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JohnH
04-08-2005, 10:59 PM
What do you guys use? I'm cheap about it, and cut up practically all the cardboard containers that come into the house, using any panel that is app. 5" x 7" or larger. Cereal boxes, soda and beer cartons, tissue boxes, anything made of that nice heavy single layer cardboard. I'm even known to raid the trash can at the gas/beer store (yes, I get my share of funny looks) Stuff is free and can still be recycled after being poked full of holes or used for fire starter in the wood stove. I have a paper cutter and was given a big stack of colored paper by a friend, I cut sheets into 2" squares and tape one on a cardboard sheet and instant target. Cost is a little time and tape. Tonight I made up some ovals that are 5" tall x 7 1/2" wide. Figure they will work good for off hand shooting, simuilating the size of a vitals shot on a deer.

carpetman
04-08-2005, 11:04 PM
Cats make good targets and you can test bullet performance.(feral cats)

Scrounger
04-08-2005, 11:16 PM
Cats make good targets and you can test bullet performance.(feral cats)

CarpetMan's definition of a feral cat: Usually has 4 legs, may or may not have long tail.

Gunload Master
04-08-2005, 11:30 PM
http://gunloads.com/

I got lots of printable targets on the left hand side there.

I like milk jugs, but I noticed if you put water in it, freeze it and blast it through the center it really explodes.

Slowpoke
04-09-2005, 01:13 AM
Cats make good targets and you can test bullet performance.(feral cats)


I don't know dude, you reckon one poor little carcass from a homeless kitty would be much of a test for a real boolit?

I suppose you could drop by the humane society on kill day and bundle up all the little lifeless bodies , then you might have something to work with.

Either that or save um up in the freezer till you had a dozen or so.

I knew a professional trapper once and sometimes after he got thru skinning his days work of coyotes and bobcats he would bundle up the carcass's good and tight and send a couple boolits into the mess from different ranges.

I have seen a sorry good for nuthin Lee 190 gr.sw plow thru 8 coyote shoulders that was fired from a old worn out 1911 at 20 yrds, that is real close to 2 feet of meat ,bone and all the stuff in between.

Good luck

Buckshot
04-09-2005, 02:38 AM
..................There are 2 paper targets I use. Both are NRA types. For pistol at 25 yds I use the B-16, 25 yd Slow fire pistol target. Generally for rifle I use the TQ-4, 100 yd small bore rifle target.

There are many places to get good quality targets. I have 2 places I like and will buy 2K at a time.

American Target Co, 1328 Jason St, Denver CO 80223

Alco Target Co, 2048 Central Ave, Duarte CA 91010

Both places will give volumn discounts and American will provide free shipping. Both have websites, and you may do a search for'em. They provide autorized size targets on a less expensive (less thick) paper or on real target stock. Both target papers are regulation buff colored, with black bulls.

Offhand I think the lighter paper runs about $17/1000 for the rifle and $23/1000 for the official weight. So you're looking at about $0.2/target bought a thousand at a time. Way cheaper then a copy place at a nickle apiece on std typing paper.

Our range charges $0.25/ea for them and as much as I shoot, that could add up to some real money in a month's time.

I have made my own target backers on occasion due to the range's habit of trying to make them last too long. It gets so you can't find enough intact cardboard to hold a staple sometimes[smilie=l: . I can understand as the cardboard they use is triple wall and it does cost to buy, and have shipped in.

For my use I will buy a dozen pizza boxes from the local Pizza Hut.:lol: They're about the right size when opened up, and will last a couple weeks of use. Our range puts it's target backers on redwood lath. You can buy a dozen from a gardenshop for a couple bucks.

...............Buckshot

Scrounger
04-09-2005, 06:49 AM
http://gunloads.com/

I got lots of printable targets on the left hand side there.

I like milk jugs, but I noticed if you put water in it, freeze it and blast it through the center it really explodes.

Nice targets there. Reckon you could find that target that has playing cards on it?

Bret4207
04-09-2005, 08:27 AM
I print mine off the computer. If it's something really special I stick the targets in the oven for 30 minutes on low heat, around 250. This makes the paper stiffer and more "brittle". The bullets tend not to tear so much and you get a rounder hole.

For the backer I really like streching 8 or 10 feet of small mesh chicken wire between posts and using clothes pins to hang the target. As I've said before DO NOT let yoour kid find out he can shoot the clothes pins off Dads target. Barring trespassers, drunken snowmobilers and deer in a full bore panic run these last 2-3 years for me.

I'm still searching for the perfect pistol target. I need one I can use with everything from S+W's beautimus adjustable sights to those god awfull halfmoon and hog wallow sights on the old top break type H+Rs and IJ's. A round bull ain't worth spit with my degrading eyes.

Gunload Master
04-09-2005, 10:22 AM
Nice targets there. Reckon you could find that target that has playing cards on it?

Go to "Rifles" than scroll down to the third row down, far right.

StarMetal
04-09-2005, 11:26 AM
Oh come on Buckshot, fess up, we know you buy those pizza boxes with pizza's in them. hahahahaha

Joe

shooter2
04-09-2005, 01:06 PM
I tried finding the WEB sites for the places you order from Rick, but all I can find are street addresses.

Scrounger
04-09-2005, 01:45 PM
Cats make good targets and you can test bullet performance.(feral cats)
A dissenting voice...

eveready
04-09-2005, 02:46 PM
I like to use the cheap paper plates, on sale about a penny apiece. The 4 inch are great when chronographing and the 9 inch at longer ranges.

Eveready

felix
04-09-2005, 04:33 PM
In all seriousness.....

http://www.uspalma.com/Targets/targets.htm


... felix

RayinNH
04-09-2005, 07:24 PM
I reuse the 50' slow fire pistol targets that the .22 pistols league shooters at my club use. I shoot either .38, .44 or .45 cals. so its easy to tell which holes I've put in. If you're really cheap you shoot them with .38s first then shoot with .44 or .45s...Ray

KYCaster
04-09-2005, 08:09 PM
JohnH: The link to the Palma sight in Felix's post has some pretty neat diamond targets. To paraphrase Eddie Murphy in "Changing Places", "Once you try a diamond target, you won't never go back!" The 4 in. black diamond with white center works great for iron sights out to 25 yds. and for scopes to 100. You get a well defined aiming point even when your vision is a little fuzzy and sights and crosshairs don't disappear in the bull.
I've been printing targets on "art paper". It comes in various weights and textures and does a much better job than typing paper, nice clean holes even with .22 sp's. You can find it at WallyWorld, Big Lots and several other places.
This has been an unsolicited testimonial, all the usual disclaimers apply!

Jerry

carpetman
04-09-2005, 10:17 PM
I have found youngsters can get bored shooting paper targets. They seem to like it better when something happens. Charcoal briquettes,ice cubes and golf balls are some of the things they seem to enjoy.

Buckshot
04-10-2005, 01:07 AM
I tried finding the WEB sites for the places you order from Rick, but all I can find are street addresses.

American Target Co.
http://www.nrahq.org/compete/targets/tgt-american.pdf

ALCO
http://alcotarget.com/index.cfm

Just cut and paste in the address line if they don't work as a direct link.

.................Buckshot

BD
04-10-2005, 10:11 PM
Load work up and paper punching:

I use a 4" solid black circle for 100 yard target for iron sights. This is as small as I can see off hand. And without a peep I'm not sure I could see it today. For scopes I use a 2" hollow black circle with the center left white and 1/2 inch horizontal and verticle cross hairs which extend only from the outside of the hollow center. I add another cross hair above the circle to match the 100 yard site in for the gun in question. I hold on the circle. I print them using Publisher on the 'puter.
200 yards, just double the diameter.

For "real" practice for rifles and pistols I use the cardboard ipsc targets from target world which are more or less torso shaped with the scoring zones only outlined by perforations which you can't see untill you walk up to score them. The "zero point down" zones are about an 8" circle on the heart and a 6" square head. I just place them at the range appropriate to the practice in question. In the local competitions they use various Rube Goldberg mechanical devices to make these things appear, and disappear, and travel back and forth ect. So it seems logical to use the same type of target for practice.

A fun game we used to play in years past, (when it seemed like the whole world was a clear cut), involved taking two handfulls of milk jugs full of colored water out into a cut and putting them on stumps at various ranges, (200 to 600 yds), and then timing the distruction of them. Explanation: two of us would each head out with six jugs and put them on convenient stumps where ever, then we'd compete to shoot the jugs placed by the other guy. Really windy days were the most fun. Milk jugs are free and it's easy to tell when a jug full of water is hit by a rifle. These days I guess some would consider this littering.

I think my wife would be upset if I used cats under 20 pounds or so. I'm sure house cats would get me a dirty look at the minimum. If I shot our own cats, who would eat the mice?

BD

45nut
01-28-2007, 03:07 PM
http://gunloads.com/

I got lots of printable targets on the left hand side there.

I like milk jugs, but I noticed if you put water in it, freeze it and blast it through the center it really explodes.

Hey Willy,,can you add a version of this?

http://www.bullseyepistol.com/wheel.gif

TDB9901
01-28-2007, 05:16 PM
I have the luxury of having my own 150 yd. range in my pasture, but we use steel railroad tie plates with a base welded on, and sat on top of posts, at 100 and 150 yds. for reactive targets. Durable, and cheap.

Don't try this too close though, a couple of years ago, I had a large fragment of a .40 splatter back and knock a really big hole in my ear muff from 15 or so. That gets your attention in a hurry. :confused:

Someone was watching out for this old fool that day!!!!!!!![smilie=1:

Tom

BudRow
01-28-2007, 05:17 PM
I am with "eveready" - I buy the cheapest 9" paper plates, the kind that are not grease resistant. Then with Kiwi black liquid shoe polish, I center a dot. The applicator is a circular foam rubber arrangment that if wetted just right, leaves a nice bullseye with just a dab. Kinda like a Bingo dabber. I have reduced the diameter of the applicator to 3/4" for my purposes. It serves me well for my informal plinking & testing and I have a filing cabinet full of experiemental loadings both good & bad. I can review my notes that I have made on the target and go from there. Paper plates are cheap and easily filed.
Best Wishes, Bud

Wayne Smith
01-28-2007, 05:40 PM
Only one other point. I print computer targets on old company letterhead. It's a touch heavier than normal paper, holds up better, and doesn't tear.

Thanks for the Palma site, Felix.

RayinNH
01-28-2007, 06:26 PM
Generally it's not cost effective to print targets with an inkjet printer. However when the color cartridge no longer produces true colors, I usually let it print pistol targets in whatever color ink is left...Ray

BruceB
01-28-2007, 07:14 PM
(Ahem)

That "Wheel of Woe" posted by 45nut, is, believe it or not, one of the very few elusive and VERY rare RIGHT-HANDED TARGETS!!! Discrimination against Leftys reaches new heights (or is it "lows"???)

Actually, if one uses the 'proper' (left) hand for his steenking peestolas, just reverse everything on the circle. Jerks go low right, etc etc. The errors demonstrated are most obvious when using the pure Bullseye technique, with only one hand on the gun, but even though the errors may be less obvious with two-hand shooting, the direction of the errors still apply as illustrated by the Wheel.

Dale53
01-28-2007, 07:31 PM
I don't really like to shoot paper other than "real" target paper (common paper often tears badly, etc). I have long used the oven "trick" to make the paper behave better when shooting. I live in town and shoot my air rifle in the back yard (large, suitable backstop). I can buy 10 meter targets that work quite well. However, 10 meter silhouette targets are not readily available to me. So, I took regular 50' .22 rimfire silhouette targets and downsized on a local copier. If you go to an Office Supply (shop for price) and buy a quantity at once, you can get them done quite reasonably.

Our local gun club has "target backers" of proper material. For those who don't shoot competitively, they are plain, target paper sheets that are hung behind tagets to check for crossfires during tournaments. At any rate, using one of these sheets, you can put "price stickers" in bright orange (available in bulk from your local office supply store [Office Depot, Staples, etc). The self stick Stickers are available in a variety of shapes and sizes for modest amounts of ready cash. You can put LOTS on a big backer and shoot off the bench to your hearts content.

The stickers are also quite nice to place on conventional pistol targets to change the point of impact for a fixed sighted handgun (if it shoots 4" high, just put a sticker on the target 4" low). The same works for windage. I know, I know, it's tacky, BUT FELLERS, IT WORKS!!:Fire:

Dale53

Gunload Master
01-28-2007, 07:43 PM
Yea I can add that one Ken.

RayinNH
01-28-2007, 08:12 PM
Dale, I also use the little stickers as target hole patches. The're less expensive than target pasters. I use the 3/4" round, in white, black and orange. The orange for the occasional orange bullseye, and as a highlight for the center of the black bull...Ray

buck1
01-28-2007, 09:02 PM
old file folders, india ink, and a shoe polish dobber will quickly and cheeply mass produce quality targets.

hydraulic
01-28-2007, 10:02 PM
I had to go look at my targets and found out they are the TQ-4 that Buckshot uses. I bought a bale of them back in the 70's and still have half of them left. There must have been 500. I use 3/4 " masking tape for stickers, and stick them on the back of the target. I get so much masking tape on them, over several shooting seasons, the wife yells at me to quit being so cheap and get a new target. I usually shoot 20 rds and then count the score and figure my percentage. The DCM used to rate marksman at 70 %, sharpshooter at 80%, and expert at 85%. I usually score in the mid 70's.

Frank46
01-29-2007, 03:31 AM
Iuse the tq-4 target at 100yds for general shooting or sighting in. Sometimes I also use the repair centers for the hi-power targets. Got a deal on them ten years ago and still have a bunch. For pistol or revolver shooting pie plates with the stick em on orange centers works for me. A buddy also used newspaper print end rolls
that he gets from the local newspaper for about a buck a roll. He uses the shoe polish that comes in the applicator bottles for his bullseye.

Dale53
01-29-2007, 11:49 AM
There is another real possibility for cheap, er-r-r, I mean INEXPENSIVE targets. Sinclair International sells a rubber stamp in various sizes that reproduces the bench rest target. I use the two hundred yard one at 100 with lower powered scopes and it works just fine for the purpose. Get a roller ball of red ink (you can see the shots in the black easier) and a stamp pad to go along with the rubber stamp and you're in business for an unlimited number of targets. They also have a number of targets that you will find quite useful.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=SHACTTA&type=store

I might mention here, that the people at Sinclair are very nice to deal with and each and every one of the people that work there are shooters.

Dale53

waksupi
01-29-2007, 07:45 PM
I take my favorite targets to the print shop. Around 8 cents each. $8.00/100 ain't too bad for targets.

btr-cj
01-29-2007, 08:39 PM
About 10 years ago I stopped at a local rubber stamp company to see about getting a rubber stamp of a target made.

After explaining to the guy behind the counter what I wanted he went to the back and returned with a rubber stamp of a “10 ring”. He asked if this was close to what I wanted.

He let me have it for about $5. I am still on my first bottle of ink.

I usually stamp 5 rings per 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.

I use it for pistol and short range rifle.

One day I need to get a bigger one made.

C.J.

STP
01-29-2007, 10:35 PM
12 inch paper plates work well out at 100/200yds. Two staples at 12 and 6 o`clock pretty much eliminates the chance of shooting them off the backer. Besides, I like to see if the boolits show signs of tipping out yonder. The thicker paper plates (as compared to "standard" target paper) tends to show a good imprint, be it with or without traces of remaining boolit lube.

fatnhappy
01-29-2007, 11:02 PM
I print my own, pdf's are available all over the internet, and I have a fleet of these at my disposal.

http://www.xerox.com/go/xrx/igen/iGen.jsp

longhorn
01-29-2007, 11:14 PM
It's cost effective to use someone else's inkjet printer, and more fun than stealing paperclips. Longhorn, while whistling tunelessley and glancing skyward......

DeanoBeanCounter
01-30-2007, 11:47 PM
Hi

Here is some sights I have found on the internet. Or just do a search on Google, type in free targets or targets and you'll have more than you know what to do with. [smilie=1:

http://www.koniaris.com/archery/targets/
http://www.6mmbr.com/targets.html
http://www.targetz.com/
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/TPHaller/page3.html
http://www.tnoutdoorsmen.com/targets.htm
http://www.protargets.com/targets/index2.htm
http://www.glockfaq.com/targets.htm
http://www.mytargets.com/
http://www.fortliberty.org/military-library/free-printable-targets.shtml
http://www.varmintal.com/atarg.htm
http://www.gamecalls.net/free_stuff/52_free_targets.html

However, I do like the idea of just buying a bunch at a good price and then not worry about printing any for a while. :-D

trk
02-04-2007, 03:55 PM
Here is my target frame. I hang 18x18 squares of cardborad on it (with handi-wire 2 at the top, one at the bottom to control it moving in the wind).

The stainless disk is hung with two wires. 0.100" thick it gets dented with .22's and torn up with .30 cal. If hit with .375 or .444 it flips the whole frame over.

On the cardboards I simply stick a 1-1/2" white label (rejects from work: free). That works well at 25 and 50 yards with iron sights and well with scopes at 100 yards.

Swinging target or paper plates at 100 yards are good for standing position.

Target Frame:
http://www.hunt101.com/img/471398.jpg
(made from scrap reinforcements that came free around pallets of materials at work).

rigmarol
02-04-2007, 04:43 PM
I know a guy that takes a large fender washer and a thick black magic marker and just traces the outside and colors in the inside and he's all set. I keep meaning to try it but always forget.

threett1
02-05-2007, 09:00 PM
mytargets.com

arkypete
02-05-2007, 11:55 PM
I have a friend who owns a picture frame shop. I got him to save me the fall out from a matt. It's the 5 by 7 oval, that he usually throws away. I blacked it with a Magic marker put it on a piece of 8.5 by 11 paper and took it to a copy store and had them print on a 1,000 misprinted copy orders. I cost me the ink they used.
Makes a great pistol target for all ranges.
If you can put all six shots, double action, into the black, most two and four legged critters will at least want to pause while you reload.
Jim