Maybe I should be ashamed to admit it, but I have not seen the movie. The last chapter in Ned Roberts' book,
The Muzzle-Loading Cap Lock Rifle, is entitled "A Beef Shoot at Jimtown," describing an old-time rifle match in Jamestown, Fentress County, Tennessee. Alvin York was present as a participant. The targets are described as charred boards with an incised "X," and "
The aiming point is cut from a piece of white card, its size and shape being dictated by the fancy of the shooter..." (p. 301).
In
The Muzzle-Loading Rifle: Then and Now, by Walter Cline, I found a photo on page 57 of a shooter named Arthur Kelly who appears to be holding a target board with bullet holes, with a rather large white rectangle affixed to it. I don't see a "vee"cut. However, later in the book, there is a description of a shooting match held near Pikeville, Tennessee in 1927. The author stated "
Two kinds of targets were used. (1) a piece of white cardboard about four inches by five inches tacked on a charred board about 8 inches by twelve inches. On the charred board two lines were cut at right angles, over which the cardboard was placed. The object was to cut the cross or the intersectioon of the lines. (2) An inverted cut was made in a piece of white cardboard and the apex placed directly over the intersection of the lines cut in the charred board" (p.114-115).
That second target described by Mr. Cline sounds a lot like the target described from the movie. I've never shot at a target of that type, but would like to try it. My vision has deteriorated over the years, and target shooting has become more of a challenge. The white aiming point on the black background sounded interesting, so I pasted up some NFAA Hunter targets to try with my muzzleloader:
For the record, it didn't help much. However, it was worth a try, and I might paint over that white bullseye and affix a card with a "vee" cut in its place, to simulate the target as described for Alvin York.
Notchy Bob
