Target distance

[Dustin]

I've looked in the Tally Book and at all the documents I can find. Is there a documented minimum and maximum distance for targets?

[Cash Creek]

 75 to 100 feet is a good place to start..Got to remember this is NCOWS, not some candy ass SASS  shooting.. 

[Cliff Fendley]

100 feet is a good distance for rifle targets provided they arent too big.

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[bowiemaker]

Mix them up. Put a couple of challengers out there.

[John William McCandles]

IMO targets need to be placed and sized so they are challenging but not discouraging. We want the shooters to have fun and come back.
Maybe 100 ft(33yds) plus for the rifle and 21 ft (7yds) out to say 45 ft (15yds) for pistol targets. Just thinking out loud here and might be way out of line with these distances.


JW

[Irish Dave]

JW: I think you're dead-on when it comes to "challenging but not discouraging." Very succinctly said.

Yes, we are NCOWS, but that doesn't mean our matches should be bench-rest level, high-precision, target contests. I believe we do a very good, consistent job when it comes to rifle targets. It's in the pistol target area that sometimes the "tiny target zealots" can get carried away.

From my perspective, distances must be correlated to target size. Big targets can be placed somewhat farther out; smaller targets should be substantially closer. I believe the object of our game (and our target placement) is to encourage scales that ate tipped slighty toward accuracy over break-neck speed, but we should never, IMHO, use target difficulty as a way to "weed out" competitors or "thin the herd."

I believe our matches should, for the most part, emulate real-world situations as they would have occurred in the Old West. There's no challenge (and very little connection to reality) in shooting a series of 3-foot-square targets at 3 yards out. By the same token, there's no reality connection to making targets so difficult that a person in a gunfight needs to take forever in order to strike their mark -- all the while with others shooting back.

"In all things, moderation" is a wonderful phrase and applies to so much of life as I see it. I believe it's equally true when it comes to our competitions. We should be striving to strike that balance between too easy and too difficult and we shouldn't create a distinct advantage to shooters of either extreme-- the spray-and-pray speed demons or the bench-rest bullseye'ers.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

[Johnny McCrae]

JW: I think you're dead-on when it comes to "challenging but not discouraging." Very succinctly said.

Yes, we are NCOWS, but that doesn't mean our matches should be bench-rest level, high-precision, target contests. I believe we do a very good, consistent job when it comes to rifle targets. It's in the pistol target area that sometimes the "tiny target zealots" can get carried away.

From my perspective, distances must be correlated to target size. Big targets can be placed somewhat farther out; smaller targets should be substantially closer. I believe the object of our game (and our target placement) is to encourage scales that ate tipped slighty toward accuracy over break-neck speed, but we should never, IMHO, use target difficulty as a way to "weed out" competitors or "thin the herd."

I believe our matches should, for the most part, emulate real-world situations as they would have occurred in the Old West. There's no challenge (and very little connection to reality) in shooting a series of 3-foot-square targets at 3 yards out. By the same token, there's no reality connection to making targets so difficult that a person in a gunfight needs to take forever in order to strike their mark -- all the while with others shooting back.

"In all things, moderation" is a wonderful phrase and applies to so much of life as I see it. I believe it's equally true when it comes to our competitions. We should be striving to strike that balance between too easy and too difficult and we shouldn't create a distinct advantage to shooters of either extreme-- the spray-and-pray speed demons or the bench-rest bullseye'ers.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

Well said!

[bowiemaker]

Over the last 2-3 years I think the Nationals have done a great job of mixing up some relatively easy stages and some pretty challenging stages.

I keep stats on our shoots at JCR. We usually put pistol and shotgun targets at 11-15 yards and rifle targets at about 35 yards with an occasional 50 yard bonus target. Overall, shooters hit about 85% of the targets on average. We rarely have anyone shoot a clean match but we frequently have people shoot with 95%-97% accuracy.

Personally, I think shooting a clean match should be an exceptional accomplishment and if a lot of people are doing it the stages are too easy.

[Tascosa Joe]

I think this needs to be moved to the NCOWS Chambers.

[Cliff Fendley]

I agree about the mixing it up like has been done in recent years at the National. Keeps it fun and interesting for everyone.

[bear tooth billy]

I feel that the targets should be placed so the average shooter can hit most of the targets, but it's fine to have a few very
challenging ones, so it is a accomplishment to shoot a clean match. As was very well stated earlier we don't want
to discourage any of our ranks.   Just my two cents worth


                                                                 BTB

[Kinchafoonee Kid]

Well said, Brother Billy!

[Tjackstephens]

I don't care where they are at I plan on hitting them. Of course I always plan on hitting them, but some times they move, dodge, or duck. Tj   

[Texas Lawdog]

Bro. TJ, We all have that problem at our age!

[Tascosa Joe]

Shotgun targets should be at a minimum of 15 yards simply for safety.  Any closer and the splash increases dramatically.   I do not consider myself a very good shot but for the last 3 years I have shot the rifle targets with my pistol on 5 of the 10 stages because IMO the rifle targets are too close.  I believe the shortest distance for the rifle targets should be the hay bales.

[Irish Dave]

Joe:

Looks like it's all NCOWS members participating anyway, so I have no objection to moving it to the Chambers.  It may be more appropriate there.

[Dustin]

Part of the reason I posed the question was due to the target distance for our first SASS shoot. When I arrived for the shoot, I noted how close the targets were.  After the shoot I stepped off the pistol targets by putting one foot in front of the other. The targets I checked were about 14 feet from the firing line.

[bowiemaker]

Part of the reason I posed the question was due to the target distance for our first SASS shoot. When I arrived for the shoot, I noted how close the targets were.  After the shoot I stepped off the pistol targets by putting one foot in front of the other. The targets I checked were about 14 feet from the firing line.

That is dangerously close. That is the main reason I do not shoot with our local SASS club. I will not shoot at a match where everybody on the firing line is getting splattered with lead.

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
I'm with Bowiemaker on the distances . Pistol targets NO closer than 10 yards and rifle targets from 25 to 50 . Shooters want to hit targets if they miss lots of targets they aint HAPPY . It's all about having a safe and fun shoot .

[Irish Dave]

I agree, Rowdy, but even at those distances actual target size has to be taken into consideration. For example, a 6-foot target at 10 yards is too big; a 4- or 6-inch target at 10 yards is too small.

As I see it, it's not only about size and it's not only about distance. The two have to work together. But you're 100% correct about shooters wanting to be reasonably able to hit their targets without having to use scopes and sandbags on their pistols.