# 300m Target Scoring: Ring Values and Pit Marking Explained

> A 300m rifle target scores whole ring values from 1 to 10, with a 100mm ten ring and a 50mm inner ten. Close shots are decided with a plug gauge in the butts, and the marker signals each value back to the firing point.

- Canonical URL: https://target-log.net/blog/how-300m-targets-are-scored/
- Published: 2026-11-09 (updated 2026-11-09)
- Category: Scoring rules
- Tags: 300m rifle, scoring, intermediate
- Read time: ~6 min

## Key takeaways
- The 300m target counts rings 1 to 10; the ten ring is 100mm wide and the inner ten is 50mm.
- Qualification is scored in full ring values; decimals only appear where electronic scoring systems are used.
- Gauged shots follow the edge-to-edge rule: touching the higher ring line scores the higher value.
- Markers in the butts patch, gauge and signal every shot, so your card builds up one value at a time.

Fullbore shooting at 300m is the ISSF's big-distance game, and 300m target scoring puzzles shooters who come up from 50m ranges. The target is enormous, the values arrive one shot at a time from somewhere behind it, and a plug gauge you never see decides your borderline hits. Once you understand what the rings count and how the butts crew works, the whole match day makes a lot more sense. This guide walks through the ring values, the gauging rules and what actually happens between your shot leaving the barrel and the value appearing on your card.

## What do the rings on a 300m target actually count?

Each ring counts a whole point, from 1 on the outside to 10 in the middle, and qualification scoring uses those full ring values only. The ten ring is 100mm in diameter with a 50mm inner ten at its centre. A shot that touches a higher ring line, gauged from the edge of the hole, scores the higher value.

Those dimensions come straight from the ISSF technical rules for the official 300m rifle target, and they are worth seeing side by side with the other rifle targets in our [ISSF target dimensions reference](/blog/issf-target-dimensions-ring-sizes/). The black circle on the 300m target covers rings 5 through 10 and measures 600mm across, sitting on a card of at least 1300 by 1300mm. Ring lines are 0.5 to 1.0mm thick, the numbers 1 through 9 are printed in diagonal rows across their zones, and the ten is left unnumbered.

## 300m target scoring values at a glance

| Ring | Diameter | Ring | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 100mm | 5 | 600mm |
| 9 | 200mm | 4 | 700mm |
| 8 | 300mm | 3 | 800mm |
| 7 | 400mm | 2 | 900mm |
| 6 | 500mm | 1 | 1000mm |

The inner ten is 50mm across. It scores the same 10 as the rest of the ten ring, but it matters for tie breaks, where [inner tens](/blog/how-issf-tiebreaking-works-countback-inner-tens-and-ranking/) are counted before officials fall back on other methods.

A quick sanity check on those numbers: each ring is exactly 100mm wider than the one inside it, all the way out to the 1000mm one ring. That even spacing is unique among ISSF rifle targets and it is what makes the 300m target look like a dartboard from the firing point.

## Why the 300m ten ring is bigger than it looks

Here is the part that surprises 50m shooters. The ten ring on the 300m target is 100mm across, roughly ten times the 10.4mm ten ring on the 50m rifle target. But you are shooting at six times the distance, so in angular terms the 300m ten ring is only about 1.6 times wider than the 50m one. The black tells a similar story: 600mm at 300m appears only slightly smaller than the 112.4mm black at 50m.

The practical meaning is that 300m target scoring is not generous. A ten at 300m demands hold and wind-reading quality comparable to a 50m ten, with three times the exposure to wind drift and bullet drop. When your scores at 300m land lower than your 3-position scores, that is the geometry talking, not a mystery slump. Shooters working on that gap usually benefit from dedicated [wind-reading practice](/blog/reading-wind-for-50m-rifle-flags-mirage-and-hold-offs/), which is a skill of its own at this distance.

## How does scoring in the butts actually work?

At matches without electronic targets, your card lives in a trench behind the butts, and a marking crew scores every shot by hand. After each shot the marker runs the target down, locates the strike, inserts a spindle to mark it, patches the hole, and signals the value back to the firing point with discs before sending the target up again. The full shot-by-shot routine, including pit duty rosters and what to bring for your turn in the butts, is covered in our guide to [your first 300m match and pit duty](/blog/first-300m-rifle-match-pit-duty-explained/).

From a scoring perspective, three things matter to you on the firing point. First, values arrive one at a time, so track them in your score book as they come rather than trusting memory. Second, the marker gauges doubtful holes with a plug before signalling, so a value you see has usually already been checked. Third, if you genuinely believe a value is wrong, there is a challenge process, and it has to be raised at the target, not argued from the firing line after the next shot.

## What happens when a shot is close to a ring line?

Close calls follow the same edge-to-edge rule as every other ISSF paper event. The marking crew inserts a 300m scoring gauge into the hole; if the edge of the hole touches the outside of the higher ring line, the shot receives the higher value. Ring lines themselves count as part of the higher zone, which is why a hole that appears to sit half a line out can still score up. The mechanics of gauges, who may insert them and how torn or overlapping holes are handled are explained in detail in our [shot gauge guide](/blog/how-shot-gauges-work-plug-scoring-explained/).

Two situations deserve special attention at 300m. Two shots through one hole are handled by declaration at the target and careful gauging, because a patched target can hide a double. And a shot on your neighbour's card is a [crossfire](/blog/issf-crossfire-rules-when-you-hit-the-wrong-target/) with its own consequences for both shooters; the rules for that are worth knowing before, not after, it happens to you.

## Full rings or decimals: how are 300m scores recorded?

Qualification at 300m, like other ISSF rifle and pistol qualification, is scored in full ring values. [Decimal scoring](/blog/how-issf-scoring-works/) exists in the rules, but only where approved electronic targets or electronic paper scoring machines are used, and at club level you will almost always see whole numbers. A 60-shot standard rifle card therefore maxes at 600, with inner tens recorded alongside as the tie-break currency.

Keep that in mind when you compare scores across events. A 540 at 300m standard rifle and a 540 at 50m 3-position are both nine-ring shooting on paper, but they represent very different days at the range given the wind and distance involved.

## How can you check your own 300m scores?

Photographing your card after the match is the cheapest feedback loop in fullbore shooting. A clear phone photo lets you recount values, log inner tens and spot patterns like consistent nine o'clock nines that point to wind rather than hold. Our [paper target scoring app](/paper-target-scoring-app/) does exactly this: it reads shot holes from a photo of the card, scores them against the ring dimensions and stores the card in your history, which beats squinting at a target frame you have to return to the club shed.

## faq

### Do misses off the card count as zero?

Yes. A shot that leaves no hole inside the one ring scores zero, and it still counts as fired. That is why sighters exist and why you confirm your zero before the match rather than during it.

### Is the 300m target the same for standard and free rifle?

Yes. Both events use the same official 300m target. The events differ in equipment and course of fire, not in the target or the values.

### Why are the ring numbers printed diagonally?

The diagonal printing lets a marker read the zone a hole sits in at a glance from any angle, which speeds up scoring in the butts when targets are running up and down all relay long.

## FAQ
**Q: What is the highest score on a 300m rifle target?**
A: A 10. The ten ring is 100mm in diameter, and a shot inside the 50mm inner ten counts as an inner ten for tie-breaking purposes.

**Q: Is 300m target scoring decimal or whole rings?**
A: Whole rings in qualification. Decimal values are only used where an approved electronic target or electronic paper scoring system is in place.

**Q: How big is the black on a 300m target?**
A: The black circle covers rings 5 to 10 and is 600mm in diameter, on a target card of at least 1300mm by 1300mm.

**Q: Who decides the value of a close shot at 300m?**
A: The marking crew in the butts inserts a scoring gauge into the hole. If the hole touches the higher ring line, the shot gets the higher value.

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