WATCH: Action Pistol The Plates at Cameron Cup

Plates! The stage that everyone loves to hate in NRA Action Pistol! It’s where you can go from hero to zero, fast! With 8-inch steel targets shot from the 10, 15, 20 and 25-yard lines, the Plate Event poses the most disaster factor. A downed plate is worth 10 points but there is no 8 or 5-ring if you make a bad shot.

Shooters start with their wrists above shoulders and at the buzzer shoot a rack of 6 plates. They rinse and repeat so that ultimately they shoot two strings from each yard line for a total of 48 plates. The time limits are 6, 7, 8 and 9 seconds at the respective yard lines.

Like in the Practical Event where I hit the deck and go prone at the long lines, I also shoot from prone on the Plates. The Protocol Design prone pad raises my Open Division Smith & Wesson Performance Center 9mm 1911 enough so that I can acquire a sight picture on the steel as close as 15 yards from prone.

Up next, Part 4: The Mover. ICYMI, check out my posts on The Practical and Barricades too.