Anyone else remember filling in bubbles with #2 pencils back in school? Well, that same technology is now available for competition scoring. Orion Scoring Systems has announced the release of Scannable Scorecards, which promises to “provide a much more efficient method for recording scores and generating results.”

In my local 3-gun competitions, most of the clubs have moved to Practiscore, but I can see how these would be highly effective at competitions that you cannot score after each shot. However, these may be an expensive investment for clubs since you will have to get the scanner, software, and are locked in to the Orion sheets.

Pricing for the sheets is currently listed at a reasonable $20 for 250 sheets. Note that clubs or shooters wanting to license the system will need starter kits for $298 for home users or at least $1000 for clubs. The pricing does include the needed scanner. Licenses for shooters are $58/year for individuals and $398 for the first year at clubs with a $88/year fee thereafter. 

Full Press Release Below:

Orion Scoring System is pleased to announce the release of Scannable Scorecards. Orion’s Scannable Scorecards allow for rapid dissemination of competition results for disciplines where electronic scoring previously did not exist or is prohibitively expensive. Scannable Scorecards are immediately available for high power shooting (NRA and CMP events), silhouette (NRA rifle or pistol silhouette events), rimfire sporter (CMP events), and shotgun (USA Shooting events).

The intent of Orion’s Scannable Scorecards is not to change how scoring is done. A referee or scorer is still required to determine the value of a shot. Instead, Scannable Scorecards provide a much more efficient method for recording scores and generating results. Orion’s Scannable Scorecards resemble fill-in-the-bubble types of forms. Scorers fill in a bubble corresponding to the value of each shot. Once complete, the form is scanned then interpreted by Orion. Results are available almost instantaneously.

“When Orion was first developed, I quickly realized that the value of a scoring system is not in its ability to score a shot, but rather in its ability to provide higher levels of functionality, such as match management and online results,” said Erik Anderson, the inventor of Orion Scoring System. Lynn Wheeless, a 4-H leader in Virginia, gave Anderson the idea for Scannable Scorecards. Wheeless was running a 4-H match and noticed it was taking several hours to score silhouette events, while it only took minutes to score air rifle and air pistol with Orion. “Lynn told me what he saw, and suggested developing a scorecard that can be scanned in the same way targets are scanned for Orion. Now that it is developed, disciplines such as silhouette and clay target can benefit from Orion’s match management tools, online results, and ease of use.”

Scorecards bring a new level of efficiency to disciplines that are accustomed to live scoring, but not live results. “The problem facing disciplines like clay target is not that they do not have live scoring, but that they have no way to connect live scoring with live results. Scannable Scorecards provide this connection,” said Anderson. For example, in skeet and trap, ties are common, requiring arduous man hours performing count backs to break the tie. With Orion’s Scannable Scorecards, ties are broken and results are known immediately.

Scannable Scorecards are fully integrated into both Orion at Home and Orion for Clubs, so all existing customers can use them. Existing Orion customers can call Shooter’s Technology’s offices at the number below for a free package of Scannable Scorecards. A Scorecard Bundle will be available soon for new customers wanting to use just the new Scannable Scorecard technology.

About Orion Scoring System: The Orion Scoring System is an affordable and comprehensive electronic scoring system for the shooting sports, with a design emphasis on American style competitions. It is approved by USA Shooting, the National Rifle Association, and the National Three-Position Air Rifle Council for air rifle, air pistol, smallbore rifle, BB Gun, and similar disciplines. Orion is developed by Shooter’s Technology LLC, located in Bristow, VA