American Speed Plates (ASP)Information by www.hittingsteel.com

American Speed Plates (ASP):

1. AMERICAN SPEED PLATES IS A HANDGUN DISCIPLINE THROUGH WHICH A PARTICIPANT IS TESTED FOR SPEED AND ACCURACY.

2. ALL OF THE STAGES DOCUMENTED BY THESE RULES ARE CLASSIFIER STAGES.

3. THERE ARE NEVER MORE THAN FIVE TARGETS PER STAGE.

4. ALL TARGETS ARE STEEL PLATES.

5. CLASSIFIER TARGET SIZE TOLERANCES:

A. ROUND: +/- 0.5"(DIAMETER).
B. SQUARE: +/- 1" (LENGTH OR WIDTH)
C. ALL AUTHORIZED STAGES DESCRIBE PLATE SIZES.

6. TARGET HEIGHT TOLERANCES:

A. MEASUREMENT IN FEET: +/- 3" (TO CENTER OF STEM).
B. MEASUREMENT IN YARDS: +/- 6" (TO CENTER OF STEM)
C. ALL AUTHORIZED STAGES DESCRIBE DISTANCES.

7. TARGET DISTANCE TOLERANCES:

A. ROUND: +/- 3" (GROUND TO CENTER OF PLATE).
B. RECTANGLES: +/- 3" (GROUND TO CENTER OF PLATE).
C. ALL AUTHORIZED STAGES DESCRIBE HEIGHTS.

8. STAGES WILL BE SHOT 5 TIMES. THE SLOWEST SCORE (LONGEST TIME) WILL BE DISCARDED.<

9. CLASSIFIER RECORD TIMES ARE THE SUM OF 4 RUNS.

10. THIS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM WILL ENABLE CLUBS THAT SHOOT STEEL TO CLASSIFY PARTICIPANTS AT A LOCAL LEVEL.

A. PARTICIPANTS MUST SHOOT EIGHTEEN (18) DIFFERENT CLASSIFIER STAGES TO OBTAIN A VALID CLASSIFICATION. A MINIMUM OF SIX (6) DIFFERENT CLASSIFIER STAGES MAY BE USED TO PROVIDE AN INTERIM CLASSIFICATION.

B. A PARTICIPANTS RECORD WILL CONSIST OF THE SCORES FOR ALL AUTHORIZED CLASSIFIER STAGES SHOT.

C. A PARTICIPANTS CLASSIFICATION RECORD SHALL BE UPDATED:

1) THE FIRST TIME A STAGE IS SHOT.
2) WHEN THEIR CURRENT STAGE TIME IS LESS THAN THEIR RECORDED TIME FOR THAT STAGE.

D. THE TIME RECORDED SHALL BE THE SUM OF THE FOUR (4) FASTEST RUNS FROM ONE MATCH.

E. TO CLASSIFY A PARTICIPANT:

1) DIVIDE THE STAGE RECORD TIME BY THE PARTICIPANTS STAGE TIME (SAME STAGE).(RECORD STAGE TIME/PARTICIPANT TIME = %)

2) SELECT THE TOP EIGHTEEN (18) HIGHEST PERCENTS. (6 TO 17 FOR AN INTERIM CLASSIFICATION).

3) DIVIDE THE SUM OF THE SELECTED PERCENTAGES BY THE NUMBER OF STAGES SELECTED. (TOTAL STAGE TIME\NUMBER OF STAGES)

4) THE FOLLOWING TABLE CONVERTS THE AVERAGE PERCENT TO A CLASS:

[GM] 95.0% - 100% (GRAND MASTER)
[M] 87.5% - 94.99%(MASTER)
[A] 80.0% - 87.49%
[B] 70.0% - 79.99%
[C] 60.0% - 69.99%
[D] 40.0% - 59.99%
[E] 0.0% - 39.99%
[U] NOT CLASSIFIED (6 CLASSIFIER STAGES TO RECEIVE CLASS)

F. CLUBS OPTING TO OBTAIN THE STAGE DRAWINGS AND SOFTWARE TO CLASSIFY THEIR PARTICIPANTS MUST AGREE TO SUBMIT TIMES THAT ESTABLISH A NEW STAGE RECORD.

G. A PARTICIPANT CLASSIFIED UNDER THIS SYSTEM SHALL HOLD A NATIONAL CLASSIFICATION THAT WILL BE RECOGNIZED BY OTHER CLUBS FOLLOWING THESE SAME RULES.NOTE: THIS IS NOT AN ATTEMPT TO FORM A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION. IT IS A CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM WITH RULES THAT WILL BE ADMINISTERED LOCALLY. THE SYSTEM IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE VISIBILITY FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO WISH TO SHOOT WITHIN THEIR CLASS AT ANOTHER CLUBS MATCHES.

11. ADDING NEW CLASSIFIER STAGES

A. NEW CLASSIFIER STAGES MAY BE ADDED WHEN ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS PARTICIPATING HAVE RECEIVED THE NEW STAGE.

B. THE STAGE WILL ESTABLISH ITS OWN RECORD TIME.

C. THE TARGET ARRAY MAY NOT HAVE ANY PLATE CLOSER THAN SEVEN(7)YARDS NOR FURTHER THAN FORTY (40) YARDS.

D. HEIGHTS MUST BE NOT LESS THAN 18" AND NOT MORE THAN 66" FROM THE GROUND TO THE CENTER OF THE TARGET IN 6" INCREMENTS.

E. CIRCULAR TARGETS ARE TO BE 10" OR 12" IN DIAMETER.

F. RECTANGULAR TARGET SIZE IS 18" x 24"

G. THE TARGET ARRAY MAY NOT VIOLATE THE RULES ESTABLISHED BY THIS DOCUMENT.

12. PAINT COLORS

A. WHITE - TARGET PLATES SHALL BE PAINTED BEFORE A PARTICIPANT SHOOTS THEIR 5 STRINGS.

B. STEMS - JUST BELOW THE PLATE:

1) RED - STOP PLATE.

2) GREEN - START PLATE.

3) BLUE - OPTION PLATE.

4) WHITE OR GRAY - ALL OTHER PLATES.

5) RED AND GREEN - PLATE IS DESIGNATED AS START AND STOP.

II. HANDGUNS, CALIBER AND AMMUNITION:

1.HANDGUNS.

A. STOCK HANDGUNS MAY BE PISTOLS OR REVOLVERS.

1) COMPENSATORS OR PORTING ARE NOT PERMITTED.
2) SCOPES, ELECTRONIC SIGHTS, LASER OR OTHER OPTICS ARE NOT PERMITTED.
3) ADDITIONAL WEIGHTS ADDED TO THE HANDGUN ARE NOT PERMITTED.

B. OPEN HANDGUNS DO NOT FALL INTO THE STOCK CATEGORY.

C. ALL AUTO LOADING PISTOLS MUST HAVE A WORKING SAFETY.

D. SINGLE ACTION REVOLVERS WILL SHOOT AS IN (SA) CLASS.

2.CALIBERS.

A. 22'S WILL SHOOT AS OPEN OR STOCK IN (22) CLASS.

B. THE CENTER FIRE CARTRIDGE MINIMUM CALIBER IS .25. THIS IS BEING DONE TO PROMOTE EXPERIMENTATION FOR STEEL ONLY HANDGUNS.

C. NO CALIBERS LARGER THAN .44 MAGNUM ARE ALLOWED.

D. NO RIFLE CARTRIDGES SHALL BE USED.

III. HOLSTERS:

1. HOLSTERS ARE REQUIRED FOR ALL CENTER FIRE HANDGUNS EXCEPT FOR NO HOLSTER [NH] AND [22] CLASSES.

A. THE HOLSTER MUST BE ON OR FORWARD OF THE HIP.

B. CROSS DRAW, SHOULDER AND BEHIND THE HIP TACTICAL HOLSTERS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED.

C. THE HOLSTER MUST COVER THE TRIGGER WHEN THE WEAPON IS HOLSTERED. SINGLE SIX HOLSTERS ARE EXEMPT FROM THIS REQUIREMENT.

D. [22] AND [NH] CLASSES WILL BEGIN FROM THE READY POSITION. (GUN POINTED DOWN RANGE AT 45 DEGREE ANGLE TO THE GROUND)

IV. RANGE PROCEDURES:

1. THE SHOOTER WILL BE IN THE SHOOTING BOX OR BEHIND THE FOUL LINE.

2. RANGE OFFICER (RO) - "YOU MAY TAKE AN UNLOADED SIGHT PICTURE AND/OR YOU MAY LOAD AND MAKE READY". (SIGHT PICTURES WILL NOT BE ALLOWED AFTER THE FIRST STRING OF FIRE.)

3. THE PARTICIPANT SHOULD INDICATE READY BY RAISING HIS HANDS ABOVE THE SHOULDERS SO THAT HIS WRISTS MAY BE SEEN FROM BEHIND OR ASSUME THE READY POSITION (CLASSES [NH] OR [22]).

4. RO - "IS THE SHOOTER READY?" OR "ARE YOU READY?" (1-3 SECOND PAUSE)

5. RO - "STAND BY"

6. THE RO WILL SET TIMER OFF IN 1 TO 3 SECONDS.

7. THE PARTICIPANT WILL THEN ENGAGE THE TARGET ARRAY AS DESCRIBED IN THE STAGE DESCRIPTION.

8. AFTER ENGAGING THE TARGET ARRAY, THE PARTICIPANT SHOULD RE-LOAD OR VERIFY THAT THERE ARE SUFFICIENT ROUNDS REMAINING TO RE-ENGAGE THE TARGET ARRAY.

9. STEPS 3. THROUGH 8. SHALL BE REPEATED UNTIL THE DESCRIBED NUMBER OF ENGAGEMENTS (RUNS OR STRINGS) HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED.

10. RO - "UNLOAD AND SHOW SHOW CLEAR"

11. THE PARTICIPANT WILL:

A. PISTOLS

1) REMOVE THE WEAPONS MAGAZINE.

2) MANUALLY CYCLE THE SLIDE TO CLEAR THE LAST ROUND FROM THE CHAMBER.

3) CHECK THE CHAMBER TO INSURE THE WEAPON IS CLEAR.

4) HOLD THE SLIDE TO THE REAR AND SHOW THE WEAPONS CHAMBER FOR THE RO TO VERIFY CLEAR.

5) RELEASE THE SLIDE.

6) POINT THE WEAPON DOWN RANGE AND RELEASE THE HAMMER TO THE FORWARD POSITION. (SQUEEZING THE TRIGGER IS PREFERRED)

B. REVOLVERS WITH ACCESSIBLE CYLINDERS

1) ACCESS THE CYLINDER.
2) REMOVE ALL CARTRIDGES.
3) SHOW THE LOADING SIDE OF THE CYLINDER FOR THE RO TO VERIFY CLEAR.
4) CLOSE THE CYLINDER.

C. REVOLVERS WITH LOADING GATES

1) OPEN THE LOADING GATE.
2) REMOVE ALL CARTRIDGES.
3) SHOW EACH CYLINDER POSITION FOR THE RO TO VERIFY CLEAR.
4) CLOSE THE LOADING GATE.

12. THE RO WILL INFORM THE PARTICIPANT THAT THE WEAPON IS CLEAR AND TO EITHER HOLSTER OR BAG THE WEAPON.

13. THE WEAPONS HAMMER SHALL ALWAYS BE IN THE FORWARD POSITION (FIRED) BEFORE THE WEAPON IS STOWED.

V. SCORING MATCHES:

1. TARGETS MUST BE HIT IN EACH STRING TO SCORE (A HIT IS A MARK ON THE FRONT OF THE PLATE).

2. PLATES (INCLUDING OPTION PLATES) MUST BE HIT BEFORE THE STOP PLATE.

3. HITTING THE STOP PLATE ENDS THE STRING.

4. TARGET SCORING ENDS WHEN A STOP PLATE IS HIT.

5. TOTAL TIME IS FROM THE START BEEP UNTIL THE LAST SHOT.

6. A BULLET MAY NOT SCORE A HIT ON MORE THAN 1 TARGET.

7. A STEM HIT IS THE SAME AS A MISSED TARGET.

8. ELECTRONIC TIMERS WITH .01 SEC RESOLUTION MAY BE USED FOR SCORING.

9. A PARTICIPANT WHO BEGINS THEIR DRAW OR RAISES THEIR WEAPON BEFORE THE BEEP SHALL BE VERBALLY WARNED AND ALLOWED A RE-START. THE NEXT INFRACTION SHALL BE A FIVE (5) SECOND PENALTY.

10. TIMERS WILL NOT BE REVIEWED FOR THE FIRST HIT WHEN A STOP PLATE RECEIVES MULTIPLE HITS.

11. PENALTIES ASSESSED BY THE STAGE DESCRIPTION OR RULE INFRACTION SHALL BE ADDED TO THE TOTAL TIME. THE TIME LOGGED MAY NOT EXCEED 30 SECONDS PER RUN.

12. THE RO MAY APPOINT ONE OR MORE PARTICIPANTS TO ASSIST IN SCORING THE TARGETS AND ENGAGEMENT SEQUENCE.

13. MATCH RESULTS ARE DETERMINED BY:

A. ADDING THE STAGE RECORD TIMES.

B. ADDING THE PARTICIPANTS STAGE TIMES.

C. DIVIDE THE STAGE RECORD TIME SUM BY THE PARTICIPANTS STAGE TIME SUM. (STAGE RECORD TIME SUM/PARTICIPANT STAGE TIME SUM = %)

D. THE PARTICIPANT STAYS IN THE GROUP (O)PEN OR (S)TOCK IN WHICH THEY SHOT.
CLASSIFIED PARTICIPANTS STAY WITHIN THEIR CLASS.
UNCLASSIFIED (U) ARE ASSIGNED IN THE ORDER THEY FINISHED WITHIN THEIR GROUP (O)PEN or (S)TOCK WHICH PLACES THEM WITHIN A CLASS.

VI. ALIBI'S:

1. TWO (2) ALIBI'S WILL BE PERMITTED PER MATCH DAY FOR EACH WEAPON SHOT.

2. THESE ARE FOR JAMS AND AMMUNITION RELATED FAILURES.

3. THE PARTICIPANT WILL BE PERMITTED TO RE-SHOOT THE RUN.

4. SPEED PLATES IS A TEST OF THE PERSON NOT THE EQUIPMENT.

VII. SAFETY RULES:

1. COLD RANGES RULES WILL APPLY.

A. WEAPONS MAY ONLY BE HANDLED IN A DESIGNATED SAFE AREA OR

B. ON THE FIRING LINE UNDER THE DIRECT SUPERVISION OF THE RO.

C. THE RO'S PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY IS TO INSURE THE SAFETY OF THE PARTICIPANTS.

2. THE READY CONDITION OF PISTOLS IN THE SHOOTING BOX WILL BE:

A. 22'S - LOADED, SAFETY OFF, GUN POINTED DOWN RANGE AT 45 DEGREE ANGLE TO THE GROUND. FINGER OUT OF TRIGGER GUARD.

B. SINGLE ACTION REVOLVERS:
HAMMER FULLY DOWN - IF EQUIPPED WITH A SAFETY TRANSFER BAR.
HALF COCKED - IF EQUIPPED WITH A SAFETY NOTCH.
ON EMPTY CHAMBER - IF THE FIRING PIN CONTACTS THE PRIMER

C. DOUBLE ACTION REVOLVERS - HAMMER FULLY DOWN. NO HALF COCKS.

D. PISTOLS:

1) SINGLE ACTION - HAMMER FULLY COCKED WITH THE THUMB SAFETY ON SAFE.

2) DOUBLE ACTION - SAFETY ON. MAY NOT BE CARRIED FULLY COCKED. IF THE SAFETY MECHANISM DROPS THE HAMMER WHEN THE
SAFETY IS ACTUATED.

3. EYE PROTECTION IS MANDATORY FOR ANYONE AT THE RANGE DURING STEEL SHOOTS. RO'S WILL STOP ANY SHOOTING IF ANY PERSON PRESENT AT THE STAGE DOES NOT HAVE EYE PROTECTION.

4. HEARING PROTECTION IS RECOMMENDED.

VIII. DISQUALIFICATION (DQ):

1. ANY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

A. BREAKING A LINE WHICH EXTENDS LEFT AND RIGHT FROM THE FRONT OF THE SHOOTING BOX (OR LINE) WITH THE MUZZLE OF A LOADED WEAPON. (BREAKING THE 180).

B. A DIRECT LINE IMPACT OF A FIRED PROJECTILE WITHIN A RADIUS OF NINE FEET OF THE SHOOTER. (ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE OR AD).

C. FIRING ABOVE THE SAFETY BERMS. (SHOOTING INTO THE AIR).

D. LEAVING THE FIRING LINE WITH A LOADED PISTOL.

E. DROPPING A LOADED PISTOL.

F. ANY SHOT IN THE HOLSTER.

G. ANY ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE (AD). INCLUDING DISCHARGES WHILE LOADING AND CLEARING THE WEAPON.

H. ANY SHOOTER WHO DISPLAYS DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR OR IS ABUSIVE (VERBAL OR OTHERWISE) TOWARD ANY OTHER PERSON AT THAT MATCH.

2. ANY TWO OF THE FOLLOWING:
NOTE: AN UNLOADED WEAPON HAS BEEN VERIFIED AS EMPTY BY THE RO BEFORE THE INCIDENT OCCURS.

A. BREAKING THE 180 LINE WITH AN UNLOADED WEAPON.

B. HANDLING AN UNLOADED WEAPON BEHIND THE FIRING LINE.

C. DROPPING AN UNLOADED WEAPON.

D. PICKING UP A DROPPED UNLOADED WEAPON EXCEPT UNDER SUPERVISION OF THE RO.

3. A RO MAY DISMISS A PARTICIPANT FOR ANY UNSAFE ACT.

4. GRIEVANCES WILL BE SETTLED BY THE MATCH DIRECTOR.