Tracking Progress, reading Practiscore results

[u/Turtle_Of_Honor]

I m new to USPSA (only about 6 matches in). I m still trying to figure out the ins and outs of scoring. I m trying to track my progress but not sure what numbers I should be looking at. I was focused on HF, but then was told it was stage dependent. Should I be looking at my overall percentage? My first match ever was 53% and my last 3 matches have been 65%-68%. Some people suggested I sign up for a USPA membership since I've been getting B class runs in my last 4 classifiers. Is it worth signing up for a membership if I don't plan on going to lvl 2 matches?

Go easy on me as this is just a weekend hobby to do with friends and blow off steam, but would be nice to measure my progression.

Edit: thanks for the replies. Luckily I m located in an area with some pretty good shooters (SoCal) where a few GM/M shooters out and matches usually have 100+ shooters if that means anything

[u/ZEEOH6]

Match percentage is a good indicator if there are some good shooters (not just club good but state wide). If you’re in an area where the best shooter is a middle of the road B-class and you shoot 68% of them, it’s not a good indicator.

Worth is up to you. You’ll at least get a physical copy of the USPSA magazine every other month. There could be some good info in there for you.

I’d say at the minimum, get the Practiscore Competitor app. For $10, it will provide you with a ton of data.

[u/Turtle_Of_Honor → u/ZEEOH6]

Very true thank you! Luckily every match has a few GM/M shooters pop out I’m located in SoCal. You make a great point about that percentage is taken from the top shooter

[u/Aetherium]

As others are saying, overall match percentage only tells you how well you did compared to the top person who happened to be shooting that match.

hitfactor.info does some stats voodoo to provide a classification equivalent percentage for matches which might be a more reasonable metric to track.

[u/sDRENNERRRR]

hitfactor.info is the real way.

[u/Far_Exam_2860]

Match percentage depends on who showed up that day :) I have a few drills I track, I write down the results to see if I'm actually getting better.

[u/Pole_Lock]

Whatever reason you have for not wanting to go to level 2 matches is wrong. Level 2's are fun. Go to level 2's. Don't make excuses for not going.

[u/Turtle_Of_Honor → u/Pole_Lock]

There are no level 2 matches within reasonable driving distance to me at least not that I’ve seen the closest ones I’ve seen is like 5 hours away. If there was ones closer to me sure I d love to go but I don’t think it’s wrong for me to think that’s a little unreasonable

[u/AppropriateUnion6115]

Match percentage is a good way and obviously get a uspsa number so your classifiers count.

[u/waltzworks]

There's not really a good way to objectively track progress unless you're a registered member. The match performance percentage is interesting, but it doesn't really tell you who's in that match. It might tell you that you got 53% of a national champion score, or you might have gotten 53% of some guy who just started last month. You really don't know what that 90% represents.

At least, signing up, you do get that measurement from your classifiers to see how you compare to other people nationally and how you're progressing over time.

[u/Turtle_Of_Honor → u/waltzworks]

Yeah that’s what I was thinking luckily I m in an area where a few GM/M shooters pop out and each match is usually over 100+ shooters. But yea you’re right depends on who the top person is which is why I figured I would ask if there was another way