Cheap Targets

[Ben]

I'm not certain if this is in the right place or not. " Mods " please feel free to move this thread if needed.
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Some of these " factory targets " from MidWay etc are fairly expensive. I'm a poor man , so I figured I'd come up with a system that would give me the following :


Cheap cost

A good aiming picture with iron sights at 50 - 75 yards.

A good aiming picture with a scope out to 200 yards.

I made different styles and have settled on this one. Anyone who wants to modify the dimensions a little bit for their own purposes, go at it !

I took an aerosol can of brake cleaner ( always on the work bench for cleaning molds ) and took some sheet metal and used the bottom of the can as a template and scribed around it with a sharp scribe. I cut out the center disk. Then, I attached with pop rivets the " wings " . I figured that would be 10X quicker than cutting out all the metal around the circle and the wings.

I often times will use low power scopes ( 1.5 X - 5 X variables ) on my hunting rifles. I wanted lines running into the target to assist me in centering my cross hairs.

Here are photos of the " Finished Product ". The beauty of all this is that you can make them to suit your own needs , be it - - short range, long range, rifle, pistol, etc.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

Excellent idea,
anyone now where to get black pasters?
I cant see the orange ones

[Trey45]

Jim, Shoot n see has 1inch solid black dots, I use them for 22LR, it might work for what you're going to be doing here.

[frkelly74]

I always shoot at the targets others leave behind. Sometimes they are almost as good as new. Or I scroung up clay pigeons from the high grass and use them.The spray paint is a good idea, I have on occasion used that marking paint that comes in florescent colors. If you are trying to keep records of what you are doing then you have something there.

[dragonrider]

I usually print something from one of the free online sources. But I like your idea better, it is cheaper than ink.

[Ben]

dragonrider

I thought that printing was the way too........BUT, as you've
pointed out the price of ink ( at least for me ) was cost
prohibitive.

A .99 cent can of flat black spray paint and some cheap
paper plates will generate a wagon load of targets in a very
short period of time.

I've had problems with bullets cutting clean holes in printer
paper, but bullets always cut clean holes in my paper plates.

[Longwood]

If you Google printable targets, you will find all sorts of free target options.
The colored ones get pretty expensive because of the rip-off prices for the printer ink.
Kids really like shooting balloons.
One of my favorite targets for a good shooting gun with a scope, is colored thumb tacks.

[felix]

On occasion, you can find a printer in the yellow pages who has yellowish stock he will never use. Take a printed copy of one of the internet targets to him and let him make a printing plate of it. Very cheap when nothing professional is going on there. ... felix

[Got-R-Did]

You could just cut a hole in the center of the template to give you a black dot in the middle.
I absolutely love the idea. May even have some made up from wood scraps and simply hang them on the post at our private ranges for shooters to make their own targets. Very Cool Idea, Kind Sir.
Got-R-Did.

[Ben]

There are all kinds of options available to you.
You can go with a white center which allows me to
see " center bull hits " much easier with my spotting
scope at longer distances vs a black bull.............
or you can go with the black bull.

Your choice .................. Enjoy !

Best to all of you,

Ben

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Many grocery and household items come in boxes made of substantial cardboard, for example breakfast cereals. I trim the ends off, slit them down one side and turn them so the blank inside surface can be sprayed using a circular mask of whatever size wanted, with the color of choice. When dry just hang/tack them up on a flat surface and go at it. The mask you make will last a long time and so will the $1.- can of spray paint. The source is endless and the price is tough to beat by any measure. LLS

[Trey45]

Another suggestion, you might not want to use this though because it's a one use only target.

Charcoal Briquettes, when you hit them, you know you hit them by the cloud of black/grey dust. Tie a piece of string around them and hang them from branches.

[35isit]

If you can't shoot steel targets at your range. Make templates of your favorite shapes and cut them from cardboard or poster paper.

[markinalpine]

Excellent idea,
anyone now where to get black pasters?
I cant see the orange ones

Jim, Shoot n see has 1inch solid black dots, I use them for 22LR, it might work for what you're going to be doing here.

Check out the office supply area of most stores, and get one of those big, fat tip black markers. Easy to scribble a fat, black dot, square, triangle...
Mark

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

what I like is Birchwood Caseys, bench rest squares, but they seem to have gone the way of the Edsel

[jsizemore]

Dollar Tree has florescent and bright color letters and numbers you can stick on a target. Like Post-Its but full adhesive back. About 20 for a buck.

[geargnasher]

Speaking of Post-its, the 1" neon pink, blue, or green square ones with a dab of Elmer's on the back make excellent pasties. I made several target stencils, but I've gotten too lazy to use them!

I got really creative once and did a long session with a red stamp pad, some ancient dot-matrix printer paper, and a potato, but that's another story.

One of my favorites is the common, house-brand saltine cracker. Dust them with colored spray paint and either push-pin them to the target backer, tape them to the edge, or hang them from a wire with clothspins. Reactive, highly visible, and almost 100% biodegradeable. And the paint has to give the fire ant cleanup crew tummy aches, which makes me smile!

Gear

[deltaenterprizes]

Most of the junk mail I get has a blank back to the enclosed letter, even if there is printing putting a 3/4'' dot from the office supply area of Wally World makes a great cheap target, you just need to see where the boolits hit!

[koehn,jim]

great idea. for markers i use inventory control dots from a stationary store. They are available in sizes from half inch to 2 inch and different colors. 3/4 inch black were 7.50 for 1000 fairly cheap. Thanks for the plate idea.

[Bullwolf]

In my home range (inside the barn) I use a roll of butcher paper, and a black permanent marker.



Tear off a rectangle piece of target sized paper, and I draw a circle, square, or whatever on the paper using the permanent marker.

Sometimes I put a piece of duct tape in the center of the target. I also use a roll of duct tape to cover the hits, when I don't feel like replacing the target.

I use 16 penny nails to hold the paper to the front of the disposable hay bails.

While it sound pretty redneck, it works just fine.

I have a MUCH higher success rate recovering brass in the barn, than I do outside in the dirt and leaves.

The whole setup lets me to shoot indoors while it's raining too.

If I turn the lights on in the barn, I can shoot at night as well.

It provides me with hours of fun, and lots and lots of targets.

I have no clue what a roll of butcher paper goes for now. I had a few rolls on hand, and I have not managed to use them all up quite yet.


- Bullwolf