Reading a score card

Most precision targets work the same way: a set of rings around a centre, each worth a number of points. Your score is the total of your shots. The details, from how a line-touching shot is scored to how ties are split, come from the discipline's rules.

The rings

On smallbore and air rifle targets, the centre ring scores 10 and each ring outwards scores one point less, down to 1 in the outer ring. Target Rifle Australia describes them this way. Some targets have fewer rings: the international 25 metre rapid-fire pistol target runs from 5 to 10, and fullbore rifle targets use fewer rings with a higher-value centre, explained below.

A 60-shot match therefore has a maximum of 600 in full rings. Target Pistol Australia's grading tables list a maximum score of 600 for its main precision pistol events.

When a shot touches a line

Under international rules, a shot is scored at the highest ring its hole touches. If any part of the hole touches the edge of a higher ring, the shot gets the higher value. Officials use a gauge to settle close calls. Australia's fullbore rules say the same: a shot touching the line between two divisions scores the higher value.

The international rules make one exception: inner tens on the air rifle target are scored differently, so check the rule for that target.

Inner tens, Xs and Vs

Many targets have an extra ring at the centre to separate the best shots. Different bodies call it different things:

• “Inner ten”

  International (ISSF) rifle and pistol rules

  What it means: A 10 that also lands in the small centre ring. In full-ring events, used first to break ties.

• “X”

  Target Pistol Australia black powder, SSAA Action Match and fullbore F Class, among others

  What it means: A centre hit counted separately. Your X count is how many you shot.

• “V”

  Fullbore Target Rifle (NRAA rules)

  What it means: A hit in the small V-bull inside the 5-point bull, counted separately. For example, 48.4 means 48 points with 4 Vs. In F Class the centre is worth 6.

Fullbore score cards write the total with a decimal point between the score and the number of Vs, so 48.4 is 48 points and 4 Vs, not 48 and four tenths. In F Class the centre ring is worth 6, and in the F Classes that use it, an even smaller Super V is marked X on the card.

Decimal scores

With electronic targets, each ring can be split into ten, so a shot scores 10.0 to 10.9 rather than a flat 10. Under international rules, finals are scored in decimals, except 25 metre pistol finals, which are hit or miss. Most qualification rounds are scored in full rings, apart from some rifle events at ISSF championships.

Sighters

Before match shots, you're usually allowed sighting shots, called sighters, to check your aim. Whether they count depends on the discipline. In Australian fullbore, the standard is two convertible sighters at each distance, which a competitor can choose to count as match shots.

Breaking ties

When totals are equal, the centre ring often decides. In full-ring international events, ties are broken first by the highest number of inner tens, then by the score of the last 10-shot series, working backwards. When 10 metre air rifle or 50 metre prone is scored in decimals, decimal series scores decide instead. In fullbore, a tie means the same total and the same number of Vs or Xs. Target Pistol Australia's black powder rules use X ring counts to decide top positions, and in SSAA Action Match the winner can come down to the X-ring count.