Old US Army Target

[David LaPell]

Ever since the wife and I bought our house about two years ago now, we have every so often found an antique here and there stuffed somewhere. Today I found in a small corner a huge stack, at least 8 inches thick of these US Army targets. I have never seen any of these before and was wondering if anyone who had been in the military can remember these and maybe when they were used. The former owner of the house retired from the US Air Force in the 50's as a Colonel and was also a hunter safety instructor here in NY for over 40 years before he died at the age of 92.

 

[Texas Star]

I think I saw these in Army ROTC in high school.

I can't tell the size, but they resemble those that our rifle team shot at with .22's in the school basement. These are labled as 50 foot smallbore targets.

Those that we fired M-1 Garands at in summer camp were larger, and the range was 100 yards.

I graduated from HS in the 1960's.

T-Star

 

[Iggy]

Fired on those in College ROTC in the basement range with .22 rifles at 50 feet.

 

[310Pilot]

I expended many rounds from my Winchester 52 at those targets in the mid-late '60s. I was on the rifle team at my military academy, and we had a 50 foot indoor range. They were used both in practice and small-bore competition. That photo sure brings back some memories! BTW, I still have the 52 (built in 1939, my late uncle used it to win the 1943 National Championship as an individual and in the team championship, also while attending the same academy, and my grandfather was the team coach). I had the only personally owned rifle on the team, everybody else was shooting issued Anschutz rifles, and I could consistently out-shoot them with my old 52.

 

[sipowicz]

I am staring at them trying to remember but I am getting sleepy...sleepy...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[625smith]

What you have there is the military version of the A-17 small bore target.

A-17
Tagboard (Heavy Paper)
10½" x 12"
1½" Black
50 Foot
Smallbore Rifle
Conventional 4-Position
(11 bulls including 1 sighting)

I have quite a few of those myself. They come packed in cardboard boxes of 500.

 

[Teddydog]

Yup, smallbore rifle targets (aka .22). You use the center bull for sighting in and then one shot at each of the others for record. The small center circle is a "10". To score, the hole from the bullet just needs to break the ring.

Rob

 

[ACP230]

I used those in high school JROTC also.

 

[H Richard]

They are still in use for ROTC or many youth shooting programs. They have been replaced for most official competitions by a similar target which has smaller scoring rings.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Yep. I fired on those in Jr. ROTC. We had a smallbore range underneath the bleachers next to our athletic field. Guns were no big deal in high school back then (mid '50s). Same deal in college ROTC (late '50s - early '60s). The center bull was for sighting shots; the ones on the edges were for record.

John

 

[Bat Guano]

I actually used to be able to SEE stuff like that. Never even gave it a thought in those far-off days.

 

[11B Lifer]

Standard NRA targets

Small bore, 50foot gallery targets. The ten ring is pretty much the diameter of a .22. ISU matches used a smaller bulls eye-the ten ring is a dot- the size of a sharp pencil point. I shot up hundreds of these targets-becoming a Dist. NRA Small Bore Expert.