Why is it called a V bull?

[Watcher]

My lad is getting a bit more serious about his shooting and so I've been running through scoring and the score card. We've just got to the bit about the V bull. I've explained that the V bull was created to distinguish between the very good shots who would be expected to get 5's all the time. Question is why didn't they just make it a 6? Why go through this rather odd decimal system? I've never really worried about it until now; when I have to explain it to someone else?

[andrewh]

The V bull is there to help split ties. V being 5 in roman numerals. So a 50 (with any number of V bulls) always beats a 49, even if it is with 9 V bulls.

Hope that helps!

[ovenpaa]

Ah... so that is why it is called the 'X' Ring in the USA, because they score up to 10..

[andrewh]

Most NSRA smallbore targets (all?) have an X ring on them, but this is seldom used.

The V bull seems to have been in and out of favor over the years. The very first time I shot the target had one on (this was at a small range and may have been an oldish target face), but by the next year when I was shooting more there was no V bull. It reappeared some time in the 1980's after some really silly tie shoots (getting dark etc.). I once had to get a lift in one of the range landrovers to get from a tie shoot to my next shoot at long range!

[Watcher]

Thanks guys, I understand that its to break ties but why not just add a smaller ring and call it the 'six' ring? Then a top class shot would get 60 instead of 50.10? It just seem unnecessary convoluted. :?

[andrewh]

Or just make the 5 smaller, which is what tends to happen over time. I think it because it is thought that people like getting the odd 50, even if they can't do it all the time. With some lots of TR ammo (RG mainly) getting all V's is a bit of a lottery.

[Tower75]

Wait... you guys shoot for score?

You can score yourself on the targets? :? :lol:

I've only ever known them as;

Outer
Magpie
Inner
Bull
V-Bull

No wonder I couldn't figure out those Bisley scoring cards.

I really need to learn this stuff.

[ovenpaa]

I've only ever known them as;

Outer
Magpie
Inner
Bull
V-Bull

Outer = 2
Magpie = 3
Inner = 4
Bull = 5
V-Bull

[Chapuis]

Gallery rifle still uses the old system of scoring we used with pistol, so the innermost scoring ring is refered to as the X ring.

[Griff]

I guess that it is more of a traditional thing.

A bull scores 5, multiply by 10 shots = 50 this is a very nice rounded figure.

F Class shooting has improved to the point where there is a central spot within the conventional V Bull and that is now scored as 6, the V-Bull is 5 and the TR Bull is 4.

As equipment and manufacture has improved tolerances the V Bull came in to split ties of 50's. In recent years the Palma Long Range target was scored as X, 10, 9, 8 and so on and was a metric target with proportional sized scoring rings, similar to smallbore. I am all for this move to metric targets but even though I would like to score HPS's all the time I would also like the challenge of getting to that possible and get penalised for a wind call that wasn't as accurate as I could have done with out 'getting away' wit a Bull, not a V Bull.

However, pressure from some unknown areas has meant that Palma targets have reverted to V, 5, 4, 3 etc. A very bad move IMHO

I am so glad nobody has scored perfectly in the Grand Agg during the TR Imperial, when it has been achieved there MUST be a change in the targets / scoring rings. Glyn Barnnett has been the closest so far in recent times dropping only 3 points out of 650?