The target also seems to have the pistol pointed away from you, he also looks alittle too happy to be in the middle of a violent encounter. 
Last Sat. I took my CHL renewal class the instructor said that TX had changed the target we used last I took the course the one below to the B27 because in Tx LE shootings statistics tended to show that the officers tended to shoot high so aiming at the b27 COM would actually cause hits at the upper thoracic area.
“I would think it would be closer to the line separating the 8 and 9, even with the armpits.”
The preferred mid-line torso incapacitation area is about from the sternal notch to the armpit; as long as you place your target zone in that area, I am not going to quibble too much if it is up or down an inch or two either way–just keep it off the stomach…
Got it. Thanks.
While we’re on the subject, I’d like to hear thoughts on training target types. It seems to me that there is a spectrum from a bullseye at one end to photorealistic discrimination targets (human photo shoot/no-shoot) at the other. I’d like to hear what people think are the benefits or shortcomings of one target type over another.
To address Rob’s post, based upon my readings and a particularly vivid personal experience I use photorealistic targets.
I grew up in a family that hunted and was taught firearms safety from a young age. The first time I had occasion to point a weapon at a person, it was a ROTC exercise (circa 1975) and halfway to shouldering my rifle I hesitated.
Flash forward and reading “On Killing” (Grossman) and his discussion of conditioning. I immediately remembered that moment of hesitation many years before.
I have incorporated photorealistic targets in my training ever since.
Also as subtle as it may seem, shooting a “real” person target raises the stakes and focus a notch.
Short of FOF/Sims, these are among the best targets to address what LDM discussed above: http://dvctargets.com/.
Bill Jeans brough photo-realistic targets to class in one that I attended, and they included a pregnant woman pointing a gun at you, and teenagers doing the same thing.
But photo-realistic targets seem to be more about psychology than marksmanship or shot placement, or even target ID/discrimination since you can do that with command targets (i.e. “shoot blue” or “shoot triangle”).
To continue that line of thinking, it seems to me that targets can address four things
[ol]
[li]Marksmanship - the proximity of one shot to another, and the group to the aiming point.
[/li][li]Shot Placement - the location of the aiming point
[/li][li]Discrimination - the identification of the need to shoot
[/li][li]Psychology - the willingness to shoot
[/li][/ol]
To further that, #1 has to do with the shooter’s mechanical ability, #2 has to do with the shooter’s knowledge of anatomy (especially once the target turns to you, a head at 90* to the shooter may not react as desired with a shot to the bridge of the nose), #3 has to do with the shooter’s mental speed and experience (and perhaps their department policy, if so encumbered), and #4 is… well psychology is psychology.
This is my favorite simplistic anatomy target which I believe is from the Marine Corps
I love those targets. Unfortunately at the club level they don’t attach well to IDPA/USPSA targets, their dedicated backers are expensive, and all are wider than the IDPA/USPSA meaning you need new stands or people shoot the sticks too often.
I’d love to have those scaled down to match a USPSA target. Or better yet, to have those scoring rings perforated into the USPSA target in place of the existing scoring perfs.
I actually designed that target while I was working at WTBn Quantico.
I have created several targets for different military organizations, and variations of my designs have been implemented by several police agencies accross the US.
I have since designed a target for my company with the intent to have a multiple use, multiple platform, long life target at a low individual cost:
The upper bullseye has a 5x8 rectangle for placement of a 5x8 index card for high density work:
The head has classic landmarks to reinforce correct sight picure, and has three on each target to get longer life before needing to repaired/replaced:
Target color matches masking tape to reduce “shot-hole” targeting.
Available from National Target
http://www.nationaltarget.com/cgi-bin/miva?Merchant2/merchant.mv+Screen=PROD&Store_Code=NT&Product_Code=CT-4.12+(priced+per+100)&Category_Code=F2S
Nice job Jack. Very nice job.
Is that USMC target available as an electronic version that could be printable? Or for online orders?
My preference for targets when shooting drills with accuracy and time standards is the VTAC target.
No, it’s copyrighted by letargets.com
There are several other versions of it you can find there.
Be aware, that target was designed to fit the “E” silhouette that is common within the military, but rarely used elsewhere, thus the alteration for outside agencies.
Thanks, F2S.
I generally dont go to crazy with my target selections, My favorite I would say is an IDPA target with a 25 yard repair B-8C(T) pasted in the chest. The 5.5 inch bull helps hold me to a higher degree of accuracy at many diff ranges. Its a clear target and it also good for carbine training out to a 100m. They are quite inexpensive and easy to replace( just paste over the last one)… Paste all shots out of the black and the target will last a bit…
Also easy to score for drills that may require this.
Yup, I’m a big fan of the B8 target, which why I put 2 of them on mine 
F2S–Fantastic Target; well done!
Nice. Thank you Doc. I’ll put it in the folder with all the targets I download from pistol forum and try it out Monday.
Excellent looking target. Very well thought out. I’m assuming that’s a row of 2" circles below the 5X8 rectangle to run something like the Ihack.
Thank you both. Looks just about everything I use in a range session in two targets.
Excellent thread.
this might make a good stickey, all the diagrams and such…