Any chance of a Classifier match at Byram in April

You can email John and see how much interest there is in doing one. However, if you have 3 in the same division already (and none of which were zeroed), you only need one more non-zero score to receive your initial classification so you should be good to go after April's match, special classifier or not.

If you need more than one and want it quickly, another option is to travel a bit.

Pearlington on the 3rd Sunday (3/20) will of course be shooting 6 classifiers as you mentioned this month.
Boliver County Sport Shooters now shoot in Greenwood and hold matches on the 4th Saturday each month (3/26 this month)
Tangi Practical Shooters in Amite, LA, shoot on the 4th Sunday (3/27 this month)

In April, in addition to Magnolia on the 1st Sunday (4/3), there are also:
Rivers Bend Sport Shooters in Greenwood on the same range as Boliver Co. on the 2nd Saturday (4/9)
Mobile Practical Shooters in Vinegar Bend, AL on the 2nd Saturday
South Mississippi Practical Shooters in Poplarville on the 2nd Sunday (4/10)
and that brings us back to the list above on the 3rd Sunday.

If you are wanting to get classified by the MS Classic State Championship in May, remember that it takes some time for the system to be updated. While the update in May might occur before the Classic, it might not. In other words, results need to be in before the update in April, generally around the 14th-16th of each month, to guarantee that you will be classified by the Classic. Clubs that upload their classifiers online, like Magnolia, could have a match literally the day before this deadline and most likely be fine. Clubs that mail their results in to USPSA would need to have a few days between their match and the update for the scores to make it in.

Hope that helped some. If you need any info about any of the matches above, please PM me and I will help out as best I can.
Bryant

No problem at all. Once you get your initial classification, they average the best 6 scores of your most recent 8 on file (that are not more than 5% below your current class). That may be why you were thinking it was 6, or because Pearlington is running 6 for their Special Classifier.

It used to be that clubs ran 4 classifiers in a Special Classifier match, but if a shooter zeroed one I don't believe it would count. 6 gives a "cushion". Most importantly though, everyone wants to shoot and classifiers are typically quick and low round count so 5 or 6 makes it a little more enjoyable as a stand alone match.

I thought the Outlaw Steel match was this past Sunday, 3/13, and man on man steel is the 4th Saturday, 3/26? I don't think there is a conflict with Pearlington except for the .22 F-class match at Magnolia. Nevertheless, it would be a good little haul from Brandon.

Thanks for agreeing to work the Classic. Shooting it is more fun, but it takes good volunteers to make it work and it enjoys a great reputation for its match staff. I shot it my first year (2000) and have worked (and shot) every year since. I'd rather just shoot, but I'd feel like I was letting down all of my friends that are working and running it.

If I can every be of any assistance, don't hesitate to let me know. As Mississippi Section Coordinator, I am basically a liaison for the MS clubs, with National HQ, shooters, and each other.

nothing said:

It seems like it's taking about 2 months for the scores to show up. Would a fourth score in April be enough time show a classification prior to the Magnolia Classic?

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You've got me on this part. They used to get them done much quicker than that as I mentioned above. I will check with USPSA headquarters and see if I can get an answer from them.

nothing said:

I'm also curious why the match scores and the recorded classifier scores seem to vary so widely.

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Now this part I think I can help with. The percentage score at the match is based on the percentage you shot of the person at the match that won the stage that particular day. All of the scores, including the stage winner's, are compared to a national standard and that is what is entered on you classifier record. Your hitfactor is the same, it is just being compared to a National standard that is generally better than what is shot locally, because it is a number typically derived from the scores of the best shooters in the country. I say "generally" because there are times when a local shooter matches or even beats the national "high hit factor". I've done it before but it has been a while. When this happens, the scores of all the shooters at the match may actually go up when they are recorded by USPSA.

The high hitfactor is calculated by USPSA sometimes as an average of the top shooters scores or is sometimes based on scores at a Nationals or Regional "Area" match. Less often, it is taken from other divisions or calculated mathematically. These numbers are adjusted slightly over time as the collective scores improve.

Although USPSA frowns upon posting or listing the high hitfactors (this is silly to me, as they can easily be calculated), they have at least implicitly ok'd calculators that let you figure your score nationally before it shows up on your record. For example you can go to this website, find your division, the classsifier you shot, and enter your hitfactor from a local match and it will give you your National percentage: http://www.classifiercalc.com/ While it is most often correct, there can be a time when the National hitfactor was adjusted and the website has not yet been updated giving an incorrect result.

Hope that makes some sense.