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Reducing the Target Profile: Increasing Marksmanship Skills

NCJ Number
119189
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 37 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1989) Pages: 27-30
Author(s)
J Auten
Date Published
1989
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Experimental research conducted at the University of Illinois Police Training Institute in Champaign sought to determine whether a change in the size of the target would result in changed perceptions and thus in an improvement in the marksmanship skills of police officers.
Abstract
The usual target was approximately the upper two-thirds of a human body with three rectangular scoring rings located roughly in the center portion of the upper torso. This Center Mass totaled 119 square inches. In the experiment the normal target was modified by cutting away background materials, leaving only the silhouette's outline and the Center Mass. A group of 51 police officers used the normal targets, while 59 other officers used the target with the reduced profile. The officers fired twelve rounds each from distances of 7, 15, and 25 yards. Results showed that the use of the modified target accounted for the superior marksmanship. The only expense involved was the time necessary to cut away the extraneous paper and cardboard from the silhouette.