Last weekend at the Ocoee Rangers match, the same situation occurred on two different posses and although the correct call was made both times, there was some discussion about it so I figured I would bring it up here.
What happened: Stage instructions said to use rifle to knock plates off Texas Star and with any remaining rounds, alternate on the two stationary targets (one on each side of Star). Both shooters completed the Star and then moved to the stationary targets, missing their first shot. They both hit with their second shot and continued alternating. Because the two stationary targets were spread widely apart, it was obvious that the shooters were aiming at the left target when they missed and then they put the next round on the left target.
What is the Call: This is only a miss and not a P.
Follow the Miss Flow Chart at the end of the RO-I manual.
"Did the shooter hit all the correct type of targets with legally acquired ammo?" No
"Were the targets hit in the correct order except for any misses?" Yes (you could start on either side target)
----> No further call.
This was hashed out in a very long and painful SASS Wire discussion years ago. It was determined that you cannot base a call on what you "think" that the shooter was aiming at when s/he missed... even in a case like this where it may be obvious that s/he was aiming at the wrong target. Here, the shooters had a "lucky" miss that saved them a P.
MORE INFO:Here is a thread on the SASS Wire that elaborates on this topic:
http://www.sassnet.com/forums/index.php?s=0cd4651f52a18f3cfa354e438b57f631&showtopic=256769The example in this thread extends the original situation above and shows when a P is and is not given. See in particular Pale Wolf's reply at post #21.
