TargetTalk

Hi,

Does anyone know how the NRA conventional prone course of fire came to have both 50 meter as well as a 50 yard stages? Thanks.

Blue,

The Rheinische-Westfalischen-Spregstoff Aktiengesellschaft (RWS), a German arms corporation, presented a sterling silver challenge cup to encourage friendly competition between the major belligerents of the Great War in 1933. The inaugural 40 shot 50-meter prone postal match between Germany, Great Britain, and was won by the United States Team’s 3935.

The 50 meter target was introduced as part of the National Smallbore Prone Championship in 1934.

The 1934 championship was extended from four matches to five with the addition of the 50-meter individual match shot under RWS Match conditions. As a side note for the first time sighters were allowed. A sighting target would be hung before a match and time would be allowed to insure a solid zero at the distance concerned. It would then be removed and the match targets hung.

From 1937 through 1941 there was no 50 meter stage in the US National Smallbore Prone Championship.

When the matches resumed in 1946, after a four year hiatus caused by World War II, the 1600/3200 courses of fire appeared as we know them today: 40 shot matches at 50 yards, 50 meters, The Dewar, and 40 shots at 100 yards.

This is the history of the prone course of fire and targets shot at the US National Prone Championships. The United States most common outdoor smallbore targets, the 50 yard A-23, the 50 meter A-26, and the 100 yard A-25 have now been in use since the 1930s. Noted shooting historian Paul Nordquist, commenting on the United States’ shooting community’s rejection of international metric targets, notes that, “There may be a tad of irony in that the 50 meter target we use in smallbore prone competition was, until 1958, also the international target.”

As to the logic of adding the 50 meter target/stage I can only presume that it was originally added to give folks practice on the target and to be able to find the correct sized aperture for the RWS Postal match. It was probably added after the war to introduce a bit of a challenge.

I am not sure if this answers your question but it is the best I can come up with at the moment.

If I remember correctly you said that you were shooting prone at Perry this year. If that is the case look me up.

Regards,

Hap

Hap, if anyone could answer that question, it would be you. Thanks for the history again!

Yes, I mentioned that I'm going to be in the Perry SB prone week on the High Power board. I'll see you there.