TargetTalk

I am not sure whether to post this here, or rifle. So I post it here since I am a pistol person, even though the situation I am facing is a long arm.

For the good veterans and high scorers here, if the organizers accidentally put the target at an illegal height (say, over 50 cm taller, or 50 cm shorter) than the tolerance (if I recall, it is 20cm), hence ended up 70cm taller or shorter, what happened? First of all will you protest?

Does it matter to you? Will you manage to shoot pretty much the same average scores that you usually have? Instead of holding a pistol with 10' (degree) high, you now have to hold it 15' (degree) higher. Would that screw everything up? Also do you set your pistol and even shooting glasses so accurate that in order to score good again you have to readjust everything, and it will take beyond the sighting period to adjust?

I was worried since we haven't heard from you in a while.

To answer your question: No one gives a shit. Just shoot!

If you could hit anything I might be concerned.

BTW Did you get your glasses yet?

Firstly, what kind of formal pistol shooting requires that you hold to shoot at a target 10 feet above you? Is this spongebob squarepants league or something? And 15 feet!? Holy crap, buy the range officer a tape measure!

Worst case scenario
Someone shoots a national record then someone protests the height and national record is then disallowed.

Minor height issues don't bother me. For example, shooting on 4 bull air pistol targets isn't a big deal, and I would guess that the centers are about 20 cm apart. The range setup would have to be VERY precise to get both heights "legal".

That said, vast changes in height can be an issue. Our outdoor 50 yard pistol range was shut down for a couple years to put in a new baffle system. I had to practice free pistol at the rifle range, and the 50 yard targets are probably down about 8 feet below eye level. Practicing that way for a month or two and then shooting at a normal range in a match definitely felt odd.

There's a silhouette range that has the 500 meter rams for high power rifle up on the side of a hill probably about 100 feet higher than the horizon line and the other targets (you can see it in the picture). The turkeys are also on the hill (at 375m), but not at so much of an angle. Those are difficult shots in any case, and it does seem to require a slightly different posture for shooting at the rams than for shooting the at chickens, pigs, or turkeys at the shorter distances.

A keen observer will also notice I said "shooting at the rams" and not "shooting the rams".
Just want to accurately describe my reality.

dronning wrote:Worst case scenario
Someone shoots a national record then someone protests the height and national record is then disallowed.

6.4.1.11 Technical Delegate(s) may approve small deviations from specifications in ISSF Rules that do not conflict with the intent and spirit of ISSF Rules, except that no deviations in shooting distances or target specifications are allowed.

I assume the ' (feet) was meant to be " (inches) in the original post.

Conradin;
12" high or low from center at 50 meters is not a big deal to me.
Whether it be free pistol, bullseye or smallbore.
Just saying...
Clarence

Gerard wrote:Firstly, what kind of formal pistol shooting requires that you hold to shoot at a target 10 feet above you? Is this spongebob squarepants league or something? And 15 feet!? Holy crap, buy the range officer a tape measure!

WE are talking about a 2' difference. Sorry, the 10;' and 15' means degrees, not feet. I cannot find a degree sign on my keyboard.

The thing is, on my home club (san leandro) where I de facto has my own lane, the firing box ground (concrete) is flat with the lane all the way to the back, so when I designed my 50M target, I managed to make it exactly according to ISSF regulation. I basically measure from the grounds up, find the regulation height, and then set up the target there. I usually ended up shooting downwards.

But in other places, the firing line ground is not the same level as the target set up row. If you measure from the grounds up, find the regulation height, and then set up the target there, you might ended up having a 30 to 40cm off (which is 10 to 20cm off the tolerance). In many occasions I ended up shooting upwards. (the dirt ground is too high).

I don't think, personally, that it matters much; but as one of the replier says he has to temporarily use the rifle range, then the setup will be so off it is outside of the tolerance, in that case, would it be a problem for the shooter?

Gwhite wrote: I had to practice free pistol at the rifle range, and the 50 yard targets are probably down about 8 feet below eye level.

How is it possible to shoot a target 8 feet below eye level, unless you are Andre the Giant?..wait sorry coach White, I totally forgot, they have to put the target downhill?

OP: I would not let it worry me. You will come to find that if you shoot long enough and in enough ranges that there are many inconsistencies is height, light and spacing in target shooting. Focus on trigger control and sight alignment and carry on.

Greg Derr wrote:Focus on trigger control and sight alignment and carry on.

+1

You are a bit unclear on how you describe the heights ,
You do know that the target height is taken from the shooting line , and not from the ground level where you place the target,
i,e if the ground was lower at the shooting line level , than the ground at target line level this would cause the target to be placed lower at the target line to keep it at the correct height from the shooting line and vice versa , and there is also a plus or minus tolerance.
If you want the exact and correct height you need a dumpy level either way you are still maintaining the same sight picture ,
cheers S,

The choice is yours and any other athlete to protest or let it go. In big matches the jury should check the range is in accordance with the rules before shooting starts. Personally I wouldn't worry about it, I'd just get on and shoot. After all all shooters have the same 'problem'.

Rob.

Simple,
if the targets are too high....stand on a phone book,
if too low .... dig a hole.
Otherwise, just shoot.

A laser level such as is used by drywall contractors is an ideal tool for checking and adjusting target height at your practice range if this is concerning to you. There are simple to use and a pocket-sized model can be had at Home Depot for about $20. Setting up a target by measuring from the floor up on but a known-level floor would be a bit pointless. But setting up a couple of stacked chairs and some books to adjust the height of the laser from your shooting station makes it so simple to have the laser dot pinpoint within millimetres the exact location for your target, whatever the condition of the ground, at whatever distance. Or just lay the level on the shooting bench, adjust as needed to obtain horizontal presentation, then measure up from the beam at the target distance adding that to the measured distance from the floor at the shooting position.

An idiot's delight for leveling things is to take a length of clear plastice tubing almost filled with water. Set the water on one end at the height you want and at the other end the water will be at exactly the same height (level). (Of course you must hold the ends of the hose up so the water doesn't run out....just thought you should know.)

The NRA rule book doesn't specify heights of targets. The ISSF and USAS rue books do----however the tolerances are very tolerant. So you are getting your shorts in a bunch over nothing. Still proto typical of your posts.....Oh well! rave on cherub----"Doc"