Bullseye (shooting competition)

Kimber Raptor with a paper target, 91-1X score.

Bullseye, also known as conventional pistol, is a shooting sport in which participants shoot handguns at paper targets at fixed distances and time limits. A number of organizations, including the NRA and Civilian Marksmanship Program in the United States, have established rules and keep records for these sports. Emphasis is on accuracy and precision. The sport is primarily popular in United States and Canada. Bullseye pistol was the inspiration for the ISSF international 25 m Standard Pistol (82 feet) event and like the ISSF pistol events, the development of skills required to shoot one-handed at 5.5-inch and 8-inch bullseye targets at 25 and 50 yards, respectively, takes considerable training to achieve proficiency.

Equipment

Bullseye specifies three classes of pistol; a .22 caliber rimfire, a centerfire handgun of .32 caliber or greater; and a .45 caliber pistol. Since the format includes a rapid fire stage, a semi-automatic pistol or revolver with a capacity of at least 5 rounds is needed.

Sights

Any type of sight can be used, except laser sights. Many competitors use iron sights, but the recent trend has been towards red dot sights, which many shooters find easier to use. Telescopic sights, while legal, are rare, as magnification is not considered an advantage. Iron sights are usually adjustable Patridge type sights, carefully treated to reduce glare that might impact sight alignment.

Handguns

While most moderately priced rimfire pistols are accurate enough to fire perfect scores and are suitable for bullseye competition (the Ruger MK II or Ruger MK III being a common starting gun) the Smith & Wesson 41 and the Hämmerli 208 generally dominate the top levels of competition. Marvel Precision has recently come in to the arena with a conversion kit that allows the competitor to fire .22 rimfire cartridges on a standard M1911 frame and action. Although the Smith & Wesson Model 41, and accurized Ruger MK II pistols are probably the most popular .22 pistols for Bullseye shooting, a recent introduction from Europe, the Feinwerkbau AW93 "Sport Pistol", has gained much popularity (especially in Europe). Its ergonomic grip and low recoil compensation (even for the small .22) has placed it in the top of its class.

The centerfire pistol is another matter; most pistols of this type are designed for defensive use, which requires far less accuracy. The most common centerfire pistol is the M1911 design, usually built and accurized by a gunsmith who specializes in bullseye pistol work. All areas of the operating mechanism must fit tightly enough to allow the required consistency, while remaining reliable enough to not jam during a match.

While many shooters use the .45 for the centerfire stages of competition, some shooters prefer a third gun. European models such as .32 S&W automatics from Walther, the now discontinued Smith & Wesson Model 52, and others are a suitable choice, as are M1911 variants in smaller calibers, such as .38 Special, 9mm, or .38 Super[1]. The smaller calibers have significantly less recoil than the .45 ACP but that advantage is offset by the cost of buying and learning to shoot proficiently with a third gun.

Smith and Wesson revolvers are most common among shooters who prefer revolvers; S&W makes suitable double action revolvers in .22 Long Rifle, .38 Special, and .45 ACP. Custom gunsmithing is common here as well to increase reliability and usability.

Grips

In addition to accuracy work, including trigger modifications, many bullseye guns use anatomical grips made to fit the shooter's hand. These grips provide increased support to allow a more consistent grip, a rest for the thumb to allow better control of recoil, and a shelf to isolate the trigger finger from the fingers gripping the gun. In addition to providing better support, the grips can also position the hand to allow better positioning of longer or shorter fingers on the trigger, and also allow cross dominant shooters to better align the sights with their dominant eye. An adjustable shelf at the bottom of the grip helps maintain a consistent grip.

Ammunition

For the rimfire pistol, shooters use high quality target grade ammunition, ideally purchased in bulk so all ammunition comes from the same manufacturing lot, since even minor changes can result in changing point of impact. Relatively low velocity ammunition (always below the speed of sound) is preferred for precision Bullseye target shooting in both the slow and sustained fire disciplines because the .22 bullet travels at or near the speed of sound. If a bullet transitions between supersonic speed and subsonic speed before striking the target, its flight path is slightly disturbed, reducing accuracy. To avoid this phenomenon, strictly subsonic ammunition is preferred.

Centerfire ammunition is often handloaded, with very careful selection of components to allow the maximum precision. Lighter weight bullets and lower velocities than standard are normally used to minimize the recoil.

Scoring

Count the number of holes, 5 or 10 per target. If a hole breaks a ring the higher score is given. If unsure scoring gauge can be used. Official rules and regulations on scoring is covered in section 14 of the NRA Pistol Rules 2003. NRA Conventional Pistol Rules

Starting on the bottom at 7 o'clock and moving up and clockwise the scores are:
Points                                                       Misses
7     Hole breaks 7 ring.                                     -3
8     Hole just breaks 8 ring using gauge.                    -2
9     Hole breaks 9 ring, gauge used.                         -1
10    Hole breaks 10 ring.                                    -0
9     Hole breaks 9 ring.                                     -1
9     Hole breaks 9 ring, note part of hole in 8 ring.        -1
10    Hole breaks 10 ring.                                    -0
10-1X Hole breaks X ring.                                     -0 1X
10    Hole breaks 10 ring.                                    -0
9     Hole breaks 9 ring.                                     -1
      This last hole was hardest to find, 
      target showed slight opening on bottom right of hole.   -9 Sum of misses.
91                                                  100 - 9 = 91
Total Points                                                 Total Points

As shown in the misses column, on a high scoring target it is easier to count 
and add the misses and subtract from maximum score points, 100 or 50.

Courses of fire

All courses of fire are fired from a standing position using a one handed grip at 5.5-inch and 8-inch "bullseye" targets placed at 25 and 50 yards downrange. This is a significantly more difficult shooting position than the two handed grips accepted for use in metallic silhouette and action shooting competitions such as IDPA, IPSC, The Bianchi Cup, and PPC 1500 Matches. The "bullseye" targets are significantly smaller and farther away although time restraints are relatively more generous and shooting begins with an outstretched arm already aimed at the target instead of the mandatory holster draw required in most cases with the action shooting sports.

Three courses of fire are followed: Slow Fire, in which ten rounds are fired in ten minutes, Timed Fire, consisting of two five-round strings with twenty seconds for each string, and Rapid Fire, which has a ten second limit for each of the two five-round strings. All shooting is done one-handed, standing, with no support.

Depending on the match format, the competitor may be required to shoot as many as 90 rounds from each of three handguns. Each shot scores a maximum of 10 points. Hence, a one-gun competition is often referred to as a "900" whereas a three-gun competition is a "2700". A shorter form is the National Match Course consisting of a single Slow Fire, a Timed and a Rapid Fire target, 30 shots for a maximum score of 300. Single gun competitions using only the rimfire pistol are common, as they provide an inexpensive entry into the sport.

Outdoor competitions are typically fired at 50 yards for slow fire courses and 25 yards for timed and rapid fire courses. A "short course" shoots only at 25 yards and uses a reduced-size target for the Slow Fire segment. All courses of fire at an indoor competition are typically fired at 50 feet with appropriately scaled targets. A notable exception to this rule of thumb happens at the Oak Harbor (Ohio) Conservation Club, which conducts indoor matches monthly November-April at 50/25 yards. OHCC is located about 10 miles west of the site of the National Matches, Camp Perry, Ohio.

Matches

The annual National Rifle and Pistol Matches take place at Camp Perry, Ohio in July and August. Competing shooters are registered with the National Rifle Association and scores are officially recorded. Registered matches (Regional, Sectional, and State championships and local matches) are held at various locations throughout the year and are often sponsored by local shooting clubs. Authorized matches are also recognized by the NRA. Scores at all of these competitions are recorded by the NRA and used to rank a shooter's abilities.

Recorded scores are used to rank shooters into Tyro (no scores on record), Marksman (360 recorded shots but below the 85% mark), Sharpshooter (85-89.99%), Expert (90-94.99%), Master (95-96.99%) and High Master (97% and above) categories. While perfect scores have been shot in individual stages, no shooter has ever scored a 2700 in a sanctioned match. The current record is 2680-159x, set on 07/24/1974 by Hershel Anderson[2]. That is a score of 2680 out of 2700, with 159 of 270 shots hitting the "X" ring, which is half the size of the 10 ring. "X" ring shots still count 10 points, but in the case of a tie in points, the higher "X" ring count wins.

See also

• Shooting sports

References

• Get into Bullseye Pistol Shooting
• The Benefits of Custom Grips, see also
  • Rink Formgriffe order sheet, detailing the various options on a custom anatomical grip
  • Randall Fung Grips features sheet, listing the features and functions of an anatomical grip
• Biography of Jim Clark, a top bullseye shooter and gunsmith; founder of Clark Custom Guns

External links

• Encyclopedia of Bullseye Pistol
• Bullseye-L Internet Forum (emailing list)
• Conventional Pistol (NRA)
• International Pistol ISSF Rules for Pistol
• Conventional Shooter promotes all forms of conventional ("bullseye') type shooting.
• Brian Zins, 10-time NRA Pistol National Champion