I have been using Ian Pellant's excellent AirGun program to create traditional targets. The other targets were made with JASC's Paint Shop Pro.
Why? I like to tailor the targets to my needs and not have to buy 20 or 100 to try them out. Similar targets are available from the traditional target companies and you should buy them if you need more than a few. The printed targets are printed on much better target paper than what you put in your printer and are cheaper than printing your own.
The first target has 8 bulls corresponding roughly to the light rifle target used in Sporterifle. To fit 8 on a page I got rid of the 6 and 7 rings. The second target includes the 7 ring but only has 5 bulls on a page.
Sporterifle is a postal competition conducted in NY state under the NY State Rifle & Pistol Association. Clubs meet each week and compete against other teams in their league. It is a real family activity and everyone can compete whatever their ability. The competition is geared toward the use of standard "sporter" 22's and is entirely offhand (standing, no support) shooting. It is a real test of each shooter's ability rather than of expensive and heavily modified equipment. Many clubs can even provide a gun to use if you don't have one.
As far as I know the only leagues are in NY State, but I have heard rumors that the CMP is going to start promoting it nationally.
This target is based on the IMSSU rulebook. It is scaled for use at 50 feet. The silhouettes will appear roughly the same size as the real targets - d*mn small! This will help you get ready for the metal targets at longer ranges. In this game hits only count when the center of the hole is in the black. The easiest way to check is to put a fresh target underneath and use a transparent gauge.
There are several things that are not simulated: distance, wind, and metal. Don't forget that the rams are at 100 meters and the chickens at 40 meters. The rams will have more than twice the wind effect and about 8 inches of drop to consider when using the real targets. These targets always record a hit if you pierce the black - metal silhouettes might go "ding!" and not fall or just spin around and laugh at you.
Feeling humble yet? Enjoy the paper targets and just hope that you perform nearly as well on the metal targets.
There are two targets one with 8 full size bulls, the other with 25 tiny bulls.
This target is a simulation of the official USBR target suitable for practice. The official target is used in the E-Mail Matches on Rimfire Central. These matches are a lot of fun. Contact information is on the target when viewed on a computer. Sources for the official target are listed on the USBR website.Two versions are supplied one with 8 of the full target (the official target has 25 record bulls + 3 sighters) and a 25 bull version with only the 8, 9, and 10 rings (As you get better you will not miss the other rings!)).If you do get into the e-mail matches be sure to get the NRA 22 plug scoring gauge. I have found it will increase your score by a couple of points over targets scored without the gauge.
I generated a slight variation on the large bull USBR target. I had shot a few of the official targets with the iron sights on my Mossberg 44US. To make a long story short I nearly went blind trying to just see the right bull much less line up the sights and hit it. While the 2 solid rings are great with a scope they do not provide enough contrast for shooting with iron. I filled in the 4 through 7 rings to provide a nice solid circle that would show up well in a peep sight. My score improved 50% with the new target. That is my score went from 210 to 230 thus cutting in half the distance to 250. Hey, it sounds a lot better than a 9.5% improvement! If you'd like to try it the Acrobat file is at USBR Iron Sights Practice Target. For the time being official targets must be used for competition.
8726