![]() A standard 24-inch by 35-inch cardboard backer will easily accept six B8s. From a logistical standpoint, if you’re limited to one target lane, the ability to place multiple B8s on one backer becomes invaluable. There is also the very real threat of facing multiple attackers, so the need for multiple target transitions is also necessary. In real life, you might need to move your aiming point from the torso to the head, or even lower to the pelvic girdle to stop an advancing threat. Even with modern hollow-point ammunition, handguns often struggle to stop threats decisively. Whether working on the vertical or horizontal plane, target transitions are an important part of any handgun regimen. The size of the B8 also lends itself to target transition drills. It’s outside the scope of this article to discuss the need to strike a balance between speed and accuracy, but wherever you are on the spectrum, the B8 can serve you well. Then there is an emphasis on accuracy development as shooters realize that they’re missing shots they used to make. It seems to me that handgun training goes through cycles there will be a great hue and cry for speed work, and then a backlash for it the next year. The 5½-inch bullseye is generous enough to allow for fast work up close and small enough to allow for challenging accuracy work out to 25 yards. If your training regimen allows for hits outside of the effective area for incapacitating a threat, you’re doing yourself a disservice and you may not perform as well as you’d like in a critical situation. If all the training advancements of the last 20 years have reinforced anything, it’s that only good hits count. With that history out of the way, let’s consider why the B8 is now being widely used and replicated: It’s useful! With a black center measuring 5½ inches in diameter, the B8 provides an excellent approximation of the target size of the human heart and could represent the effective target area on a human head. Larry Vickers (above), Bill Blowers and Dan Brokos are among the growing list of instructors who rely on B8 targets to teach speed and accuracy with a handgun. Marine, I did shoot on the NRA B6 while qualifying in the entry-level pistol program, however, on the rare occasion that we trained with our pistols, E-type silhouette targets were more often the target used. ![]() ![]() For the first 10 years of my law enforcement career - as a student and an instructor - most of my training involved a silhouette target. ![]() Army 1st SOFD-Delta veteran Larry Vickers. In fact, I hadn’t even used one during training until 2008 when I took a pistol course taught by retired U.S. Within metropolitan police departments, the B8 wasn’t commonly seen until about 18 years ago. As the Global War on Terror increased the tempo of train-ups and deployments, the use of B8 targets increased exponentially.īlowers’ experience is somewhat like my own. Army Special Forces SGM Dan Brokos of Lead Faucet Tactical.īrokos indicated that Special Forces had been using B8 targets through the 1990s. Given current firearms and training, why is a target from a sport 50 years removed from its heyday enjoying a revival? I contacted two respected instructors for their input: Retired SWAT officer and veteran Bill Blowers of Tap-Rack Tactical and retired U.S. While the NRA Precision Pistol matches are still well-attended events, other forms of pistol competition such as IPSC, Steel Challenge and USPSA appear to be more popular today. However, the modern format and targets date to 1941. ![]() There were sanctioned NRA bullseye matches before that - going back to 1871 when the NRA was founded - and the first NRA rifle matches were held at Creedmoor, Long Island in New York. What I do know is that NRA bullseye matches, known as “NRA Precision Pistol” matches since 2010, have existed in their current three-pistol, 2,700-point format since 1941. There is plenty of anecdotal history, but no specific history is easy to find in known books, and I found nothing digitized. While researching the history of bullseye competition, I was surprised at the lack of documentation regarding these targets. There’s also an 8-ring, which brings the entire center target size to 8 inches in diameter. (The “B6” target is used for slow fire.) The B8 consists of a black bullseye with a 1.695-inch X-ring, a 3.36-inch 10-ring, and the 9-ring, which grows the black to 5.54 inches across. Designed for NRA-sanctioned bullseye events, the “B8” is the official target for timed- and rapid-fire stages. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |