Bullseye (shooting competition)
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Bullseye, also known as Conventional Pistol, is a sport in which participants shoot handguns at paper targets at fixed distances and time limits. The National Rifle Association establishes the rules and keeps the records for this sport. Emphasis is on accuracy and precision.
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, .22 caliber, center fire of .32 caliber or larger, and a .45 caliber handgun. Note that the .45 qualifies as a center fire so many shooters just use two guns, a .22 and a .45.
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.
Outdoor competitions are typically fired at 50 yards (slow fire) and 25 yards (Timed & Rapid Fire). A "short course" will shoot only at 25 yards and use 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 sized targets.
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.
[edit] See also
- Shooting sports
- International Defensive Pistol Association
- International Practical Shooting Confederation
