On the last stage of a match today, I got screwed by a popper. We were painting after every shooter, so I know without question that the visible hits were mine. All 3 were within the calibration zone, and the popper didn't fall until the third hit. (Not a forward falling popper, so I was most definitely not "shooting it back up," and all the other steel I shot today fell on the first hit, even some hit below the calibration zone, so I'm confident my ammo was not the issue.) Apparently because I kept shooting until it fell, I couldn't call for calibration, and thus couldn't get a reshoot. I think that sucks. Can anybody give me a logical explanation of why this type of thing is not considered to be a range equipment malfunction?
Arguably, after having been hit by *any* shots, a popper is not in the same state it started in. Given that, I feel like if either the competitor's ammo has been chronoed and found to make 125+ PF (or no chrono is used at the match, and therefore all ammo has to be assumed to make declared PF), it would make the most sense in scenarios like mine today to recalibrate the steel in question and give the competitor a reshoot regardless of the calibration result.
All that said, I may be missing some important factor, and I'm definitely salty about it, so if somebody's got a good reason for why the rules are the way they are, I'm all ears.