NRA A-17 50ft Rifle target
The A-17 is the NRA's card for indoor Conventional 4-Position smallbore: prone, sitting, kneeling and standing, one shot on each of its ten record bulls. With no X ring, ties go to centre shots, and between perfect centre-shot scores to holes that obliterate the ten ring. A perfect 800 in a registered indoor four-position aggregate earns a place in the NRA's 800 Club.
Shot one? Score it from a photo
Courses of fire
40, 30 or 20 shots
| Course | Shots | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| 4-position gallery4 × 10 · 10 min / 15 min per series | 40 | 400 |
| 3-position gallery3 × 10 · 10 min / 15 min per series | 30 | 300 |
| Gallery prone2 × 10 | 20 | 200 |
Badges
United States · NRA
NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program
The NRA dates the programme to 1903 and measures shooters against par scores in 23 qualifications, from BB gun to shotgun and multi-gun. Awards are ordered from the NRA’s Program Materials Center: the discipline’s patch at the start, then a rocker, medal, pin and certificate for each rating. NRA members who reach Distinguished Expert get its packet free, and those who earn it in 2 or 3 of rifle, pistol and shotgun become Double or Triple Distinguished.
Ratings are earned in order, from Pro-Marksman up, at the shooter’s own pace; a score counts only toward the rating being worked on and cannot be held for a higher one, and the repetitions need not be fired in a row or in one session. Distinguished Expert firing is witnessed by an NRA member, instructor or coach, unless it is shot in competition.
NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program guide book, 11th ed. (January 2021), pp. 1–3 and 53–54; NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program, “Courses of Fire” and “FAQs”
4-Position Rifle Qualification
NRA
Course of fireStage course, 5 shots on each of 10 bulls; aggregate, 10 shots each prone, sitting, kneeling and standing
Stage Skill Course: every bull at least the minimum
| Rating | Shots a bull | Bulls | Minimum a bull |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro-MarksmanAny position | 5 | 10 | 20 |
| MarksmanAny position | 5 | 10 | 30 |
| SharpshooterAny position | 5 | 10 | 35 |
| SharpshooterProne and sitting | 5 | 10 each position | 40 |
| SharpshooterKneeling | 5 | 10 | 40 |
| SharpshooterStanding | 5 | 10 | 35 |
| ExpertStanding | 5 | 10 | 40 |
| Distinguished Expert: 10 strings of five bulls in each position | |||
| Prone | 2 | 10 strings | 18 |
| Sitting | 2 | 10 strings | 18 |
| Kneeling | 2 | 10 strings | 16 |
| Standing | 2 | 10 strings | 16 |
Aggregate Course: 10 shots in each position
| Rating | Pointsof 400 | Times |
|---|---|---|
| Pro-Marksman | 184 | 2 |
| Marksman | 240 | 2 |
| Sharpshooter | 270 | 2 |
| Expert | 316 | 2 |
| Distinguished Expert | 356 | 2 |
- Stage course: the points on each bull, every bull at least the minimum, ten bulls a rating, not necessarily in one session.
- A Distinguished Expert string is fired as one unit and refired whole if a bull falls short; 372 of 400 at two NRA sanctioned 4-position competitions also earns the rating.
- Aggregate course: points over 40 shots.
- Up to Sharpshooter any position counts: prone, sitting, kneeling, standing or benchrest.
- Any .22 rimfire or .17 HMR rifle without a telescope, on the A-17 or TQ-1 at 50 feet or the A-23 at 50 yards; BB guns shoot the same courses on the AR-4.
- Open to everyone, NRA members or not; practice, league and match scores all count.
NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program guide book, 11th ed. (January 2021), pp. 20–21
Smallbore Rifle 3-Position Qualification
NRA
Course of fire10, 20 or 40 shots each prone, standing and kneeling; up to Sharpshooter also a 5-shot bull or a 10-shot card
Aggregate Course: 10 shots in each position
| Rating | Pointsof 300 | Times |
|---|---|---|
| Pro-Marksman | 120 | 2 |
| Marksman | 170 | 4 |
| Sharpshooter | 220 | 6 |
| Expert | 250 | 8 |
| Distinguished Expert | 273 | 10 |
| Distinguished ExpertAt a 3-Position NRA Postal | 273 | 4 |
Stage Skill Course
| Rating | Shots | Points | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro-MarksmanProne | 5 on a bull | 20 | 10 |
| MarksmanProne | 5 on a bull | 25 | 10 |
| SharpshooterKneeling | 5 on a bull | 15 | 10 |
| SharpshooterProne | 10, one a bull | 75 | 3 |
| SharpshooterStanding | 10, one a bull | 40 | 3 |
| SharpshooterKneeling | 10, one a bull | 50 | 3 |
Stage Skill Course: Expert and Distinguished Expert aggregates
| Rating | 30 shots | 60 shots | 120 shots | Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ExpertLine 1 | 230 | 460 | – | 1 |
| ExpertLine 2 | 240 | 248 | – | 1 |
| ExpertLine 3 | 250 | 500 | – | 1 |
| Distinguished Expert | – | 540 | 1080 | 10 |
- Aggregates: points over 10, 20 or 40 shots in each of prone, standing and kneeling.
- Stage course up to Sharpshooter: points on one 5-shot bull (of 50) or on a 10-shot card, one shot a bull (of 100).
- Times is how many such scores.
- Expert’s three stage lines are printed one time each, the second as "248/600" (as printed).
- Distinguished Expert also counts with a 60- or 120-shot aggregate four times at 3-position NRA Postal matches.
- Any .22 rimfire rifle with iron sights; the A-17 or NRA-USAS 50 at 50 feet, the A-23 at 50 yards, the A-25 at 100 yards.
- Open to everyone, NRA members or not; practice, league and match scores all count.
NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program guide book, 11th ed. (January 2021), pp. 24–25
NRA Honorary Clubs
NRA smallbore rifle has the 400, 570, 800, 1600 and 3200 Clubs, high power rifle the 448, 495, 792 and 990 Clubs, and precision pistol the 2600, 2650 and 2670 Clubs. The 400 Club was organised at Camp Perry in 1933 with 12 charter members, for 400 over the Dewar course with metallic sights at the National Matches; since 1951 it has also taken such scores from the Smallbore Rifle Regionals.
Membership for equalling or surpassing the club’s score in an NRA sanctioned tournament, at competitions only; the competitor or the tournament sponsor sends NRA the score with a copy of the official bulletin, and a memento is awarded.
NRA Smallbore Rifle Rules (February 2026), NRA Honorary Clubs, p. 77; NRA High Power Rifle Rules (January 2026), NRA Honorary Clubs, pp. 83–84; NRA Precision Pistol Rules (February 2026), NRA Honorary Clubs, p. 63
The 800 Club
NRA
Course of fireProne, sitting, kneeling and standing matches, one indoor aggregate, at 50 or 75 ft
| Course | Scoreof 800 |
|---|---|
| Prone, sitting, kneeling and standingIndoor aggregate | 800 |
- A possible score, 800 of 800 (printed "800x800"), over individually fired prone, sitting, kneeling and standing matches in NRA indoor smallbore rifle registered competition, as the tournament program sets them out in one aggregate; open to any individual, at competitions only.
- Indoor conventional position matches are fired on the A-17 at 50 feet or the A-7 at 75 feet (Rule 7.3).
NRA Smallbore Rifle Rules (revised February 2026), NRA Honorary Clubs, p. 77, and Rule 7.3, p. 17
How it is shot
Target height · Course · Time · Sighters · Perfect scores · Centre shots · Ties at maximum
- Target height
- Suggested heights for an indoor multi-bull card, measured to the centre of the bottom bulls, are about 14 in prone, 26 in sitting and kneeling, and up to 55 in standing.NRA rule 6.8
- Course
- The course is 10, 20 or 40 shots in each of prone, sitting, kneeling and standing, one shot to a bull; Junior Sectionals fire 10 a position, open Sectionals 20. Leaving out sitting makes it a Conventional 3-Position course.NRA rule 7.3
- Time
- Time is set for each stage, not checked shot by shot: one minute per record shot prone, sitting and kneeling, 1½ minutes standing, and at least five more minutes for each change of position.NRA rules 8.1 and 8.2(a)
- Sighters
- Sighters may be fired at any time after COMMENCE FIRING unless the program forbids it. A first sighter wholly outside the sighting bull's guard ring is reported to the range officer before a second shot on the card; later misplaced sighters score as record shots.NRA rules 9.2 and 9.2.1(a)
- Perfect scores
- A perfect score in an individual match, every shot a ten here, lets the shooter keep firing under the same conditions until a shot leaves the ten, to break ties and set national records; for records, a multi-position event continues standing.NRA rule 9.7
- Centre shots
- Ties go first to centre shots: holes that, under a .22 plug gauge, touch the ten ring without touching the outside edge of the nine ring.NRA rules 14.3(f)(1) and 15.7.2
- Ties at maximum
- Only ties between maximum centre-shot scores (200-20) go on to centre shots of higher value: holes that, under a .22 plug gauge, obliterate the ten ring. These are not used for national records.NRA rules 14.3(g) and 15.7.2(a)(4)
Dimensions
6 rings · 46.2 mm
5.6 mm scoring gauge (.22)
| Ring | Colour | Diameter | Centre within |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Black | 3.81 mm0.15 in | 4.71 mm |
| 9 | Black | 12.268 mm0.48 in | 8.93 mm |
| 8 | Black | 20.752 mm0.82 in | 13.18 mm |
| 7 | Black | 29.21 mm1.2 in | 17.41 mm |
| 6 | Black | 37.668 mm1.5 in | 21.63 mm |
| 5 | White | 46.152 mm1.8 in | 25.88 mm |
The card
- Card
- The card has eleven bulls, ten for record and one for sighting, and may be used only in Conventional 4-Position competition.NRA rule 4.2
Source: NRA Smallbore Rifle Rules, Revised February 2026, rule 4.2. Sizes are nominal. Dimensions checked ; page updated .
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