that I need to develop.

I usually check skills against:
El Pres for turn draw and reloads on medium targets.
Eye of the Tiger for draw speed to difficult target and transitions to difficult targets (that still have to be done fast).
Can You Count for max speed.

As a practical example, Can You Count because the targets are so close and the HFs are so stringent you really are required to make all alphas and go fast. So that's a stage where if you applied the same alpha-charlie ratio as Eye of the Tiger, it would be way off.


https://youtu.be/NrW_R3jaKQ4

[JCN]

My general criticism of certain engineering pitfalls is:

Tendency to oversimplify complicated things.
Tendency to complicate simple things.

So in the case of classifiers, it's all just in a Stoeger chart.

Want to be B level?
You need something like 1.3 second draw to 7 yard A and 0.25 splits with 0.30 transitions, 1.5 second reloads. That scales to adding 0.2 ish if going out to 15 yards, which is the same marksmanship requirement as a 7 yard partial.

That's the key. To find out what the component part requirements are (which helps you benchmark and practice them). In this case, they're already published in a book which was super helpful to me when starting out. I benchmarked his GM levels and worked towards those.

[JCS]

What I have been doing to calculate classifier scores is calculate what the time would be with all A’s to get the baseline slowest time I need to get a x level score. But I know all alphas is likely not going to happen so I also calculate the time necessary for 50% alpha and 50% Charlie’s and also 70% alpha and 30% Charlie. This lets me see how much wiggle room I have on time.

[RJ]

What I have been doing to calculate classifier scores is calculate what the time would be with all A’s to get the baseline slowest time I need to get a x level score. But I know all alphas is likely not going to happen so I also calculate the time necessary for 50% alpha and 50% Charlie’s and also 70% alpha and 30% Charlie. This lets me see how much wiggle room I have on time.

That's what I did, it's a pretty simple computation.

I now know what time I have to make (assuming all hits, all alphas, all points) for each classifier stage for A, B, etc. based on inverting HHF and using a percentage (75% for A, 60% for B, etc.). I made a three ring binder with all the stage diagrams and information printed out. I put a hard copy of this spreadsheet at the front of the binder, so now when I arrive at a match, I can quickly look up the Classifier that's going to be shot on the spot.

Before, I would turn up at a match, look at the classifier diagram scrawled on a the paper, and basically hope for the best by shooting it as fast as I could, without any regard for what I'm trying to achieve. By having my binder, I feel I am now a lot better prepared to plan my match.

To use in Dry Practice, I've also gone so far as to "group" all the classifiers by common themes; reloads, shooting static groups, etc. Then I've been working on those themes daily, using the 14 Core Classifier skills listed in Book 1 of Steve Anderson's books (well, the CC skills plus the Match Core Drills and Plate Rack Drills, but not as often as the CC Drills.) It's interesting (and good, obviously) that Steve's CC Drill skills pair up well with the many of the common themes found in the 85 Classifier Stages in USPSA.

[JCN]

I now know what time I have to make (assuming all hits, all alphas, all points) for each classifier

But that’s not helpful because you won’t know what to do with the time NUMBER.

If you had a stage at a match and I told you that a B performance was 19 seconds, would that help you achieve B level performance? Would you finish the stage in 19 seconds?

No because you’re not checking a timer while you’re shooting a stage.

You’re a stubborn man, but your problem solving hasn’t been that effective in getting out of D class in six years. Your current problem solving approach will plateau at C level most likely.

If you break down component parts and internalize and visualize, then you can construct the FEELING and internal cadence to TEACH you exactly what time you’ll need and not just TELL you what the time is.

[JCN]

In 2016, this is where I was at.


https://youtu.be/l6KBQzwwBi8

Was an outlaw match.

Didn’t try USPSA in earnest until 2019.

2020 looked like this:


https://youtu.be/hM0r-5emwok

That was D level to A level.

And then 2021:


https://youtu.be/eqM-UWCT-nA

And 2022:


https://youtu.be/82OW4FliMVM

Efficiency matters in this game and wasting time on stuff that doesn’t matter while willfully neglecting the parts that do matter is a recipe for staying C class.

[GJM]

USPSA updated high hit factors today. I believe these are the changes.

85391

My hands and toes counting suggests 45 of the 86 classifiers were revised in CO.

[RJ]

My hands and toes counting suggests 45 of the 86 classifiers were revised in CO.

86. Dang it. I looked again, and sure enough I missed another one (21-01 "Trigger Freeze") Can confirm I am tracking 86. Geez, you'd think I could count. :)

[Jared]

86. Dang it. I looked again, and sure enough I missed another one (21-01 "Trigger Freeze") Can confirm I am tracking 86. Geez, you'd think I could count. :)

There’s a classifier for that :). I’ll show myself out now….