BJ's 6th place, shooting minor, at SS Nats is impressive. There were only 6 or 7 minor shooters in the top 100.
It comes down to 3 things:
1. Points.
It's generally accepted that Minor will collect approx 15% less points. The idea that you might shoot more A's with the Minor recoil doesnt work out usually...except for Bubber. USPSA hit factor scoring is 'Points per second' So you have to make that up in time. C's will hurt you, D's will kill your score.
2. Speed.
The only speed difference that Minor over Major will make is in Split time. You should have faster splits with minor...but you probably wont. The difference in 'fast splits', vs. 'fast fast splits' and 'very very fast' splits is negligible. Split times will not return faster runs on the scorecard. Target to target transition time is much more important, and minor shouldnt affect that much if you've been practicing. Having said that, theres no reason to put up with more recoil than necessary.
3. Extra shots.
In Minor (for Single Stack division) you get to load 10+1 vs. 8+1. BJ's theory was that this is an advantage, esp on stages with steel. It simplifies stage breakdown. On a typical 8 round neutral stage the 3 extra shots available per position are huge. For instance, a plate rack with 6 plates along with a paper target is only 8 shots, but miss just one plate and you will now go to slide lock and have only 8 rounds for the next position. You are now virtually shooting in Virginia Cound mode if you're Major. But with minor, you have extra shots and can afford to rip on the steel (remember that the steel scores the same for both Major and Minor)
Of course you could blow it with make up shots.
I think this is where Minor can shine, and would be the reason that I would try it. Shoot everything as if you're shooting Production, but with sweet single action 1911...
In Limited Division there will rarely be a capacity advantage. I suppose if you have a 24 round stage, and your Limited Minor gun holds 24 rounds, you could shoot zero extra shots, skip the reload, and have a 1 or 2 second advantage...just dont drop too many points.
In Limited 10 there is just no good reason to shoot Minor. It offers no competitive advantage.
Notes and exceptions to the rule:
Several of the Minor shooters at SS Nats were ladies who usually shoot minor. For them, and for juniors maybe recoil management is more important.
1911's in Minor shoot really sweet and there could be less fatigue for the shooter in a long match.
BJ and maybe a couple of other guys shot .38 Super in Minor rather than the expected 9mm. This was probably due to the fact that .38 Super shoots really nice in Minor and is uber reliable in the 1911 platform. Super is also very accurate and of course, chicks dig it.
Rick; Yes, Shawn should switch to Minor, just because;-)
Maybe I'm overthinking this and I should just agree that "Minor sucks"
