After having read some of the recent articles in the Chronicle and some recent postings on the SASS Wire complaining about starting positions of shooters, "improper" staging of long guns, and other "gamer" items, it occurred to me that the vast majority of these complaints could be cleared up with complete stage instructions. In order to examine this, I thought we'd start by looking at a "normal" set of stage instructions, critiquing them, then rewriting them to remove ambiguities. These are instructions that you might find at your local match. In order to simplify, I've left out the stage diagram.

This stage calls for 10 pistol, 10 rifle, and 4 shotgun.


Here's the scenario:

The Texas Rangers have contracted with you to go undercover in the King Ranch Enterprises. They believe that King Ranch is behind the murder of several prominent politicians. Unfortunately, you've been caught. Fortunately, the Rangers are about to storm the building giving you a chance to get the drop on the bad guys.


Here are the murky instructions:


Staging Instructions:

2 pistols loaded with five rounds each, hammers resting on empty chambers, holstered.

Rifle loaded with 10 rounds, hammer resting on the empty chamber, staged on the rest.

Shotgun, open and empty, staged on the rest with 4 rounds to be loaded from your person.


Stage Instructions:
Shooter starts seated with hands behind their back. When ready, call out "Now it's my turn!" At the buzzer, stand up and retrieve your rifle. Sweep the rifle targets twice. Restage the open and empty rifle back on the rest. With your pistols, sweep the pistol targets twice and holster. Pick up your shotgun and shoot the swingers twice each.


So, what's wrong with that? In short, the instructions aren't complete so there is a lot of room for individual interpretation. Let's start with the staging instructions.

Pistols: This is clear, nothing to change.

Rifle: How is the rifle staged? The shooter can stage it right side up or upside down. The competitor will stage it right side up for easy retrieval. Many don't know to do that. Let's make it clear and say that the rifle should be staged upside down.

Shotgun: Again, it's not clear. The shotgun can be staged in two different positions. Let's clear it up and say that it should be staged upside down.


Let's move on to the shooting instructions.

We'll start with the shooters position. All it says is that the shooter starts seated with hands behind their back. That leaves a lot of room. A competitor will start on the very edge of the chair, feet already underneath them and bearing weight. With their hands barely behind the back. The shooter will be focused on the rifle, ready to grab it and start the stage. Instead, why not say: Shooter starts seated straight in the chair, shooters back against the backrest of the chair. Hands held clasped behind shooters back. Head held high and looking at the left pistol target. Feet flat on the ground.

That doesn't leave any room for error or interpretation.


How about the rest of the stage? Pick up your rifle and sweep the targets twice. So the shooter can do a left to right sweep and then a right to left sweep, double tapping the right target. Instead, let's say: Sweep the rifle targets from left to right twice, no double taps. That will remove any question.

The same holds true for the pistols, and doesn't specify a gunfighter sequence. Let's rewrite it to say: Draw your first pistol and sweep the pistol targets from left to right. Holster. Draw your second pistol and sweep the pistol targets from left to right. Holster. Gunfighters must draw both pistols and sweep the pistol targets from left to right twice, then holster.

The shotgun instructions are even more vague. They leave the shooter the option to double tap the shotgun targets. That's a big advantage to the double barrel's! Instead, let's change it to say: Retrieve your shotgun and shoot the swingers from left to right twice, no double taps.


Here are the re-written, clear instructions:


Staging Instructions:
2 pistols loaded with five rounds each, hammers resting on empty chambers, holstered.

Rifle loaded with 10 rounds, hammer resting on the empty chamber, staged on the rest upside down so that the lever side is up.

Shotgun, open and empty, staged on the rest, also upside down, 4 rounds to be loaded from your person.


Stage Instructions:

Shooter starts seated straight in the chair, shooters back against the backrest of the chair. Hands held clasped behind shooters back. Head held high and looking at the left pistol target. Feet flat on the ground. When ready shooter calls out "Now it's my turn!" At the buzzer, stand up and retrieve your rifle. Sweep the rifle targets from left to right twice, no double taps. Set the open and empty rifle back on the rest. Draw your first pistol and sweep the pistol targets from left to right. Holster. Draw your second pistol and sweep the pistol targets from left to right. Holster. Gunfighters may draw both pistols and sweep the pistol targets from left to right twice, then holster. Retrieve your shotgun and shoot the swingers from left to right twice, no double taps.

It doesn't take much to write a stage with no ambiguity and with clear instructions. You just need to keep a few things in mind:


· Props. How does the shooter deal with them and handle them? For example: Shooter starts holding the coiled lasso in both hands. At the buzzer, uncoil and twirl the loop three times over head and then rope the horse. 5 second bonus if the loop goes over the horse.

· Staging. How are the guns staged? Be complete. Describe the staging position of long guns and revolvers if needed. Don't just say "rifle and shotgun staged on the table." That leaves the shooter a lot of room to set up the long guns "just so."

· Shooter position. What position is the shooter in when the stage starts? If you don't say, the shooter will have their hand on the first gun. Make sure to provide a complete description including positions for hands, arms, head, feet, eyes, body, etc.

· Target order. If you don't specify the order for targets, the shooters are going to choose the fastest way to shoot the stage. That can be fun though! Make sure to specify exactly how you want the stage shot.

· Shot shells. Are they loaded off the body or from a box? If from a box, can the shooter set them up standing or should the box be shaken? Make sure to specify. Don't leave it to chance.