Major and Minor are about power factor — bullet weight times velocity — and they change how your hits are scored. Understanding the trade-off helps you read your own results and your gear choices.
What changes between Major and Minor
The Alpha (A) zone is worth 5 points either way. The difference is in the lower zones:
- Minor — A = 5, C = 3, D = 1
- Major — A = 5, C = 4, D = 2
So a clean Alpha run scores identically. Major only pays off when you drop points into C and D — it softens the cost of imperfect hits.
How it hits your hit factor
Hit factor is points divided by time. Because Major adds points on C and D hits, the same shots on the same time produce a higher hit factor — and therefore a higher classifier percentage — if you are dropping points. Shoot all Alphas and Major buys you nothing on paper.
The catch
Major usually means more recoil and often fewer rounds before a reload, which can cost time. Some divisions are scored Minor-only regardless of your loads. The right call depends on your division, your hit pattern, and how much recoil you can drive.
See the cost of every dropped point
Related reading: Hit factor math, step by step · How to read your PractiScore results
MatchChaser's match analysis breaks out exactly how many points you lost to C, D, misses, and no-shoots — so you can see what Major would and would not have saved you. Analyze your scoring free.