"All true but this is not cheating. Using the rule book to your advantage."
I see this all the time in USPSA. MANY people push the rules to the limit,, and do all they can to gain a small advantage over others by this method.
I recall a guy who used to shoot here. He was VERY much like that. He did all sorts of things to try & make himself come out on top over everybody by the little things he could push to the edge. It used to warp his mind that we had a shooter,, who was not even a paid member of USPSA,, who had shot for years,, but once his kids got into school sports,, missed a lot of matches,, and would only shoot occasionally. Yet,, that casual,, and occasional shooter could not shoot a match for months, come down,, and win the match. His abilities could easily outdo the rule pusher.
Sadly,, this rule pusher would also do all sorts of things to alienate others because of his attitude. Many considered him a "range nazi." But I watched his "push to the limit the rules" bite him hard. I was working a SE regional Area 6 BIG match. The stage I worked was just after the chrono/inspection stage. Each competitor had a declared category, and their ammo had to qualify as well. Well, this guy was in the "Single-Stack" division. In that division, the gun had a maximum weight restriction. His gun failed the weight test. When a declared division's rules aren't correct, and the shooter has been using that gun,, the rules put that shooter automatically into the "Open" division, where the restrictions are much less. So, his gun was basically like a VW against a Ferrari after failing the inspection. His argument,, which the Range Master had to rule on,, was that; "I weighed my gun on certified scales,, and it's perfect." The RM ruled; "We use these scales here, for ALL competitors. Your gun shouldn't get right up to the line,, and I don't care who's scales you used. You need to pass on our scales. And yes,, our scales are carefully calibrated & are the best we can do here."
So this guy, who had pushed the limit to the very edge finished WAY down the list in the "Open" category. Otherwise,, he may have done quite well in the Single-Stack division if he had passed the inspection stage.
So while it may not have been cheating,, it was his attempts to squeeze out the absolute most he could using the rules, and maybe gain an advantage. But I spoke with the RM much later one,, and he's an OLD pro in the game. He said; "The rules are there, and it also states that in a match like Area 6, we do all we can to have everybody on the same level as possible. It's just like the ammo power factor. Load your ammo with a little buffer to make sure it passes your declared power factor. If you declare Major (which is 165) then make your ammo at least 168 to 170. That way different chrono's or heat or whatever won't cause your ammo to fail."
I once saw a well known, top level competitor who'd declared "major" and failed chrono with a PF of 164.97. That hurt their scores when they had anything other than A zone hits.
The thing is,, good athletes don't have to cheat, they work hard to hone their abilities,, and push themselves to be their best.
