Preliminary Success - Targets

[Uncle R.]

Hi all:
I finally got out to the range yesterday to try my home-made "splatter" targets. I made them from cardboard sheet - not corrugated but what grandma used to call "shirt cardboard". I coated the sheet with turtle wax and let it dry - then buffed it off as though it were a car fender. I spray painted right over the wax with John Deere green implement enamel because that's what I had on the shelf and this was only an experiment. Three days drying time and off to the range we went.
Hits from a .223 @ 100 yards left a nice round bald spot of about 3/8" diameter or a bit more, with the bullet hole right in the middle. The hits were very easy to spot even with a crummy scope. EUREKA!
Next step is to make up some serious targets with black paint and try 'em at 200 yards. If it works and I can spot the holes through my Bushnell Sentry I'll finally have targets that I can see for iron sight shooting @200 and still be able to spot the hits in that big black bull.
:-D
Uncle R.

[Pepe Ray]

Just curious,
What prompted you to buff the wax before painting. Seems like added/unnecessary work, No?Yes?
In either case, great idea, thanks.
Pepe Ray

[Single Shot]

Glad to see things worked out.

Thanks for the tip.:drinks:

[DeanoBeanCounter]

:-D Keep us posted with your different variations. :drinks:
Deano

[ktw]

Maybe if you painted the cardboard with a second, contrasting color before waxing it you might get an even more visible hole?

-ktw

[Uncle R.]

KTW - I though about a base coat - flourescent orange, maybe - but I'm trying to minimize cost and the extra paint would be a factor.
The next try will be black paint over white finished card - I'm hoping the high contrast will make for good visibility without a base coat.
<
Pepe Ray - Buff might be too strong a word for what I did. I laid on a generous coat of wax which partly soaked into the card and partly dried on top. I just rubbed off the wax that didn't soak in - it wasn't like I made a high-gloss finish.
<
The trick of course is to get just the right amount of paint adhesion. I'm sure that the finish and surface texture of the cardboard and the exact type of paint used on the final targets will have an effect. I can control adhesion to some extent - so I'm fairly confident that I can make the final (black-on-white) targets work.
<
I suppose the whole project seems kinda silly - but staring through a spotting scope and the haze, dust and mirage at 200 yards while trying to decide IF and WHERE there's a hole in that black 10" bull is extremely frustrating. Worse, paying a dollar each for Shoot-N-See target centers would empty the primer and powder fund mighty quickly.

:-D

Uncle R.

[Scrounger]

"Quote:..but staring through a spotting scope and the haze, dust and mirage at 200 yards while trying to decide IF and WHERE there's a hole in that black 10" bull is extremely frustrating."Quote

Too black is not good, try 'greying' out your black bullseye. Easy to do on a computer generated target and series copying on a copy machine to get a fifth generation copy works good too. I believe it was Rifle Magazine that was advocating blue target centers some years ago, they were selling them I think. Bullet holes are easily seen in blue centers and supposedly they're easier on the eyes. I expect Willy could come up with a target with a blue center for you. By the way, Office Depot can copy targets for you at a very good price, far better than buying them.

[VTDW]

I can send anyone that wants targets made in PowerPoint. You can alter the colors, the lines etc to suit your style and eyes. Just e-mail me if you want them and put Targets in the Subject Line.

Dave

[Uncle R.]

Scrounger:
I print out and use grey targets all the time for my scoped rifles and they work great. You're right, it's MUCH easier to spot holes in grey - but when I try to shoot with irons the greys just fade away over the front sight. Getting old is a pain!
:roll:
I've messed around with colors a little and shades of grey considerably - but so far nothing's been as good as a big jet black bull on a white background. I'll admit I haven't tried blue though.
Uncle R.