USPSA terms, and where each one comes from
These are the words you will actually hear in your first season, rather than every word in the rulebook. The rulebook's own glossary runs to ninety-three entries and most of them are administrative. What follows is the shorter list a competitor meets standing on a bay, grouped by where you meet it, with the rulebook's own definition quoted wherever the rulebook has one.
Where a term is quoted, it is quoted from Appendix A3 of the USPSA Competition Rules, which opens by saying that its definitions govern wherever the rules and the glossary differ. Where a term is range language rather than rulebook language, this page says so instead of pretending otherwise.
The stage
Course of fire, COF, stage
Three words for the same thing. The whole thing you shoot on one bay, from Make Ready to Range Is Clear. The rulebook: (Also “course” and “COF”) An expression used interchangeably with “Stage”.
(Appendix A3)
Written Stage Briefing, WSB
The stage in writing: how many rounds, where you start, how the gun starts, what counts. It is read to you word for word before you shoot, and it is the document that settles arguments. The rulebook: Written Stage Briefing. A written briefing prepared per 3.2 and read verbatim to competitors prior to their attempt on a course of fire.
(Appendix A3)
Array
More than one target together. The rulebook: A grouping of more than one target.
(Appendix A3)
Fault line
The line on the ground you must keep a foot behind. Step over it and shoot, and you have earned a penalty. The rulebook: A physical ground reference line in a course of fire which defines the limit(s) of the shooting area.
(Appendix A3)
Shooting box
Four fault lines making a square you shoot from. The rulebook: A small shooting area (generally square) formed of four connected fault lines.
(Appendix A3)
No-shoot
A target you are penalised for hitting. Usually a white target, often placed to make a real one harder. The rulebook: Target(s) that incur penalties when hit.
(Appendix A3)
Start position
Where you stand and how you hold yourself before the beep. The stage briefing has to spell it out. The rulebook: The location, shooting position and stance of the competitor as prescribed by the Written Stage Briefing prior to issuance of the “start signal”.
(Appendix A3)
Start condition
How the gun starts: loaded, unloaded, safety on. Also set by the stage briefing. The rulebook: The condition of the firearm prior to commencement of the course of fire (e.g., loaded, unloaded, safety applied, etc.).
(Appendix A3)
Freestyle
The reason two shooters can shoot the same stage completely differently. Unless the briefing says otherwise, how you solve it is up to you. The rulebook: Competitors are allowed to solve the challenge presented within the rules and engage targets on an “as available for engagement basis.”
(Appendix A3)
Location and view
Two words that look casual and are not. Both decide whether a second penalty is a second penalty, and they are defined separately. The rulebook: a competitor will not be considered to have changed location until both feet have moved to a new physical position
(Appendix A3)
Forbidden action
Something the Range Master has banned on this stage. If it exists, it is written in the stage briefing. The rulebook: A competitor action which has been expressly prohibited by the Range Master and so reflected in the Written Stage Briefing.
(Appendix A3)
Reshoot
Shooting the stage again. It has to be authorised in advance, which means you do not decide it. The rulebook: A competitor’s subsequent attempt at a course of fire, authorized in advance by a Range Officer or an Arbitration Committee.
(Appendix A3)
REF, range equipment failure
A prop that did not work. It is the usual reason a reshoot is ordered. The rulebook: Range Equipment Failure.
(Appendix A3)
Scoring
The scoring zones and the arithmetic are not in the glossary. They live in Chapter 9 and in Appendix B1, which is where these are quoted from.
A, C and D
The scoring zones on a USPSA target, best to worst. An A is worth 5 points to everyone. What a C and a D are worth depends on your power factor. (Appendix B1)
Alpha, charlie, delta, mike
The same zones said out loud, plus “mike” for a miss. You will hear the spoken forms on the bay and read the letters on the scoresheet. These spoken words are range language and are not in the rulebook, which says miss.
Points down
How far short of a clean run you were. A perfect stage is zero down.
Hit factor
Your stage score: points minus penalties, divided by time. Points per second. It is the number that decides every USPSA stage. The rulebook: minus penalties, divided by the total time (recorded to two decimal places) taken by the competitor to complete the course of fire, to arrive at a hit factor
(9.2.2.1)
Power factor, major and minor
A measure of how hard your ammunition hits, from bullet weight and speed. Major scores C and D hits higher than minor does. Which one you can shoot depends on your division. (power factor calculator)
Procedural
A penalty for doing something the stage did not allow, such as shooting from the wrong side of a fault line. Minus ten points, each time. The rulebook: If the maximum available scoring hit on a cardboard target is 5 points, each procedural penalty will be minus 10 points
(10.1.2)
Safety, and the words that carry a disqualification
Sweeping
Pointing the muzzle at any part of anybody, including yourself. It does not matter whether the gun is loaded. The rulebook: Pointing the muzzle of a firearm at any part of any person’s body, while holding it in the hands, or placing it on or removing it from an object.
(Appendix A3)
The 180
The imaginary line across the bay that your muzzle must stay downrange of. Breaking it ends your day, loaded or not. The term is range language; the rule is not. The rulebook: Allowing the muzzle of a handgun to point rearwards, that is further than 90 degrees from the median intercept of the backstop, whether the firearm is loaded or not
(10.5.2)
Dropped gun
Losing control of the firearm. Note how little it takes: it does not have to reach the ground. The rulebook: Loss of control does not require the firearm to land on the ground or other range surface or prop. It occurs anytime the firearm is no longer in control of either hand, even if it is trapped against part of the body or caught in midair.
(Appendix A3)
Squib
A bullet stuck in the barrel. If a Range Officer suspects one he will stop you, and firing the next round is how a barrel comes apart. The rulebook: A bullet or solid obstruction lodged inside the barrel of a firearm.
(Appendix A3)
Loaded firearm
Wider than most people expect. A dummy round or an empty case counts. The rulebook: A firearm having a live round, empty case or dummy round in the chamber or cylinder or having a live or dummy round in a magazine inserted in the firearm.
(Appendix A3)
Sight picture
Aiming without shooting. Allowed during Make Ready, and an accidental discharge while doing it is a disqualification. The rulebook: Aiming at a target without actually shooting at it.
(Appendix A3)
The people
Range Officer, RO
The person running you through the stage and holding the timer. Also the person whose reasonable directions you follow. The rulebook: A person who is officially serving at a match in the capacity of a Range Officer.
(Appendix A3)
Match Official
Someone with a job at the match who is not necessarily a Range Officer. The rulebook: A person who has an official duty or function at a match, but who is not necessarily qualified as, or acting in the capacity of, a Range Official.
(Appendix A3)
NROI
The body that trains and certifies Range Officers. The rulebook: National Range Officers Institute.
(Appendix A3)
Squad
The group you shoot the match with, and reset targets with, all day. Range language: the rulebook does not define it.
Division, class and the classifier
Division
The equipment category you compete in. It decides what gun and gear are legal for you and who your score is compared against. (Which division should I shoot?)
Classifier
A short standard stage shot at club matches and scored against a national standard, so a run in Florida is comparable with a run in Idaho. (tracking your classifier progress)
Class
Where your classifier average puts you: D, C, B, A, Master or Grand Master. (USPSA classification calculator)
PCC
Pistol caliber carbine, and its own division. The rulebook: Pistol Caliber Carbine, see Appendix D8 for Division requirements.
(Appendix A3)
Sources
Every quotation on this page is from the USPSA Competition Rules, read at the online edition:
- Most definitions: Appendix A3, the rulebook's own glossary, which states that its definitions govern wherever the rules and the glossary differ.
- Hit factor: rule 9.2.2.1. The procedural penalty: rule 10.1.2. The 180: rule 10.5.2.
- Scoring zone values: Appendix B1.
- The range commands have a page of their own: the USPSA range commands.
Checked against the USPSA Competition Rules, edition 2026-03, on 6 August 2026. Rules change; if something here no longer matches the rulebook you are holding, the box below comes to me.
Related
Rules change and pages fall behind. I keep these as current as I can — if something here doesn't match the rulebook you're holding, tell me and I'll fix it.
Thanks — that's with me, and I'll take a look.
Sorry — that didn't send. Please try again.
— Michael Minik
You're on the list — I'll email you when the apps launch.
Sorry — that didn't go through. Please try again.
One email when the apps launch, plus the occasional update worth your time. No spam, unsubscribe anytime. Privacy.
More guides: The range commands · Your first USPSA match · What is hit factor? · Which division should I shoot?