What makes a good club level stage?

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  • g00n24

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    options and flow.

    Give me options on how to shoot it and don't make it choppy. Easier said than done, I know.
     

    sporter

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    I like dimensional depth of the stage. Makes one move fast and think on the move. Also a stage with a corridor or hall way is a ton of fun.
    Also stages where reloads are not tailored to one certain class is a plus.

    A good round count on every stage helps.
     

    Hogwylde

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    Personally, I would LOVE a stage that you didn't get to walk through or see it before you shoot it. You don't get to walk through a "real life" scenario and figure out how the best way to game it. Make something where you have to think on your feet and make decisions as they happen, not ahead of time so you can "get the best time" or time your reloads.
     

    Grelber

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    Maybe *****ing might help, it is easier to try and think of something I didn't like, usually it is all fun.

    All or mostly memory stages makes my brain hurt and the match gets a little bit like working instead of shooting after a while.

    I'm not big on the "no" matches or any other match that has little diversity between stages and/or is sort of front sight optional. In general I tend to whine if there is not a good bit of aiming required over the course of the day.

    Props that have a luck factor I don't like. High difficulty is not what I mean but stuff like unpredictable double no-shoot swingers in the way & etc..

    Juicing simple stages with a twist (place mags on barrel or whatever) can add nicely to the fun factor sometimes.
     

    DustyDawg48

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    I'm with Grelber in knowing more of what I believe worsens a stage more than makes it better. We've had some incredibly fun stages locally and they've been a total of 6 rounds down range. A stage can be both simple and challenging. I think what can ruin a quality club-level stage is what happens around it that has nothing to do with the actual shooting. A complicated and lengthy resetting/pasting/scoring session between shooters is enough to take down the greatest of all COFs and there is probably more of a design challenge than trying to figure out what makes a COF fun or good.

    Maybe what makes a good club level stage is more about what isn't there than what is.
     

    blkrifle

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    Personally, I would LOVE a stage that you didn't get to walk through or see it before you shoot it. You don't get to walk through a "real life" scenario and figure out how the best way to game it. Make something where you have to think on your feet and make decisions as they happen, not ahead of time so you can "get the best time" or time your reloads.

    USPSA is not about real life senarios. It is about figuring out how to shoot a stage the best possible way. just my 2 cents
     

    rvb

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    1) blind stages are never completely blind. there are folks who set them up, someone has to reset/paste them, you can even listen and figure out a game plan, and people talk amongst themselves. If you are the first shooter of the day you have to 100% figure it out and solve it on your feet. everyone else gets an advantage.

    2) blind stages are dangerous. Shooters realize they miss a target and break 180 or start backing up before the RO can react. I'll never RO another....

    3) USPSA: rule 3.2.4 (although it does say "should")

    4) what blkrifle said....


    -rvb
     

    hooligan317

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    Being a USPSA new guy, one of the things I personally appreciate in a stage is a higher round count. My only real "practice" for these events is the events themselves so the more targets to engage, the more variety in scenarios etc., the better the stage IMO.
     

    rhino

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    Blind courses of fire are great in my opinion . . . except for shooting competitions.

    As the others mentioned, there is no way to make the challenge the same for every competitor. It can't be done. Without that, it has no place in a competition, whether it's USPSA or IDPA.

    For practice, for defensive training, for testing defensive skills among people with the same goals? GREAT IDEA. In USPSA or IDPA? Not so much.
     

    smith52

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    Personally, I would LOVE a stage that you didn't get to walk through or see it before you shoot it. You don't get to walk through a "real life" scenario and figure out how the best way to game it. Make something where you have to think on your feet and make decisions as they happen, not ahead of time so you can "get the best time" or time your reloads.
    That is one of the great things about USPSA, it's freestyle! If you want to shoot the stages without a walk through, you can, that is your choice.
     

    smith52

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    What makes a good club level stage? The same thing that makes level 2 or 3 match stage good, variety. Stages need options and should test multiple shooting skills.
     

    Coach

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    What makes a good club level stage? The same thing that makes level 2 or 3 match stage good, variety. Stages need options and should test multiple shooting skills.

    I thought you would say standing reloads.
     
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