October-November 2026 Newsletter
| SALT LAKE PRACTICAL SHOOTING ASSOCIATION |
| BIG SALTY RANGE NEWSLETTER |
| September – October 2026 | Utah’s Oldest USPSA Club | Area 1 |
Members, ROs, and match staff — this is the late-summer / early-fall issue. Two items sit at the top of the stack: SLPSA’s recognition as USPSA Area 1 Club of the Year, and the successful running of Berry’s 2026 Utah State Championship presented by Homestead Cabinets.
| USPSA AREA 1 CLUB OF THE YEAR |
USPSA recognized SLPSA as Area 1 Club of the Year based on match volume and Level I competitor attendance. That is not a participation trophy. It is a count of weekends staffed, stages built, classifiers run, and new shooters who showed up, shot safely, and came back. It’s a testament to the hard work of all of our volunteers.
On the current USPSA 2026 club leaderboards, Salt Lake Practical Shooting Association sits #3 nationally in competitors per match (165.19) and #5 nationally in total competitors (2,643). Those numbers come from the same people who tape targets, haul walls, and stay after the last squad. Thank you. Wear it proudly. The only way to keep the title is to keep hosting matches that people want to shoot. Thanks to our amazing volunteers for your contributions to the effort.
| 2026 UTAH STATE CHAMPIONSHIP |
Berry’s 2026 Utah State Championship presented by Homestead Cabinets went on the books as a USPSA Level II on September 3, 2026, hosted by SLPSA at Big Salty Range. Results were posted to USPSA.org and PractiScore the following week. That is the product of tens of thousands of man-hours, months of stage design, prop work, staff scheduling, sponsor coordination, and match-day RO coverage.
If you built a stage, ran a squad, patched a swinger cable, hauled walls or poppers, stapled targets, or hauled water to the stages and trash off them: that match does not happen without you. Sponsors Berry’s and Homestead Cabinets put their names on a well-run Utah match. We will treat that as a reputation to protect, not a one-year event. Planning for 2027 has already started.
Full results: uspsa.org match-results listing and the SLPSA PractiScore club page.
| UPCOMING AT BIG SALTY — SEP / OCT |
Register on PractiScore. Matches run rain or shine. Confirm dates and squad times on the live calendar before you drive out — crisp fall weather will be a welcome change.
| DATE | EVENT | NOTES |
| Fri–Sat Sep 18–19 | SLPSA USPSA Level I | Open now on PractiScore NOTE: Winter hours, check your squad list for start time |
| Sat Sep 26 | SLPSA PCSL 2/3 Gun Match | Hit Factor / Level I — open |
| Sun Sep 27 | SLPSA Steel Challenge | SCSA — registration opening, winter hours |
| Sat Oct 3 | SLPSA Steel Challenge Saturday Match | Winter Hours- check PS |
| Fri–Sat Oct 9–10 | SLPSA USPSA #1 (October) | 2nd Fri/Sat — confirm PractiScore |
| Fri–Sat Oct 16–17 | SLPSA USPSA #2 (October) | 3rd Fri/Sat — confirm PractiScore |
| Sat Oct 24 | PCSL / UML Multigun | 4th Saturday slot |
| Sun Oct 25 | SLPSA Steel Challenge | Sunday after 4th Saturday |
Standard Big Salty cadence: USPSA 2nd & 3rd Friday/Saturday; PCSL/UML 4th Saturday; Steel Challenge the Sunday after and again the following Saturday- October listings above follow that cadence and will be confirmed on PractiScore as each match is published.
| CALL FOR STAGE BUILDERS |
Club of the Year and a great State match do not survive on leftover stages. We need builders for monthly USPSA matches. If you can design, hang walls, set steel, or run a build crew for a half-day, step up.
- Contact Stage Setup & Design Coordinator Blake Korous (blake@slpsa.org / 801-641-4397) before you occupy a bay.
- Stage setup hours count as BSR RO work hours when the Match Director can verify them.
- New builders welcome. You do not need to be a civil engineer or a USPSA CRO or be named Eric Grauffel to generate an interesting idea for a stage. You need a safe, rule-compliant, interesting problem and the willingness to help put it in the gravel. The range officials and fellow volunteers will bend over backwards to help and make it successful. It’s easy and rewarding- stage builders get free and early access to both match days. No experience needed- and you can learn a lot.
| WARNING — BSR RANGE OFFICERS: LOG YOUR WORK HOURS |
| If you hold Big Salty RO privileges and have not entered 2026 work hours, do it this week. |
RO access is a volunteer privilege, not a membership perk. The 2026 requirement is not optional:
• Log two matches shot at Big Salty in 2026.
• Log 12 work hours in 2026 (plan on one hour per month after your 2026 contract is signed and returned).
• 2026 contract must be signed. Hours do not count until that is done.
• Enter hours on the Range Officer Log form at bigsalty.org/range-officer-log/ — if it is not in the log, it did not happen.
What counts: work-list items (brass, trash, berms, repairs, weeds, tables); verified stage setup for a calendar match; work on a State / Section / Area / National match that benefits SLPSA; logged club officer/BOD time.
What does not count: stage teardown, running RO or scorekeeper during a match you are shooting, or “I was out there anyway.” That is match participation. It is expected as a competitor.
Need a job? Text or call Blake Korous at 801-641-4397. He has a list. Brass pickup requires a photo texted to that number before the hours will be accepted.
ROs who do not log hours will lose range privileges, regardless of how many matches they shoot. The wait list for RO access is not empty. Do not assume we will chase you.
| QUICK HITS & REMINDERS |
What Three Words is a coordinate system that gives every three square meters on Earth a unique three word address. Salt Lake County emergency services dispatchers are now using W3W to get medical help to the specific location of an emergency. The range entrance at the road is ”tester.laser.stole” and the north door of the classroom is ”watch.crush.blitz”. If you have an emergency at the range, these will get services directly to those locations. Please review the range emergency plan at www.bigsalty.org
5.56 in competition. 5.56 rifles remain allowed in competition through October, pending ice conditions, with the published restrictions on stage design, reloads, round count, and movement. After October, assume the seasonal restriction is back unless the Board says otherwise. Updates will be at www.bigsalty.org
Cold range. Firearms stay unloaded except under direct Range Officer control. Safety-area rules include NO dummy ammo, empty brass, handling of loaded mags, loose ammo, and snap caps. Eye and ear protection on the range for everyone.
Set USPSA stages are hands-off for BSR RO’s. As a BSR RO- Do not touch, or let a guest touch, a built stage that is not yours. If a match stage is standing in a bay you reserved, leave it alone — no dry fire, no poppers, no “just checking.” Violation of this rule is a 30-day RO suspension.
Rocks in the middle of bays. This has become a problem lately- People have been leaving large rocks in the middle of bays, probably in order to hold down target stands. If you need to do that, fine, but you MUST return the rocks to the berms, preferably, where you got them from. If you leave them on the bay, you will be subject to a 30-day BSR RO suspension. Be considerate of your fellow RO’s and stage builders.
Parking in bays. Drop-off of gear is fine. Leaving a car or truck in a bay or the access path between the parking lot and the bay covers while shooting is not. It’s a problem if medical needs to get into a bay. Please do not drive into a bay if the ground is wet.
Reservations. ROs reserve one bay, three hours, unless an approved event application is on file. Shooting a bay you did not reserve is a 30-day suspension. Paid training on an ordinary RO reservation is not authorized — an event application is required every time. Creation of “monetized” content at the range- for YouTube, IG, or other social media monetized accounts, must be approved by the State DNR which requires a separate application. If you need help, contact the range applications manager.
Rules. 2026 Big Salty rules live at bigsalty.org/rules.
| WHO TO CALL- BSR Committee (Range Operations) |
| BSR Range Chairman | Dave Moore · chairman@bigsalty.org |
| Director of Operations / Stages | Blake Korous · blake@slpsa.org · 801-641-4397 |
| SLPSA Board Liaison | Dan Ward · liaison@bigsalty.org |
| BSR Treasurer | Roy Piskadlo · treasurer@bigsalty.org |
| BSR Applications / Newsletter / RO Instructor | George Tekmitchov · applications@bigsalty.org |
| BSR & SLPSA Website / Locks / Admin | Blake Korous · admin@slpsa.org |
| BSR Range phone | (385) 212-4946 |
| Big Salty Range Address | 5850 West 1740 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84128 |