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V Target Question

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Enfield58

45 Cal.
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I'm really curious about the target depicted below. I've seen pictures of it a long time ago in some muzzle loading articles but don't know the history behind it and why this target was chosen to use for competition. I cannot find anything on the glorious thing we call the internet.

I was thinking about using it for sighting in a flintlock rifle I have with a brass front sight. I'm having problems with the sight on my rifle blending in with the white paper and getting it centered under the black bull.

I was thinking about printing some of these to use for sighting the rifle in by placing the front sight underneath the white "V" so that the black contrasts with the brass blade.

I decided to buy some 1/4 silhouette targets instead, with a bright orange stick-on spot in the middle so the brass blade is visible against the black.

Nevertheless, can anyone provide any history behind this type of target?
MuzzleLoading Target V.jpg


Here's a video of Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen from the Disney "Davey Crockett" television series.

 
Yea it was cool that Fess Parker played both Davey Crocket and later Daniel Boone. Those were the good old days for muzzle loader movies as well as Jerimiah Jonson. What we need now is for hollywood to make a movie where the mountain man shoots his ramrod to kill the vampire, and uses his powder horn as a bomb to blow up the zombies. Then we can get the youth of today to start shooting black powder and going the rendezvous
 
Many decades ago, there was a mini series called Centenial. It was about a western city, probably in one of the northern Rocky Mountain states, and how it progressed from wilderness and trappers to a modern city. It had a couple episodes on the trappers and mountain men. I think that Hollywood really tried to replicate how these men really lived. In one episode it portrayed a rendezvous that appeared very HC.
 
Yea it was cool that Fess Parker played both Davey Crocket and later Daniel Boone. Those were the good old days for muzzle loader movies as well as Jerimiah Jonson. What we need now is for hollywood to make a movie where the mountain man shoots his ramrod to kill the vampire, and uses his powder horn as a bomb to blow up the zombies. Then we can get the youth of today to start shooting black powder and going the rendezvous

Great idea but what we really need is to take young people out to shoot real guns. Make it a family event. Reactive targets and friendly competition make it more enjoyable.
 
Having a few moments of spare time and enjoying my morning coffee, I decided to play with some different color schemes of the V target. Attached is a PDF file with the following targets. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can improve this target (other than making it round) please feel free to help me out.

MuzzleLoading Target V Black.jpg
MuzzleLoading Target V White.jpg
MuzzleLoading Target V Green.jpg
MuzzleLoading Target V Green Inverse.jpg
MuzzleLoading Target V Red.jpg
MuzzleLoading Target V Red Inverse.jpg
 

Attachments

  • MuzzleLoading Target V Pack.pdf
    7.5 KB · Views: 87
Having a few moments of spare time and enjoying my morning coffee, I decided to play with some different color schemes of the V target. Attached is a PDF file with the following targets. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can improve this target (other than making it round) please feel free to help me out.

View attachment 21271 View attachment 21272 View attachment 21273 View attachment 21274 View attachment 21275 View attachment 21276
Well, I too am sipping on my morning coffee trying to get my vision to focus?

The reds, greens, and black samples configured every which way is making me think I’m having a bad trip on LSD or at the DMV taking one of those eye tests?

To much bling! LOL.

Respectfully, Cowboy
 
I hit have seen a similar Vee target with the white triangle marked with scoring levels. The challenge was to place the ball as deep in the vee as possible without having any part of the hit in the black. A hit that crossed into the black was zero. Terry (@Adui) are you listening?
 
Well, I too am sipping on my morning coffee trying to get my vision to focus?

The reds, greens, and black samples configured every which way is making me think I’m having a bad trip on LSD or at the DMV taking one of those eye tests?

To much bling! LOL.

Respectfully, Cowboy

Now that you gave me an idea, I've produced a set of targets for the more experimentally minded. I had to stop when I started hearing zithers playing in the background.

MuzzleLoading Target V Psych 1.jpg
MuzzleLoading Target V Psych 2.jpg
MuzzleLoading Target V Psych 3.jpg
MuzzleLoading Target V Psych 4.jpg
MuzzleLoading Target V Psych Inverse 1.jpg
MuzzleLoading Target V Psych Inverse 2.jpg
MuzzleLoading Target V Psych Inverse 3.jpg
MuzzleLoading Target V Psych Inverse 4.jpg
 

Attachments

  • MuzzleLoading Target V Psych Pack.pdf
    2.5 MB · Views: 70
I hit have seen a similar Vee target with the white triangle marked with scoring levels. The challenge was to place the ball as deep in the vee as possible without having any part of the hit in the black. A hit that crossed into the black was zero. Terry (@Adui) are you listening?

I'm trying to use my high school geometry to figure this question out. What would be better to use; a large or small caliber ball? Would you measure it from the edge or the center of the bullet hole?

If you measured from the center of the hole, then wouldn't it be easier for the shooter with the smaller caliber ball to win the competition?

If you measured it from the edge of the hole, then wouldn't it be easier for the shooter with the larger caliber ball to win?
 
Theory would tell you that the smaller diameter ball would be less likely to cut into the black. In practice, it doesn't seem to matter, especially when shooting offhand.

Let's say two people were shooting two different rifles. One is a .36 caliber rifle and the other is a .54 caliber variety. That means there is a difference of .18 inches in ball diameter.

The .36 caliber shooter lands their ball right in the bottom of the "v" without touching it. When measured from the center of the hole the distance is .19 inches.

If the .54 caliber shooter was to land their ball at exactly the same distance of the smaller bore rifle then the bullet hole would cut into the "v." The radius of the larger ball is .265" as opposed to .175 inches. So if the center of the larger ball was .19 inches from the "v" then there would be about .075 inches cutting into the line of the "V."

Using a rule of measuring from the edge of the hole, let's say both balls land at .3 inches (center of hole) from the "V." That would mean that the larger ball wins because, even though the center of the holes was the same distance, the edge of the larger bullet is closer to the line of the "V."

Maybe this is the reason, we don't see much of this target anymore.
 
Now that you gave me an idea, I've produced a set of targets for the more experimentally minded. I had to stop when I started hearing zithers playing in the background.

View attachment 21278 View attachment 21279 View attachment 21280 View attachment 21281 View attachment 21282 View attachment 21283 View attachment 21284 View attachment 21285

o_O:confused:
You don't by chance live in a '63 VW camper with peace signs, Grateful Dead stickers and a mandala hanging from the rear view mirror do you? :D
 
I hit have seen a similar Vee target with the white triangle marked with scoring levels. The challenge was to place the ball as deep in the vee as possible without having any part of the hit in the black. A hit that crossed into the black was zero. Terry (@Adui) are you listening?

I've run a version of this exact target, except the V was inverted in mine ;)
 

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