Guides
Ten guides for new and developing competitors: how USPSA, IDPA and Steel Challenge are scored, how classification works in each, which division to shoot, what happens at your first match, and how to build practice that measures itself. Written by a shooter working through them too.
New to competition? Start here
Your first USPSA match: what to expect
What to bring, what happens when you arrive, the safety rules everyone lives by, what the commands mean, and the one job you actually have all day.
Which USPSA division should I shoot?
Pick your first division by the gun you already own — what Carry Optics, Limited Optics, Production, Open, and the rest actually mean, and why "let your gun choose" is the right first move.
How to build a dry-fire routine
A short, daily, measured routine — the skills to rotate, how to structure your week, why a par time matters, and the honest habit that separates reps from real progress.
How to practice with purpose (no match required)
One named goal, two or three measured drills, and a record of what happened — a live-fire practice structure for shooters who aren't competing yet.
Match-day checklist (printable)
The one-page list to pack from — gun and gear, ammo math, ears and eyes, comfort, paperwork, and the night-before ritual. Print it and throw it in the bag.
How Steel Challenge scoring works
Time only: five strings, your slowest thrown out, +3 seconds per missed plate, and why steel is the friendliest place to start competing.
The 8 Steel Challenge stages
5 to Go, Showdown, Smoke & Hope, Outer Limits, Accelerator, The Pendulum, Speed Option and Roundabout — their stage codes, how every stage is built, and the four that carry rules of their own.
Understand your scores
What is hit factor — and why it matters
The sport's central number, explained from scratch: points ÷ time, what “major” and “minor” do to it, a worked example, and how to read your own.
How to track your USPSA classifier progress
What your classification really is, the D–GM class scale, the best-6-of-8 math (and what changed in 2025), and how to see exactly what you need on your next classifier to move up.
How to read your PractiScore results
Hit factor explained, how stage points are awarded, how the match adds up, and the order to read your results in so you learn where you actually lost time.
How IDPA scoring works
Time-plus in plain English: one second per point down, the fixed penalties, a worked example, and why the strategy differs from USPSA with the same gun in your hands.
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More on the way. The fastest way to put any of this into practice: log your next session in FirearmLog.