If Major is 170, then you need above 1075 fps to make major using a 158 grain bullet. Although we have a big shipment of TG in the loading room, we have never used it basically because Bullseye was always the "gold standard" and we had a lot of it. The TG is there as a reserve. It doesn't go bad. If Ganderite says that 5.0 grains of TG will give you 1050 with a 158 then 4.0 grains won't even have you playing handball against the dirty outside wall of the gymnasium of Major.
I think that in the Mexican San Miguel/QUeretaro IPSC rules (which are not the World IPSC or Canada IPSC rules) we had Major at 175, where it was 40 years ago when Rulebook One came out. It makes the .380 Cal a MINOR caliber which is fine with us because in the real world of gunfighting the 9 or .38 Super using non-expanding bullets would be minor. In the "Big Boy" P.P.C. matches Major caliber is at 180 and that's fluid simply because we don't so much actually chrono loads but we instead work in some Pepper Poppers set to fall with a center hit from a 180 PF loading into each course which HAS to be knocked down. I normally load up around 200 PF (a 160 grain Lee SWC @ 1250 fps -- say 8.5 grains of Blue Dot in a .38 Special case in .357 remarked revolvers with a 6 inch barrel) for those matches.
A 60 round P.P.C. shot with loads like that can give you a hamburger hand, but that's part of the fun. In the San/Qro P.P.C. course, we cut out a lot of "chaff" we didn't like in the original course and put in some stuff we did like. "Sitting", for example, with 3 or 4 guys advancing on you firing full-auto AK's or AR's just isn't going to work. All the forced left hand shooting (20% of the original course) also just didn't strike us as realistic. We kept the 6 shots left hand at 25 but changed it out at 50 yards. We did leave in the 24 shots at 50 yards -- even though it represents 40% of the shots fired and most encounters are closer up -- simply because you need to be able to shoot to hit at 50 and it's a "boys from the men" separator. An "ideal" course it is not, but it is fun and we shot this course regularly and had many matches although the "Big Boy" variant was done just a few times because it's harder to organize obviously since down here the "big" loads need to be in .38 Special cases so it's a reloader's game only.
We talked (and joked) a lot about shooting a "Big Boy" .38 Super-Snubby match using just the 2.5 inch .357 remarks (Pythons, Model 19's and 66's and 686's) but never did it. Although the Super-Snubby course is just 30 rounds instead of 60 I think having 5 or 6 people around you on the line firing the short barrel guns with big loads would leave one sufficiently concussed as to not want to do it again for a while. It's bad enough with the longer barrels.
Normal SMA/QRO. P.P.C. (Big Boy mod changes noted.) Open to revolvers or autos in 6 shot strings only. We don't care if you load 7 shots in the auto mags but there are penalties for "extra shots". (Snubby and Super-Snubby courses are only 30 shots and are different.)
MINIMUM POWER FACTOR: 120 BIG BOY POWER FACTOR: 180 MINIMUM (Higher recommended)
Stage 1:
PPC B-18 Target or B-27. 10 yards, 12 shots. Draw and fire 6 shots, reload and fire 6 in 18 seconds. 120 points possible.
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Big Boy Mod: Draw and fire 6, reload and fire 5 and one shot on the Pepper Popper at same distance which MUST fall. Popper almost in line to target, just to the side.)
Stage 2:
PPC B-18 Target or B-27. 15 yards, 6 shots. Draw and fire 6 shots in 10 seconds. 60 points possible.
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Big Boy Mod: Draw and fire 5, and fire the last shot on the 10 yard Pepper Popper which must fall. Popper almost directly in line with target, just to the side.)
Stage 3:
PPC B-18 or B-27 Target. 25 yards, 18 shots. 60 second time limit. Starting "hands on barricade" fire 6 shots "left hand firing but supported" from left side of barricade. Reload behind barricade. Fire 6 shots right hand barricade. Reload behind barricade. Fire 6 shots covering behind barrel or table beside barride. 180 points possible.
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Big Boy Mod: On the final string, the last shot should be placed on the Pepper Popper at 10 yards almost in line with the target, which must fall.)
Stage 4:
PPC B-18 or B-27 Target. 50 yards, 24 shots. 120 second time limit. Fire 6 shots freestyle standing from behind the barrel or table beside barricade. Move behind barricade to reload and fire 6 shots freestyle right side barricade. Reload behind barricade and fire 6 shots covering behind the barrel/table beside barricade. Reload kneeling behind barrel/table and then fire 6 shots prone beside barrel/table.
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Big Boy Mod: Last round of the last stage to be shot at 10 yard Popper in line with target but just to one side, which must fall.)
Classifications: (from a possible 600 points)
570 to 600 points: High Master. (Although Castlebravo and I have shot above 570, we never did it twice in a row at matches. Gotta be twice.)
540 to 569 points: Master. (Castlebravo and I are regularly around 565 and have earned the pin. Two others are one match away right now.)
480 to 539 points: Expert. (We have a few of those between the two clubs.)
420 to 479 points: Sharpshooter. (Higher population found at this level.)
360 to 419 points: Marksman. (Quite a few of those around.)
359 points or less: Novato or Novice. (Nobody wants to be there.)
After your first match you are "placed" but require two consecutive scores inside a class to move up. Beginners or unknowns start as Novice. Anyone good enough to be above "novice" in generally going to be known to us. Anyway, if a "novice" wins the match more power to him. He takes the match win trophy. Lower class medallions cost us 40.00 pesos, and although they look nice, they aren't worth cheating over.
Although we intend to make up plastic badges in different colors with the "Master or Expert or Sharpshooter, etc., etc." printed on them to distribute to the shooters, we have not got there yet. Another probably more important badge would be the "500 Club" badge. Although we don't have those yet either, we know everyone who will get one. Shoot an "over 500 score" a couple of times in a row and there you are. You're in the 500 Club. We'll let you stand at the bar in the Queretaro Club instead of go sit at a table. Like "wow".
Shooters practicing the P.P.C. course at the San Miguel club.
There is only one 6 shot string shot with the left hand (supported) and it's at 25 yards.
Notes on the course:
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a) In the case a shot misses the Pepper Popper, the R/0 will select a round from shooter's available spare ammo to reshoot the Popper without score but to actually see it fall.
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b) The standing 6 shots at 50 came from a story told to a group of us around 1997 by Stan Levine, a 1st day survivor of the invasions of Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa about at Tarawa where he witnessed a Marine Officer make standing shots using his M1 Garand in waist high water in the lagoon to kill a Japanese machine gun crew shooting up the men wading toward the palm log seawall. You
might have to make a standing shot or two if caught in the open at an uncomfortable distance -- and it's a real "men from the boys" separator.
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c) We call it "Big Boy P.P.C." because after 60 rounds of 200 P.F. ammo, generally, we're all whining like little boys. The course makes one start to believe that rubber grips might not be all that "girlie".
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d) Other course mods:
- the 2/3 time SMA/QRO P.P.C. Cut the time limits by 1/3. This makes it more exciting. Hard on the novices.
- the 1/2 time SMA/QRO P.P.C. Cut the time limits in half. Even more exciting. Tough on revolver shooters who can't speedload quick.
- a 1/2 time SMA/QRO "Big Boy" P.P.C. Never been tried. I want to be there when we do it. Sure to be a circus.
The 50 yard stage often has some shooters falling behind. One shooter is still firing over the barrel/table while the others have gone prone. Yes, we allow mats. (Bring your own, the Club doesn't supply them). Castlebravo from Queretaro Club is R.O.ing this San Miguel Club practice. He often uses an 8 3/8 inch Model 27 (marked as a Model 23) or an 8 inch Python (marked as Python Target) which he wears in a crossdraw holster "Lee Van Cleef style".
