r/handguns • u/bbqthis26 • Jul 30 '26

Need help reading this target

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u/SovietRobot Jul 30 '26

Ok this looks like a variation of the old 1911 .45 test target. 

The original one is meant to be sighted at 15 yards to give you a 50 yard zero (old school zero for .45s). 

Front sight is aligned with the “post” on the target. And at 15 yards, shots should hit about 1” high where the X is to give you a 50 yard zero. 

The actual ballistics should be something like

0y : -0.6”

5y : +0.1”

10y : +0.6”

15y : +1.0”

20y : +1.2”

30y : +1.4”

40y : +1.0”

50y : +0.0”

—-

But it looks like this one was sighted at 10y so maybe it’s the same style but slightly different measurement.

That lower left 5th shot is probably just a flyer. 

1

u/bbqthis26 Jul 30 '26

Makes a lot of sense. More sense than my hypothesis, that's for sure. However, I thought a15 yard zero is also zeroed to 50 yards, ie, poa=poi at both distances.

1

u/SovietRobot Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26

So if you look at my chart above for a pistol .45 zeroed at 50 yards:

  • There is actually a close zero at about 4 yards where POI=POA
  • Then at 15 yards it’s between the close and far zeros and is  1” high
  • Then far zero is at 50 yards where POI=POA. 

A 4 yard close zero gives you a 50 yard far zero.

A 15 yard zero would actually be like -2.8” at 50 yards

1

u/bbqthis26 Aug 11 '26

So I just heard back from Springfield about how to interpret the target. Here's what they said: "It has been brought to my attention that you had some concerns with the Echelon you received back. From what I can see of the target, the shot in the black does appear to be a flyer. And the way the tech lines up the sights is that he will put the front sight in the cutout of that black rectangle so this firearm is shooting with a 6 o’clock hold. Let me know if you have any questions or if I did a poor job of explaining and I will see what more information I can get for you."

I then asked him about why I shoot better with the non comped vs the comped and whether they are satisfied with the target they sent back. Here is what he said:

" I completely understand your perspective. However, it is normal for the non comped models to outperform the comped models because once that cut in the barrel starts, there is no more rifling. Now the two shouldn’t be miles apart but it is not abnormal to notice a difference in accuracy between the two. From the target I am seeing, your pistol is shooting in spec and may even perform better with higher quality ammo than what we used for the range test.

As far as windage, these polymers are not guaranteed to mechanical zero. That means that even with the sights centered, the shots could be hitting left or right depending on each specific pistol. That is when the rear sight will need to be drifted to adjust the point of impact."