CHABOT RANGE WAR SAFETY RULES

1. Safety glasses and hearing protection are mandatory when on the range during matches whether you are a competitor or spectator.

2. NO consumption of alcohol on-site during active range hours (between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.). Violation will result in disqualification from the match.

NOTE:  You should not shoot if you are taking any (prescription or over-the-counter) medication that may impair your balance, coordination or ability to handle firearms safely at all times.

3. All weapons are to be empty with actions open while in gun carts or cases and while being carried between stages or off the ranges. All loading should to take place on the loading bench just prior to shooting the stage (or on the clock). You may holster your loaded pistols if you are going to remain at the loading table before shooting. Leave your loaded pistols with the other loaded guns on the loading table if you have to move away from the loading table for any reason.

4. All long guns must have their BARRELS POINTED UP when being carried or moved, unless they are pointed directly at a side berm or down range while loading, unloading or clearing.  Unloading/clearing should be supervised by another shooter.  All weapons must be unloaded and cleared prior to placing them in your cart or leaving the unloading table after your course of fire.

5. No holstered weapons are allowed in the “public area” of the range facility (over near the vending machines, near the main range tower or in the area of the public firing lines, located west of our Stage #1

6. All weapons must be put away by 5 pm.  No firearms should be out after 5 pm.
NO WEAPONS IN THE GOUGE EYE SALOON!

7. Everybody is a range officer. Bring infractions to the attention of the shooter and/or an RO/Posse Leader or Match Director as soon as safe and practical.

8. The R/O (person with the clock in their hand) on the stage at the time of the incident or violation has the final word on any penalties, shooting infractions or stage/match disqualifications.

9. Unsafe firearm handling or poor sportsmanship will result in disqualification from the stage or match (per SASS rules). Unsafe firearm handling includes (but is not limited to):
a. Carrying a loaded firearm while not at a stage.
b. Dropping, or throwing, a firearm, intentionally or unintentionally.
c. Breaking the “170 degree rule” when laying a firearm on any table.
d. Accidental discharge impacting within ten feet forward of the the firing line or impacting behind the firing line, regardless of the distance.
e. Accidental or intentional discharge at the loading or unloading bench.
f. Sweeping bystanders/spectators with your (loaded or unloaded) firearm.

10. Misses and procedural violations are assessed at 10 seconds each (see below). One procedural penalty should be assessed for each incorrect shooting string (shooting a string in the wrong order is a single procedural per shooting string, not per target, and not just one per stage either) in addition to any number of applicable safety procedurals and actual misses incurred on the stage.

CHABOT RANGE WAR! SCORING AND SPECIAL SHOOTING INSTRUCTIONS
Official score sheets are kept in the Posse Book provided to your designated Posse Leader and will be collected throughout the match or immediately afterward.   RANGE WAR! does not use "rank points" for match scoring… overall/adjusted stage times are used for ranking each shooter category as well as the overall match winner.

Generally, SASS safety and sportsmanship rules apply, although you are allowed to “stoke” shotguns before staging and while shooting.

The following special rules for RANGE WAR! scoring apply at all stages:

MISSES:
Each missed target is a 10 second penalty. Depending on the stage instructions, misses and shots that fail to drop a MGD (must-go-down) or KD (knock-down) target (poppers & SG pipes) are not scored as misses.  MGD and KD targets left standing are scored as a 20 second penalty per target left up.  Unintentional failure to shoot at a target or a failure to engage resulting from equipment failure is considered a miss and will be scored as one miss for each un-shot target.  Intentional “failure to engage” target(s) is scored as one 10 second miss for each target not engaged, plus one 10 second “failure to engage” penalty for each missed shot (20 seconds per target). 

PROCEDURALS:
Not following procedure (such as engaging targets out of order, starting before the buzzer sounds or failing to complete a prescribed task on the clock), as well as "minor" safety violations (such as moving on a stage with a cocked gun or failing to clear spent hulls from the chamber) will incur a 10 second penalty at the discretion of the R/O (the man with the clock in his hand…or lady if that is the case, at the time the violation occurred).

STAGE DQ & MATCH DQ:
A Stage Disqualification (per SASS rules) will result in a time of 10 seconds added to the slowest total time recorded for that particular stage. And (let’s pray this doesn’t happen) a Match Disqualification (per SASS rules) will result in a last place ranking with "D/Q" in all stages, regardless of scores on previous stages (and you are done shooting for the day).

APPEALS:
If you have a disagreement with a decision made by the stage R/O (the person with the clock in their hand, not the posse leader), when they are not busy or after your entire posse has completed the stage, please address them with your problem. Listen to their response, but do not argue and do not whine to the scorekeeper or the rest of the posse. If you still disagree, after the match, get them together with the Match Director in the Gouge Eye Saloon, buy a round of drinks for everyone in the bar and make your case. You’ll still lose, ‘cause the R/O’s decision will stand, but everyone will overlook your bad manners if you’re buyin’ drinks!

STARTING A COURSE OF FIRE:
It is the shooter’s responsibility to ensure their guns are positioned and loaded properly and they understand the designated course of fire. Once the first round is fired, you are on the clock. If you encounter a difficulty before the first round is fired, you may request a restart from the R/O.   Shooters should ensure they understand the course of fire before coming up to shoot. R/Os should ensure all knock-down targets have been reset and that each shooter starts each particular stage positioned in the same manner (ie.. both hands in the same position, good port-arms positioning, no shells in hands, etc..), consistent with the stage instructions and the R/O briefing.

Prior to beginning a course of fire, the R/O will state: "Does the shooter understand the course of fire?" (Shooter answers: “Yes” or “No”).

Then, "Is the shooter ready?" (Shooter answers: “Yes” or “No”).

If the shooter replies, "Yes" to both questions and a “line” (verbiage) is designated for the stage, the R/O will indicate to the shooter s/he is ready to start by saying, "Go ahead", “Proceed” or “Say the line” and the shooter will then say the designated verbiage (or something similar) for the stage. Once the “line” is completed, the R/O will start the timer. If there is no verbiage designated for the stage, the R/O will indicate they are ready by saying, “Stand-by” prior to starting the timer. The shooter should remain “frozen” in place and not break from the designated starting position until after the timer buzzer has begun to sound.

Regarding Belly Guns ...break top or swing up type are allowed. PLEASE USE EXTRA CAUTION WHEN LOADING A DERRINGER PISTOL. ENSURE THE FIRING PINS ARE NOT PRORUDING BEFORE YOU CLOSE THE ACTION. IF YOU FEEL RESISTANCE WHEN CLOSING THE GUN, DO NOT FORCE IT!  If you don’t have a belly gun, there should be a loaner available at the stage.  Otherwise, hit up your posse, ask nicely, there should be at least one belly gun in each posse.