Classification

The classification system is in place to determine a competitor’s skill level and to compete against equally skilled shooters. Much like match scoring, USPSA’s classification system is a little more complicated than IDPA. This should answer some questions.

For a new USPSA competitor to obtain a classification, you must first become a USPSA member (here) and begin shooting classifiers at matches. Your first four valid classifier scores are used to calculate your initial classification. After that, the best six scores of your most recent eight valid classifiers are used. Those scores are averaged to come up with your classification percentage.

Now let's get back into some math!

Your percentage on a given classifier stage is based on hit factor (Part III). There is a high hit factor (HHF) from USPSA for each division on every classifier. When you shoot a classifier for record, your hit factor is shown as a percentage of the HHF of that classifier. For example, if the HHF for Production on classifier XYZ is 10.0 and you score a HF of 6.5, your percentage is 65% of the high hit factor, or a B-class run. Once you get four on record, they are averaged for your classification. As time goes on and you shoot more classifiers, older and lower scores drop off and hopefully raise your percentage.

My first four USPSA classifiers yielded percentages of roughly 68, 62, 64, and 79 for an average of 68.25% putting me right in the middle of B class initially.

Stage Example

Let's take a quick look at a classifier I shot as an example and apply our knowledge on hit factor scoring and classification to a real-world scenario. This is the written stage brief for CM 22-01 "Righty Tighty" straight from USPSA:

So, given the stage brief, we know this is a 90-point stage and know the rules for the stage. Let's look at how I did.

I completed the stage in 11.94 seconds with 15-A, 2-C, and 1-D (bad position entry on the last set of targets. We will definitely cover my performance, or lack thereof, on this stage in another post). Doing the math, that gives me 82 points. 82 divided by 11.94 seconds gives a hit factor of 6.867. The high hit factor from USPSA for this classifier is 8.66. My hit factor was 79.16% of the HHF for an A-class run.

This does it for our USPSA overview and hopefully answers plenty of questions you may have before getting started. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or corrections if you notice any errors in the series. 

Current USPSA rules (as of this writing) are available at the link below.

USPSA Rulebook: https://uspsa.org/viewer/2024-USPSA-Competition-Rules.pdf