Uspsa-accuracy vs time

[egd]

The more I shoot uspsa it seems to me that speed trumps accuracy. I really wish it was more even. If they simply increased alphas to 6 points, keeping all other rules the same, would that be better??

 

[ny32182]

If you are not doing so already, you can shoot minor. Production is minor only, if you want to compete apples to apples with everyone else in a minor division.

In USPSA I would say speed/accuracy is pretty well balanced... you can't score well against good competition without both.

Most other sports (IDPA, etc) are more heavily accuracy biased.

 

[ATLDave]

You may as well ask whether increasing the value of a touchdown to 8 points would be better. Better at what? Doesn't matter, the game already has rules, and few of those who are interested in the sport want it to change.

But, more fundamentally, it is common for newer USPSA shooters to feel as you feel. It is true that there is literally no way to be accurate enough to win while being slow. You must get the speed up in USPSA.

That does not mean, however, that accuracy doesn't matter. Assuming a match has some high-level competition in it, it is routine for the better shooters to all have broadly similar times, with accuracy at speed making the difference.

And all those guys going fast and taking C's while putting up big HF... rest assured that a lot of them can shoot fairly small groups in slow fire. Just like a formula one or nascar race driver can absolutely maintain his lane with scrupulous precision and accelerate/brake gently on the streets in traffic. The fact that they hang tires over fault lines or tailgate or whatever on race day doesn't mean they cannot drive "carefully." It means that they are doing what is needed to win.

 

[ny32182]

To address your question specifically, if your goal was to change the scoring model to more heavily favor accuracy, increasing an alpha to 6 points would not do it... it would have the opposite effect. 6 pt A's would send the hit factors up, all else equal, and as hit factor rises, usually that prioritizes time as a more important factor. You'd have to drop the point values, all else equal, to do what you are talking about.

 

[Hoser]

Just keep shooting As as fast as you can and eventually you will understand that accuracy is just as important as raw speed.

Sometimes you need to settle for an occasional C/D if getting an A will take too long.

Comes with experience.

Top dogs in the sport very rarely finish an average stage with more than 3-4 Cs.

 

[egd]

OK, neeever mind.... Just a thought.

 

[waktasz]

The scoring is points per second. It would benefit you to try shooting a sample stage using various levels of focus on pure speed vs pure accuracy to see which way is better for you.

 

[LiveLife]

The more I shoot uspsa it seems to me that speed trumps accuracy.

You won't be the first and you won't be the last to comment about USPSA scoring favoring speed over accuracy.

When I started shooting USPSA, I was trying to hit all A's but my stage times suffered. When a seasoned match shooter suggested I video record my stages to see where I can shave time, I was shocked to see how much time I was wasting on each stage.

If you are serious about climbing the "points" ladder at USPSA matches, you really need to video record your matches and eliminate all wasted movements.

As to accuracy, it's simple - Just shoot all A's. Another seasoned match shooter suggested I use smaller targets for double tap practice and I started with 1/2 sheets of copy paper for 7-15 yard target practice then later I used 1/4 sheets until I could get all of my double taps inside the smaller targets. On match days, the USPSA cardboard targets appeared huge in comparison and I only slowed down for 25 yard targets.

If you haven't yet practiced shot calling, it's an important match practice drill crucial for improving accuracy and speed - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/first-uspsa-match-today.809836/#post-10356577