16. CHALLENGES AND PROTESTS

o 16.1 Challenges-When a competitor feels that a shot fired by himself or
by another competitor has been improperly evaluated or scored, he may
challenge the scoring. Such challenge must be made immediately upon
announcement of the score. No challenge will be accepted after the targets 
have been pasted.

(a) If a competitor desires to challenge the evaluation of any shot or string
     of shots, he shall notify a Range Officer (Statistical Officer if targets
     are scored in the Statistical Office) and pay that official a challenge
     fee of not more than $3.00. It is the competitor's responsibility to have
     the correct fee for challenging. (NRA award points are acceptable.)

(b) When targets are scored in the pits, the action on the challenge will be
     as described in Rule 16. 1 (e). In slow fire, the Range Officer will note
     the time consumed, and allow the competitor additional time accordingly. 
     Decision of the Pit Officer is final. No other sub-section of Rule
     16.1 applies when targets are scored in the pits.

(c) When the targets are scored on the frames without pits, the challenge
     must be made immediately upon examination of the targets. The
     Range Officer will make the evaluation described in Rule 16. 1 (e).
     Decision of the Range Officer is final.

(d) When targets are scored in the Statistical Office, the challenge must
     be made within a time limit which shall be stated in the program or
     published by bulletin board notice. The re-check of the target concerned 
     will be made by the Chief Statistical Officer if he has not
     previously scored or checked the target, or by the Official Referee,
     Jury (or the Supervisor), in that order. Decision of the official making
     this check is final.

(e) Pit Challenge Procedure--Competitors must immediately challenge
     the scoring of any shot on which they disagree with the target marker.
     It is the duty of the Range Officer to accept the challenge; collect the
     fee without comment; direct that no further shots be fired by the
     competitor until the challenge has been decided; personally telephone
     the Pit Officer and remain at the firing point until the correct value is
     signaled from the pit. The Pit Officer shall examine the challenged
     target carefully, scrutinizing all lines, figures, and wrinkles to locate
     possible undetected hits using a magnifying glass and/or scoring
     gauge to detect close doubles. If a shot spotter has been placed in the
     challenged bullet hole(s), the shot spotter will be removed and an
     attempt made to plug the shot hole(s) with an appropriate size scoring
     gauge before signaling the results to the firing line. The Pit Officers
     decision is final. If the competitor's challenge is sustained, the
     challenge fee will be returned immediately; otherwise, it is forfeited
     and turned over to the Statistical Office.

(f) The Match Director may at his discretion recheck any competitor's
     target or scorecard by an administrative challenge. Such challenge
     must be made within the posted challenge period and checked by the
     Official Referee or Jury.

16.2 Protests-

A competitor may formally protest:

(a) Any injustice which he feels has been done him except the evaluation
of a target, which he may challenge as outlined in Rule 16. 1.

(b) The conditions under which another competitor has been permitted to

(c) The equipment which another competitor has been permitted to use.

(d) The score that a competitor has received.

16.2.1 Authority of Protest Committees-National Championships pro-
test committees or juries may be established at National Championships to rule
on protests arising from activities at those sites (see Rule 11.8). However, the
decisions of these special protest committees or juries shall not contravene
prior interpretations of the NRA Rules and/or precedents established by the
NRA National Protest Committee.

16.2.2 National Championship Refire/Alibi Protest Procedure-In the
National Championships a competitor may protest the ruling of the referee as
to whether he should be granted the refire of a shot in slow fire, a refire or alibi
in rapid fire by writing the word ''PROTESTED'' on the front of the score card
and paying the protest fee at the time to the NRA Referee. The competitor will
then be allowed to fire the shot or shots which will be scored on the back of the
score card. The refired shot or shots will not count until the protest committee
has made a ruling on the written protest that the competitor must file in
accordance with Rule 16.3.

16.3 How to Protest-A protest must be initiated immediately upon the
occurrence of protested incident. Failure to comply with the following 
procedure will automatically void the protest:

(a) State the complaint orally to the Chief Range (Chief Statistical)
     Officer. If not satisfied with his decision then,

(b) State the complaint orally to the Official Referee, Jury Chairman or
     Supervisor. If not satisfied with his decision then,

(c) File a formal protest in writing with the Official Referee, Jury
     Chairman or Supervisor stating all the facts in the case. Such written
     protest must be filed within 12 hours of the occurrence of the protested
     incident.

(d) The Official Referee, Jury Chairman or Supervisor will then forward
     the protest with a complete statement of facts within 48 hours of
     receipt thereof to the Protest Committee at NRA Headquarters.

16.4 Challenges and Protests in Team Matches-All challenges and
protests in team matches must be made by the Team Captain. Team members
who believe they have reason to challenge or protest will state the facts to their
Team Captain who will make the official challenge or protest if he feels such
action is justified.