It eventually happens to everyone. At some point, your bullet is going to dislodge a paster as it hits a cardboard target. No, it isn’t an instant reshoot but after the RO looks at the target during scoring, it could lead to one. Let’s learn the steps and rules involved in this situation in this Question of the Month.
A paster fell off when a Single Stack major competitor shot a target. The competitor has requested a reshoot, but you need to determine if the target is scorable. Is this target scorable?
I made sure the target picture was nice and big to aid in explaining this Question of the Month. First, if you have never seen holes left by .45 caliber, semi-wadcutter then appreciate the large and cleanly cut edges of the hole in the C zone and to the left of the A letter in the center of the A zone. Compare that to the 9 mm hole to the right of the letter A. Those .45 holes are some of the easiest to score holes you will ever see, and it is no doubt that the score is Alpha, Charlie. And most of you got the answer correct and understand 9.1.4.
But what about the 206 votes that said no? Let’s review 9.1.4! Yes, rule 9.1.4 deals with unrestored targets, but this target was restored and then became unrestored when the bullet impacted it. Pro tip, when patching holes in targets, always press the entire surface of the paster or tape completely down on the target to help reduce this. Now the RO sees a target with three holes, but can it be scored?
That is where 9.1.4 comes in: Unrestored Targets – If, following completion of a course of fire by a previous competitor, one or more targets have not been properly patched or taped or if previously applied pasters have fallen off the target for the competitor being scored, the Range Officer must judge whether or not an accurate score can be determined. If there are extra scoring hits or questionable penalty hits thereon, and it is not obvious which hits were made by the competitor being scored, the affected competitor must be ordered to reshoot the course of fire. Reviewing previous score sheets is prohibited; targets must be scored as is, using the actual target as the basis for the scoring call.
I italicized the relevant section. But how can a RO determine which hits came from this competitor? In this example it’s easy. The guy was shooting .45 caliber bullets and the third hole is a 9 mm. But what if all the holes are 9 mm? It doesn’t mean an automatic reshoot. A lot of the time there will be holes with darker or lighter grease rings because rounds from different firearms leave darker or lighter burns on the target. The RO could use that. Or let’s say the previous competitor shot the target from an angle and the current competitor shot it straight on. Then the holes from the previous competitor will be oblong in shape. Or, the RO could have been watching the target and saw where the hits impacted and which hole the tape fell off of. There are ways to accurately score the target and if one of those works, great! If not, then a mandatory reshoot is required. Always try to accurately score the target first!
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