NRA A-23 50yd Rifle target
The A-23 is the card for the Conventional Prone match at its distance, the shorter half of the Dewar course and Conventional 4-Position, five shots to a bull. The NRA's 400 Club, founded at Camp Perry in 1933, honours a perfect 400 on the Dewar course with metallic sights at the National Matches or a Regional.
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Courses of fire
40 shots
| Course | Shots | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional prone2 × 20 · 20 min per series | 40 | 400 |
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”
Rimfire Rifle Qualification
NRA
Course of fire20 shots prone or benchrest; or 10 standing; or 10 each prone, standing and kneeling
| Rating | Prone or benchrest20 shots | Standing10 shots | 3-position10 shots each |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro-Marksman | 100 ×2 | 40 ×4 | 135 ×2 |
| Marksman | 150 ×2 | 55 ×6 | 150 ×2 |
| Sharpshooter | 160 ×4 | 65 ×12 | 215 ×3 |
| Expert | 180 ×6 | 80 ×14 | 255 ×4 |
| Distinguished Expert | 191 ×10 | 91 ×10 | 275 ×5 |
| Distinguished ExpertAt Rimfire Rifle NRA Postal matches | 191 ×4 | 91 ×4 | 275 ×2 |
- Points over the course — of 200, of 100, and of 300 for 10 shots each prone, standing and kneeling; ×4 is four times.
- Any one of the three courses earns the ratings.
- Any .22 or .17 HMR rimfire rifle and any sights, scopes included; for standing and 3-position the rifle weighs 12 lb or less, without Schuetzen butt plate or palm rest.
- Body or gun support is allowed at Pro-Marksman.
- Two shots a bull on the A-32 at 50 feet, five on the A-23/5 or A-31X at 50 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. 18–19
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
Smallbore Rifle Prone Qualification
NRA
Course of fireProne, one card: one shot a bull at 50 ft, or 20 shots at 50 to 200 yd; or the Dewar, 20 at 50 yd and 20 at 100 yd
| Rating | Distance | Target | Points | Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro-Marksman | 50 ft | NRA-USAS 50 | 40 | 10 |
| Marksman | 50 ft | NRA-USAS 50 | 55 | 10 |
| Sharpshooter | 50 ft | NRA-USAS 50 | 70 | 10 |
| Sharpshooter | 50 yd | A-23 | 140 | 5 |
| Sharpshooter | 50 yd | A-23 | 180 | 5 |
| Sharpshooter | 50 yd | A-27 | 165 | 5 |
| Sharpshooter | 100 yd | A-27 | 175 | 5 |
| Sharpshooter | 100 yd | A-25 | 170 | 5 |
| Sharpshooter | 200 yd | A-25 | 180 | 5 |
| SharpshooterDewar course | 50 and 100 yd | A-23, A-25 | 370 | 5 |
| ExpertDewar course | 50 and 100 yd | A-23, A-25 | 376 | 5 |
| Distinguished Expert40-shot aggregate | – | – | 385 | 10 |
| Distinguished ExpertIn Dewar competition, iron sights only | 50 and 100 yd | A-23, A-25 | 385 | 2 |
- Points on one card: of 100 for the NRA-USAS 50 at 50 feet (one shot a bull), of 200 for 20 shots on the A-23 or A-27 (five a bull) or the A-25 (ten a bull).
- The Dewar course is 20 shots at 50 yards on the A-23 and 20 at 100 yards on the A-25, of 400 — the course of the NRA National Smallbore Championships.
- Times is how many such scores.
- Any .22 rimfire rifle with iron sights, fired prone.
- 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
How it is shot
Prone course · Dewar course · Position course · Time · Perfect scores · X ring · Ties
- Prone course
- The 50 yd Conventional Prone match is 40 shots, or 20 in its short form; a 20-shot stage is a five-shot string on each of four bulls, and targets are customarily changed after each 20 shots, with the same time for both halves.NRA rules 7.1, 7.2 and 7.2.1; glossary
- Dewar course
- The Dewar course, named after the International Dewar Team Match, is 20 shots prone on this card and 20 on the A-25 at 100 yd. The international match uses metallic sights; domestic matches are also fired with telescopic sights.NRA rule 17.5(a)(1); glossary
- Position course
- For Conventional Position it takes 10, 20 or 40 shots in each of prone, sitting, kneeling and standing, five to a bull; leaving out sitting makes a Conventional 3-Position course.NRA rule 7.3
- Time
- Time is one minute per record shot prone and 1½ minutes sitting, kneeling and standing, set for each stage rather than checked shot by shot, with at least five more minutes for each change of position.NRA rules 8.1 and 8.2(b)
- Perfect scores
- A perfect score in an individual match, every shot an X, lets the shooter keep firing under the same conditions until a shot leaves the X ring, to break ties and set national records; for records, a two-range event continues at the longer range.NRA rule 9.7
- X ring
- Any hole touching the outside edge of the X ring counts as an X. X's break ties first, rank scores and set national records in outdoor conventional prone and position shooting.NRA rules 14.3(c) and 15.7
- Ties
- Prone ties still level on X's go to the last stage, then bull by bull from the last (a Dewar first to the 100 yd score); failing that, X's of higher value, holes clear of the X ring's edge, are counted and the steps repeated.NRA rules 14.3(e) and 15.7.1(a)
Dimensions
6 rings · 149.6 mm
5.6 mm scoring gauge (.22)
| Ring | Colour | Diameter | Centre within |
|---|---|---|---|
| X ring | Black | 9.906 mm0.39 in | 7.75 mm |
| 10 | Black | 22.606 mm0.89 in | 14.1 mm |
| 9 | Black | 48.006 mm1.9 in | 26.8 mm |
| 8 | Black | 73.406 mm2.9 in | 39.5 mm |
| 7 | Black | 98.806 mm3.9 in | 52.2 mm |
| 6 | White | 124.206 mm4.9 in | 64.9 mm |
| 5 | White | 149.606 mm5.9 in | 77.6 mm |
The card
- Card
- The card is printed with three, five or six bulls (A-23/3, A-23/5, A-23/6) and is for Conventional 4-Position and the 50 yd stage of Conventional Prone only.NRA rule 4.6
Source: NRA Smallbore Rifle Rules, Revised February 2026, rule 4.6. Sizes are nominal. Dimensions checked ; page updated .
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