About Helice Scores
Helice Scores was created by Austin Gun Club to streamline helice tournaments—scoring, registration, and day-of operations—in one modern, user-friendly system for competitors and clubs alike.
The vision of Helice Scores is a modern experience: less paperwork, clearer data, and tools that work the way clubs and competitors actually run events—from registration through payments and history.
Different membership levels let competitors and clubs choose how much depth they want—whether you need full tournament management, rich history and reporting, or a lighter footprint.
As the owner of Austin Gun Club, competitor, and tournament registrar, Julie brings all three viewpoints to the product. That mix is what shaped Helice Scores into a system that tries to respect real-world workflows—not just software ideals.
Your input matters. If you have a request, a suggestion, or something specific your club or shooters need, reach out. I want to hear it so we can keep the program robust, friendly, and useful—the data you want, the way you want it.
Helice (ZZ / Electrocibles) is a shotgun discipline using plastic flyers with unpredictable flight—built to reward reflexes and precision.
The target
- Helices, also known as ZZ Birds, use a central white witness cap with two winged propellers.
- Spinning wings create erratic paths similar to live game birds.
Equipment (summary)
- 12 gauge max; shot charge up to 28g (1 oz); shot no larger than #7.5; maximum muzzle velocity 1,325 feet per second.
- Safe gun position from gun-down through fully mounted.
How it is played
- Shooters work individually in order; voice-activated launch is typical.
- Call “Pull”—a bird launches randomly from one of five machines.
- Up to two shots; a “Dead Bird” counts when the witness cap separates and lands inside the fenced ring.
- Standard format: five targets per ring; rotate when multiple rings are in use.
Scoring
No bird / Bird again
Referees may call “No Bird” for bad launches or machine issues (replay without penalty) or “Bird again” when the shooter did not have a fair chance—per event rules.
Helice is fast: random machine selection, spinning flight, and witness-cap separation make it one of the most demanding shotgun games.
United States Helice Association (USHA) publishes official rules, ring guidance, team rankings, and membership materials on ushelice.com.
Official Ring Measurements
Ring layout, distances, and fence specs on the USHA site.
View ring guideCompetition format
Clubs build tournaments from daily or side races (including HOA and Review where offered), with registration, scoring, and purse options set per event—confirm details with the registrar.
Age classes
Note: All age categories take effect on 1 January of the year in which a particular age is reached. For example, if you will turn 66 in March, you will shoot as a Veteran beginning the preceding January.
The same idea applies to every band below: for the competition year shown, you are in the class that matches the calendar year in which you reach that age (for example, you shoot Open/Men from 1 January of the year you turn 21, even if your birthday is later in the year).
Helice Scores collects each competitor’s date of birth and uses it to calculate and assign the correct age concurrent automatically.
Competition year for birth-year hints: 2026
Gender
- Man — male competitors across age categories.
- Lady — female competitors across age categories.
Scoring & ranking (Helice Scores)
- Events may include daily or side races, including HOA and Review, alongside registration and purse options.
- Rankings use dense placement: ties share a rank; the next rank is consecutive (no skipped numbers in Helice Scores reports).
- Dead / lost bird definitions match the sport: cap inside the ring vs outside or not separated.
- Shootoffs are used to decide trophy placements when the event runs them.