I was recently going through a pile of unused targets that Charlie Smith, a team mate from Smithfield Sportsman's Club, gave me shortly before his passing. Among the targets are a handful of old indoor smallbore used for competition that I have never seen before. The most interesting difference compared to current smallbore targets is the lack of sighter bulls. While the scoring rings are like those on the NRA A-17 target, the lack of sighter shots would add a different dimension to the match. I am sure there must be some people who have seen and used these targets in competition and could provide their view on these targets. -Joe Graf
About Joe Graf
Joe Graf started shooting competitively as a junior in 1983 in both smallbore and high power rifle. After completing his junior career, he turned his attention to focus on smallbore rifle. In addition to shooting competitively, Joe has been the director of the RI Smallbore Rifle League since 1993, the Director of Smallbore Competition for RI State Rifle & Revolver Association since 2005, a member of the 2007 National Four Position Indoor Championship team, and Executive Officer of the RI State Rifle & Revolver Association since 2010. He is a National Record Holder, member of the Smithfield Sportsman's Club, the Blackhawk Rifle Club, and Digby Hand Schuetzenverein. He is a contributor to pronematch.com.
I have never competed on the 10 bull 50 ft target but people I shot with when I was starting out had and I recall them saying they would clip an extra bull to the 10 bull target as a sighter. They spoke very approvingly of the 11 bull target (which entered the rule book in 1953). Early rule book texts also sugggest there may have been a sighting & fouling period prior to record firing. The 10 bull target remained in the rule book (as the A-16 target)until the mid-70s.