5V targets

[polska]

I recently came into possession of 2 to 300 of the old 5V targets.These are the full target faces measuring about 3' X 5'.I was thinking of havivg a Vintage match with them and was wondering if anyone knew the cource of fire with these targets also time period that they were used and which rifles they were designed for?

Information

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[Dollar Bill]

I believe the 5V was used for slow fire @500 yds back in the day when the issue rifle was M1 or 1903s. We used them once in basic training. It was a practice round where you got 20 rounds each @ 200, 300, 400 and 500 yds with a M16A1. Scored 78 hits. Of course, the qualification was held with the current pop-up target from 100-300yds. There are clubs still using the 5V for vintage matches. But as no one has the eye sight we had back then, the range is normally 200 yds.

[JimF in CT]

I believe it was 1967 that the 5V was replaced by the "10-ring" target.

The "American Rifleman" stated something like, "As the shooters and equipment got better, the target had to get tougher."

I must concur . . . . getting an "expert" score on the 5V is pretty easy to do. --Jim

[snell]

Yikes, I'm gonna date myself now

when I was in the Corp we qualified on the 5V targets using the M-14. This was 1963-1966. these targets were also used for the M1 Garand in the years prior to my enlistment.
we fired:
10 shots slow fire at 200 standing
10 shots rapid fire at 200 sitting
5 shots slow fire at 300 sitting
5 shots slow fire at 300 kneeling
10 shots rapid fire at 300 prone
10 shots slow fire at 500 prone

all 200/300 slow fire was done on the targets with the 10" black. Slow fire at 500 yards was on the target with the 20" black. I can't remember which was the "able" and which was the "baker".
All rapid fire was done on the "dog" target (silhouette) with a 26" X 19" black.

If your targets measure 6' high by 4' wide, with a 10" black, 26" 4 ring and a 46" wide 3 ring you have the 200/300 yard target.

Possible score of 250, minumum qualification score (marksman) 190. The target dimensions came from my boot camp data book as did the range and slow fire/ rapid fire stages. The actual number of rounds fired per position came from my memory and I'm pretty sure they are accurate as well.
Best of luck

Art

[Bob S]

The 10" bull Able target dates from WW II. None that I ever saw had a V ring. I have no doubt that these were still in use on military ranges through the 1960's.

After WW II, the bull was increased to 12" and the 6" V ring was added. From the 1954 Rule Book:



In 1960, the V ring was made smaller. From the 1961 Rule Book:



In the Navy, we fired the same course with the M1 that Art relates, but everything was fired on a round bull, and the whole course could be fired at 200 yards on the Able target if a longer range was not available.

The post-war National Match Course was exactly the same as what we fire today, except you loaded and locked while standing for rapid fire, and you had to reload from a cartridge belt or the pocket in your shooting coat. The regular ten-pocket cartridge belt was a part of every rifleman's kit. Time limits were the same except that when only service rifles were on the line, time for sitting was 50 seconds and for prone was 60 seconds. The M1903 was no longer considered the Service Rifle when the National Matches were resumed in 1954; only the M1 Rifle was allowed in the Service Rifle Category. When Match Rifles only were on the line, or if the relay was mixed, the now-familiar time limits of 60 and 70 seconds applied. All rapid fire was done on round targets. This was "the way it was" when I started in 1965.


In 1940 and prior, the short rapid fire times applied whether you shot a Service Rifle or Match Rifle. They were all bolt guns then, and rapid fires were shot on silhouette targets. There was also a 500 yard rapid fire stage on the Easy target.

Resp'y,
Bob S.

P.S. you can still purchase new "Able" repair centers from the Pistoleer site. They are listed with the smallbore targets. Go figure ....

P.P.S. The ten-shot averages for NRA classification were: Master, 46.0 and above; Expert, 43.0 to 45.99; Sharpshooter, 40.0 to 42.99; Marksman, below 40.0