On this page:

April 2009

Question regarding loading when changing position>>

from the 2008 Nationals>>

eye protection>>

Interim 150-shot PA Rules for Competitions>>

PA Guide for Range Officers>>

What 600 Joules works out to>>

About the 60-Shot and 48-Shot Events>> (repeated from the newsletter item)

Grade (Classification)>>

For those that missed previous notification…>>

April 2009

From the 2009 Nationals

Scoring procedure

· Scoring of all WA1500 targets was in the Classification Office (actually, the Air Pistol range was annexed for scoring this event)

· Basically, each shooter was assigned a role as an observer for the following relay – by the time this was over the targets were ready for the shooter to inspect the targets and scorecard.

Holstering pistols at the command to LOAD

· Following a request at the Technical Meeting, WA1500 shooters at these Nationals were permitted to cock the hammer on a semi-automatic pistol to reduce the effort required to rack the slide to feed the first round after drawing the pistol (remember that for ‘Pistol’ the chamber is empty when the pistol is holstered).

· There was no requirement that the shooter engage the safety but this procedure has ONLY been approved for the 2009 Nationals, where:

A. Each shooter had an allocated Observer

B. In addition to the Range Officer there are two Judges on the range section

Note that this procedure:

· has not been authorised for use at other than at the 2009 PA Nationals

· was only applied to semi-automatic pistols for the WA1500 event

· is completely at odds with any other event requiring the holstering of a pistol containing ammunition (i.e. for other events the safety must be engaged)

60-shot Open Match

Neil Stewart (WA1500 Director) is preparing an item on this matter and it will be posted when received.

Question regarding loading when changing position

The PA procedure for loading when a change of position is part of the course of fire is standard across all PA events – i.e. the shooter must change position with the firearm visibly ‘clear’ and reload when in the new position.

More on this≫

From the 2008 PA Nationals

Eyewear:

Rule 3.7.1/3.7.1.1 – the prohibition on an opaque lens and/or opaque side blinders will not be applied ay these Nationals.

Note that the requirement for eye protection is totally in force for ALL persons on, or near the firing points.

Foot Faults:

Rule 7.4.2.3 – the penalty of 10 points per shot will not be applied to more than one shot with a foot fault.

The NRC Director and the Jury at the 2008 Nationals agrees that the 10-points per shot (in the current printing) is an excessive penalty

Crossfires:

Inadvertently left out of the interim rules is “If more than the required number of hits appear on the target, any shot which can be identified by the bullet hole as having been fired by some competitor, other than the competitor assigned to that target or as having been fired in a previous string, will be disregarded and will not be scored. If more than the required number of hits then remain on the target a complete new score may be fired…

This obviously applies

Urgent note re Eye Protection

(to be read in conjunction with the item above)

All,

The current rules are:

• Eye protection is mandatory for all personnel at, or near the firing line (PA wording from Service, but part of the PPC and CPCA rules 3.19 Eye Protection — All competitors and other personnel in the immediate vicinity of the firing line are urged to wear shatter proof shooting glasses or similar eye protection.),

• The use of any mechanical iris, eye patch, eye cover, or side blinder/s (other than normal glasses worn for corrective eyesight purpose or sunglasses) is prohibited (straight from the PPC and CPCA rules),

However, there is a now identified problem with a conflict between these rules regarding the use of eye protection that includes side protection.

There was never any intent to prohibit the use of eye protection that includes side protection: the intent is to prohibit any mechanical iris, eye patch, eye cover, or side blinder/s.

Rule 3.7.1.1 added to read “3.7.1 does not preclude the use of safety glasses incorporating transparent side section, or transparent additional material to normal glasses or sunglasses for eye protection”.

Interim 150-shot PA Rules for Competitions

The rules for WA1500 continue to undergo ‘refinement’. The latest issue of the WA1500 Rules for PA (v1.0d) is available for download (click here).

Alterations / additions since the previous version are in italics, and the wording of the rule commences with ‘*’. These rules are available in word or pdf (they are biggish files and will take some time on a dial-up connection)

For background:

NRA (of America) Police Pistol Combat competitions are for Police Officers – if you are not a serving (or retired) law enforcement officer you cannot enter.

WA1500 is a civilianised version of Police Pistol Combat. This was not only a matter of forming a shooting organisation that allowed entry by ‘civilians’; it has also developed in its own right, with a definite move away from ‘combat’ connotations, e.g.:

The undeniably man-shaped NRA B27 target has been replaced with the rectangular format WA1500 target

For WA1500, ‘police pistol combat’ is Precision Pistol Course – this was not only some linguistic trickery, it reflects a culture change.

‘Camo’ and police/military clothing is actively discouraged.

WA1500 is truly international, growing from the original nine nations at its inception in November 2000 to the 21 nations currently affiliated. It is owned, administered and regulated by its member affiliates.

The WA1500 rules are based on the NRA (of America) Police Pistol Combat, but it must be remembered that the NRA (of America) Police Pistol Combat are not the WA1500 rules. The differ in many respects (and not only the eligibility rules).

The WA1500 rules currently available (http://www.wa1500.org/rules.htm) need, and are undergoing, considerable development to satisfy the needs of the shooters and the competition officials for detail and clarification. During our PA WA1500 attendance at the recent 2007 World Championships I ‘volunteered’ to prepare a full set of formal rules for WA1500.

Given that we (PA) need a set of rules to the WA1500 international procedures and requirements, the PA have been prepared in conjunction with work on the full set of international rules, and as it does not include the 60-shot Distinguished or the 48-shot Events was a somewhat quicker project.

The Interim WA1500 Rules for PA:

Are available for download by right clicking on word or pdf and following the ‘save as’ prompts.

Will be refined as points come to my attention – but the basic material is there

Guide for Range Officers

The RO guide is available for download here. Again, download by right clicking the link and following the ‘save as’ prompts.

Note that the current version has a red panel at the top (to make it instantly recognisable from the old version).

What 600 Joules works out to

Maximum Velocity (fps) for various bullet weights (grains) for 600 Joules - rounded down

	grains	+0	+1	+2	+3	+4	+5	+6	+7	+8	+9
	80	1578	1568	1559	1549	1540	1531	1522	1513	1505	1496
	90	1488	1480	1471	1464	1456	1448	1440	1433	1426	1418
	100	1411	1404	1397	1391	1384	1377	1371	1364	1358	1352
	110	1346	1340	1334	1328	1322	1316	1310	1305	1299	1294
	120	1288	1283	1278	1273	1267	1262	1257	1252	1247	1243
	130	1238	1233	1228	1224	1219	1215	1210	1206	1201	1197
	140	1193	1188	1184	1180	1176	1172	1168	1164	1160	1156
	150	1152	1148	1145	1141	1137	1134	1130	1126	1123	1119
	160	1116	1112	1109	1105	1102	1099	1095	1092	1089	1086
	170	1082	1079	1076	1073	1070	1067	1064	1061	1058	1055
	180	1052	1049	1046	1043	1040	1038	1035	1032	1029	1026
	190	1024	1021	1018	1016	1013	1011	1008	1005	1003	1000
	200	998	995	993	990	988	986	983	981	978	976
	210	974	971	969	967	965	962	960	958	956	954
	220	951	949	947	945	943	941	939	937	935	932
	230	930	928	926	924	922	920	919	917	915	913
	240	911	909	907	905	903	901	900	898	896	894
	250	892	891	889	887	885	884	882	880	878	877

About the 60-Shot and 48-Shot Events

For the introduction of WA1500 into Australia, PA has opted to start with the 150-shot events (MainMatch for Revolver and Semi-Automatic): the 60-shot Distinguished and 48-shot events have not been adopted or approved.

Grade (Classification)

Separate grades (Classification) for WA1500. Internationally, the WA1500 is separating classification for both revolver and pistol (semi-automatics). If you shoot WA1500 with both types, it is advisable to keep a record of the grade scores for each separate.

International WA1500 Classification Database. To get on the international WA1500 classification database, do not forward your scores to the WA1500 – there is a system (and the last thing the WA1500 database personnel need is lots of e-mails that might (or might not) be accurate and valid). Shoot a score at a PA competition and your score will be forwarded.

NOTES TO RANGE OFFICIALS:

A summary of the changes is available.

The PA Guide for Range Officers has been revised to cover the changes – click here.

The rules are not there to enable the officials to belt the shooters over the head – for at least the first few months; the changes come in, but do not use the changes to punish the shooters!

Range Officers and PA Judges holding PA Service Pistol accreditation also cover WA1500.

The change to the loading of semi- automatics (no round in the chamber when holstered) will take a bit of getting used to, but given that there are no really quick series for WA1500 there should be no problems for the shooters.

The additional range commands after the first 12-shot series in Match 4 of the 150-shot event (CLOSE PISTOLS AND HAMMER DOWN) is to ensure all shooters are at the same stage of preparation before the command 6 ROUNDS LOAD & HOLSTER

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For those that missed last month’s notification…

The following items are adopted immediately (1 Sept 2007):

Revised Range Officers Guide

The PA Guide for ROs covering WA1500 has been updated to reflect the changes listed on this page - Link>>

Note that the latest version (v 3.1) has a RED panel at the top

Pistol Holstered

For WA1500, the cleared pistol is holstered. For WA1500 World Championships, this is from the time the shooter gears-up in the Staging Area, until the shooter removes the equipment in the Staging Area at the completion of the relay (with the obvious exceptions of loading, firing, etc.).

Range Commands:

‘LOAD 6 ROUNDS AND HOLSTER’ is self-explanatory (see the note on Loading Semi-automatics>>),

‘IS THE LINE READY’; called when the RO considers the shooters are ready, i.e. they are all in the ‘ready’ position’

(‘THE LINE IS NOT READY’ if a shooter calls ‘NOT READY’; the shooters then have one 15 seconds delay before ‘IS THE LINE READY’ is called again),

‘THE LINE IS READY – STANDBY’; this with 2 or 3 seconds between the two parts of the combined command,

‘UNLOAD AND SHOW CLEAR’; given at the end of the series. The shooters wait with the opened firearm until the RO/s checks the firearm and tell them individually to holster. Revolver shooters are expected to retain the empty cases from the last 6 shots and show them to the RO.

‘THE RANGE IS CLEAR’; when all the shooters have holstered their cleared firearms.

Note that the command ‘CLOSE PISTOLS AND HAMMER DOWN’, is given following the firearm being ‘cleared’ by a range Officer after the first 12 shots of Match 4 and before the shooters are given the load commands for the second 12 shots.

‘STOP’ means precisely that

Loading Semi-automatics:

After the command ‘LOAD 6 ROUNDS AND HOLSTER’, the slide is closed BEFORE the loaded magazine is inserted – there is no round in the chamber when the pistol is holstered or drawn from the holster.

This is the Europeans’ solution to those pistols (semi automatics) that do not have an exposed hammer, and necessitates ‘racking’ the slide after drawing the pistol, but given that the shortest time sequence in any WA1500 event is 8 seconds for six shots it is not onerous.

Unloading Revolvers at the completion of a series

Revolver shooters are expected to retain the empty cases from the last 6 shots in a stage/section, and show them to the RO.

Trigger Weight

All triggers checked at the 2007 World Championships were required to lift 1360g (the ISSF Centre Fire weight), this was for both pistols and revolvers.

Almost certainly when the rules are finalized, the requirement will be for 1360g.

Equipment Placement:

No equipment other than a stopwatch between the shooter and the firing line – loading trays may be placed beside the shooter.

Currently, the requirement is that no exposed ammunition may be placed between the shooter and the firing line. However, almost certainly when the rules are finalized the requirement will be for ‘no equipment other than a stopwatch between the shooter and the firing line’.

The shooter will be allowed to have an ammunition tray, and etc. BESIDE him provided it does not interfere with a shooter in the adjoining firing point.

This rule resulted after an ‘incident’ when a round was set off after a shooter dropped an item onto his ammunition tray!

‘Lost’ equipment

Any equipment (including ammunition) dropped after the command ‘LOAD 6 ROUNDS AND HOLSTER’ is declared ‘lost’ and cannot be retrieved until after the next command ‘THE RANGE IS CLEAR’. The penalty for a breach of this requirement is disqualification.

This rule recognizes the close proximity of shooters at the firing line and the potential for a shooter to have part of his person in front of the barrel direction of an adjoining shooter in the process of loading or firing. The shooter can move dropped equipment in his way (e.g. gently kicking a dropped speed-loader, magazine or loose ammunition) which would interfere with the shooting position.

Ammunition for a Stage/Section

All ammunition required for a stage/section (i.e. between LOAD and UNLOAD) must be carried on the person in magazines or speed-loaders on the belt.

Stopwatches:

Stopwatches may be worn by the shooter, placed on the ground, or attached to the post (provided they do not damage or mark the post, or provide support to the shooter).

Warm-up;

Before the 150-shot events (only) the shooters are allowed:

165 seconds unlimited number of shots at 50 yards: after this, each shooter moves to the 25 yards line under command (or brings their target back to 25 yards), and

90 seconds unlimited number of shots at 25 yards: after this, each shooter sets their Match 1 target.

For Warm-up shooting, the shooters may adopt any position provided:

The position is safe and

They do not interfere with adjoining shooters.

Scopes, Binoculars, Monoculars

Shooters are not allowed to use scopes (including binoculars or monoculars) during the events.

During any Warm-up shooting, the shooter may use scopes (including binoculars or monoculars) provided:

The position is safe and

They do not interfere with adjoining shooters.

Coaching

Coaching during an event is not allowed.

The exception is for separate 2-man team events (see next item).

Two-man International Team Events

These are a separate event conducted on Match 5 from the 150-shot event (i.e. out of a possible 2 x 600 = 1200). When one member of the team is shooting, the other member of the team acts as a coach. The other team member (i.e. not shooting in that relay) can coach the shooter, and is allowed to use a hand-held scope, monocular or binoculars to spot the shots.

There is no Warm-up shooting before the Two-man International event.

And for information

Scoring

The number of Xs and 10s (that are not Xs) are recorded separately on the score sheet – i.e. the X count is not included in the number of 10s.

In practice, this enables:

the number of shots in each scoring zone (Xs, 10s, 9s, 8s, 7s and 0s) to be totalled and checked against the number of shots expected on a target, and

saves having to double count the 10s (including Xs) and Xs.

Open W has the option to ‘include Xs in ten count’ (a box found in ‘Competition options’ in ‘competition details’)

Number of Targets

The number of targets (6 or 7) remains at the option of the competition organisers. World Championships will use 6 targets for the 150-shot events, but to simplify scoring, at other competitions the organisers may opt to have the last 6 shots in Match 5 shot on a separate target.

WA1500 Rule Book

The rule book is under way.

At this time, the intent is that once the WA1500 rules are formulated and adopted they will be available as a download from the WA1500 website

WA1500 is a comparatively new discipline and in many respects still developing.

Given that WA1500 is a civilianised version of the NRA’s PPC matches, a number of the NRA and CPCA ‘service’ requirements will not be included in the WA1500 rule book. Do not rely on the NRA or CPCA rules to give definitive rules for WA1500 – there are many subtle differences.

Classification

Shooters are advised to keep a separate record of their revolver and pistol scores for grade. It is highly likely that the WA1500 will separate these two classifications.

Revolvers and Pistols

“Was it a revolver or a pistol?” may sound odd to our usage in Australia, where we tend to lump revolvers, single-shots and semi-automatics together under the generic term ‘pistols’ – it was not always so! You only have to look at SARPA (South Australia Revolver & Pistol Association) to realize that the usage of the term ‘pistol’ more accurately refers to a single shot or semi-automatic.

When the WA1500 rules use the term ‘pistol’ the reference is to a semi-automatic pistol, as opposed to a revolver.

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