NOVELTY SMALL-BORE SHOOTING TARGETS

and S.M.R.C. Civilian Training Targets

Today's PC climate no longer encourages targeting the human form other than for military training, although caricature TARGETS depicting such as the Ayatollah and the Iraqi President have been seen in recent years.

War has always seen such considerations as superfluous, as indicated by the large numbers produced in such times.

and below are other, more frivolous, examples

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MORE NOVELTY & STANDARD BRITISH TARGETS

below follow a series of early novelty TARGETS printed by the National Small-Bore Rifle Association in the years after the 1939 - 1945 War

This Rifle Association was formerly the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs ( the change was in November 1947).

Below these follow the earlier ( pre- 1947) standard TARGETS

The SMRC printed many TARGETS for civilian use - mostly in military style

to encourage shooters of the day to prepare themselves for the possibility of military service.

The NSRA TARGETS (shown first) are all post 1947 and the SMRC TARGETS prior to that date.

The images should be of high enough resolution to enable the text to be legible - thus further notations are seldom required

Nowadays, the above target would not be considered "Cricket" in civilian circles.

But the target below certainly is!

The above target was originated by Mr. Rickarby in 1906

and still available here in 1916 from the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs by which time it was unsurprisingly necessary to reiterate the rules!

The rules were yet again published in the September 1919 "Rifleman" S.M.R.C. journal.

For those who would like to try it, the following is the definitive procedure copied from that edition for use with the 1906 version of the target previously illustrated. The diameter dimension of the target's outer circle, for use at 25 yards, is 3¾ inches.

THE "RIFLE" CRICKET target.
R IFLE Clubs desirous of a change in the way of competitions would do well to try some "Rifle Cricket" matches, using the target we reproduce below.

RICKARBY'S RIFLE CRICKET target
{Registered Stationers' Hall}

The divisions on the target represent runs and penalties, and it would be as well to explain here that the penalties are as follows :-B., bowled ; C., caught ; S., stumped ; L.B.W., leg before wicket ; R.O., run out ; H.W., hit wicket. There are runs 1, 2 and 3 outside the black, a hit on the black counting 4 runs and a white centre scoring 6. A" bye " or a" wide " would count one to the opposing team when a match is fired.
If a club consists mostly of beginners, edge-hitting is to be recommended, but for clubs that have been in existence some time centre scoring should determine the value of the shot-hole.
To play a match at Rifle Cricket two teams should be arranged, and after placing a number of cricket TARGETS at the 20 or 25 yards' distance, two men on the same side should be sent, viz., take up their positions for firing. The captains of each team should spot with their telescopes and record the value of each shot fired, bearing in mind that each shooter fires shot for shot. The captains' register should read :

Jones ~ 4-4-3-3-2-4 ~ caught. Total, 20.

5mith ~ 4-4-3-4-6-4.

Jones, at his seventh shot, placed a bullet in the penalty division C. and retires, the next man (Brown) taking his place, and the two shooters carry on as before.
When the first team completes its shoot or innings the opposing team goes in and endeavours to beat its rivals.
If desired, one man of each team may go in shoulder to shoulder.
No more than 10 shots should be allowed at any one target, and it is advisable for the captains to arrange that if in a few shots the target is so disfigured as to make the recording of the score difficult, a new target be substituted.

Try a match of this description in your club, and you will be more than satisfied ; but don't forget you may get out first shot or you may be well set and keep in for 50 or more shots. You will find that you won't be able to afford to throw away anything, as if you miss the black, there is likely to be trouble in store for you. In the use of this target there is no possible, and if the other fellow puts up a big shoot you have an equal chance of beating him and setting up a fresh record.
In edge-cutting you must remember that the shot-hole must be clear of any line, and if the firer places a shot in a penalty division he is out, and must give way to the next man. If the shot-hole cuts two or more divisions the competitor counts the highest value of the shot.
When scoring by the centre of the shot-hole a competitor is out if the shot is more than half in the penalty division, and if the shot-hole cuts two or more divisions, the position of the largest part of the shot-hole decides the value of the hit. To score a 6 in the centre of the bull edge touching should always be the rule.
Individual competitions may also be arranged with this target, or a limit of 10 shots per man only may be made, the competitor to cease fire if he comes out before he has shot his 10 rounds.
The target is a good one to make a man careful, and beats that feeling which comes over every shooter at some time or another when he says to himself after he has been holding on too long, " Oh, let it go !"

Similar TARGETS for games of shooting "Cricket" have been in use for many years.

Below is a series of novelty TARGETS published Post-War by the National Small-bore Rifle Association of Great Britain, which was formed from the S.M.R.C. in 1947.. These were intended to add another element to the more familiar symmetrical standard TARGETS and, in some cases, an element of luck to perhaps permit the less accurate shots in a club to enjoy the occasional triumph over their higher flying colleagues. Such TARGETS could be a great leveller at Christmas time when club shooting can become, for a few days at least, rather more light -hearted!

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We now illustrate some of the S.M.R.C military style training TARGETS

The above target is more or less self explanatory, being shot at a ten yard range representative of 600 yards

Above on the left is the "Gill" target to represent 400 yds range at 25 yds.

Above to the right is the LDV (Local Defence Volunteers) wartime target.

Below is the rapid shooting "Timed Limit" card.

Ten rounds were shot - usually in ninety seconds - two shots per aiming mark