Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Practice Targets
There are all kinds of targets available on the market for use at the range or backyard. These days it is easy to find sites on the web that host a variety of targets from any kind of small animal you can think of to official bullseye targets. Doing a Google search for rifle or paper targets will yield a bunch vendors and hobbyists sites with targets listed on them.
For my practicing though, I like just a simple set of circles and dots arranged in an array to shoot at. I make my own targets on the computer using Visio or an older program by Micrografx called Designer. The targets I make are just an array of 1" circles that have a 1/2" circle and dot inside of it. The 1" circles are then arrayed across and down the page. This can yield up to 42 targets pretty comfortably. I also like to put dots in between the targets for additionals aim points. With such a large amount of targets the paper doesn't need to be changed out much.
For my standing shooting I have developed a target for shooting in my garage at 6.5 meters which is the max distance I can get on my indoor range. I took the basic 10 meter target and scaled it down to 6.5 meters and then put 20 of them on a 8.5x11 sheet of paper. I really enjoy shooting in the garage, especially in the evening when I can't shoot outside.
One problem we all have is the paper that is available for printing homemade targets on, it just isn't the same as standard heavy target paper. Most paper and card stock is made with long fibers that give the paper strenght but make the paper more prone to tear when shot. Most target paper use short fiber in the paper so that tearing is reduce and a cleaner hole is made when the pellet passes through. I have used cardstock for years for my practice targest and it works pretty well, especially for round nose pellets. It is easy to get at any office supply store or copy center. I usually just print out my target and have a copy center copy it onto cardstock, usually in a beige color.
I recently found a site on the web called Pistoleer.com that now sells 8.5x11 target paper in both light and heavy stock that can be bought for not much more than cardstock. I have some on order and will report on it later but if it works out, it could make homemade target perform much better. They also have a wide variety of standard targets for sale and it is worth taking a look at them as well. It is fun to make up my own targets and I would encourage everyone to give it a try.
For my practicing though, I like just a simple set of circles and dots arranged in an array to shoot at. I make my own targets on the computer using Visio or an older program by Micrografx called Designer. The targets I make are just an array of 1" circles that have a 1/2" circle and dot inside of it. The 1" circles are then arrayed across and down the page. This can yield up to 42 targets pretty comfortably. I also like to put dots in between the targets for additionals aim points. With such a large amount of targets the paper doesn't need to be changed out much.For my standing shooting I have developed a target for shooting in my garage at 6.5 meters which is the max distance I can get on my indoor range. I took the basic 10 meter target and scaled it down to 6.5 meters and then put 20 of them on a 8.5x11 sheet of paper. I really enjoy shooting in the garage, especially in the evening when I can't shoot outside.
One problem we all have is the paper that is available for printing homemade targets on, it just isn't the same as standard heavy target paper. Most paper and card stock is made with long fibers that give the paper strenght but make the paper more prone to tear when shot. Most target paper use short fiber in the paper so that tearing is reduce and a cleaner hole is made when the pellet passes through. I have used cardstock for years for my practice targest and it works pretty well, especially for round nose pellets. It is easy to get at any office supply store or copy center. I usually just print out my target and have a copy center copy it onto cardstock, usually in a beige color.
I recently found a site on the web called Pistoleer.com that now sells 8.5x11 target paper in both light and heavy stock that can be bought for not much more than cardstock. I have some on order and will report on it later but if it works out, it could make homemade target perform much better. They also have a wide variety of standard targets for sale and it is worth taking a look at them as well. It is fun to make up my own targets and I would encourage everyone to give it a try.
