Saving money on targets

[gmerkt]

The range where I'm a member sells paper targets for a dollar apiece. I didn't mind paying for them when they were a quarter, then fifty cents apiece. So I remembered that my pal Jerry Wiljanen (unfortunately no longer with us) used to make his own targets out of cereal boxes. Now I've taken up Jerry's baton and I'm making my own like that.

One of my NEF SB-2 single shots in .223 Rem. fell over last year and I wanted to check the zero on the scope. That and I was shooting an untried load using Accurate 2015 powder.

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[2ndtimer]

Or, you could use the stick on target stickers on the back side of the cereal boxes and have 6 or 8 targets on one large box.

 

[Bobbygun]

Or, you could use the stick on target stickers on the back side of the cereal boxes and have 6 or 8 targets on one large box.

View attachment 1884700

Love those orange stickers. I always have a bunch of those handy. Use them for rifles, pistols and even my bow.

 

[gmerkt]

Or, you could use the stick on target stickers on the back side of the cereal boxes and have 6 or 8 targets on one large box.

1. The orange dots cost money. I have many cans of green spray paint that I got for a dollar each.

2. Too small. I like the big green circle. I've been able to keep centered on the middle of the big green ball, but I've thought about another color dead center.

 

[TTSX]

Steel targets are the way. They're an expensive buy in but pay for themselves in the long run. Just a wee bit of paint now and then.

I've also done the cereal box thing. Works great.

 

[spookshack]

The range where I'm a member sells paper targets for a dollar apiece. I didn't mind paying for them when they were a quarter, then fifty cents apiece. So I remembered that my pal Jerry Wiljanen (unfortunately no longer with us) used to make his own targets out of cereal boxes. Now I've taken up Jerry's baton and I'm making my own like that.

One of my NEF SB-2 single shots in .223 Rem. fell over last year and I wanted to check the zero on the scope. That and I was shooting an untried load using Accurate 2015 powder.

View attachment 1884629View attachment 1884631

Looks "dead nuts" on to me.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I'm a paper plate man my own self. For fancy I have a roll of 1" black dots.

 

[Provincial]

I'm lazy. I print off targets with free software from targetz.com and tape them to the boxes.

 

[Joe13]

These are my go to (or similar).

50 for $40 on Amazon.

They don't get wet in the rain and it's basically 5 targets for less then $1 each so it pretty economical and I like the grids for precision shooting at distance and close up.

 

[Joe13]

I'm lazy. I print off targets with free software from targetz.com and tape them to the boxes.

I did that for awhile and had a binder I kept them in.

Until my wife told me how much ink I just used and what it cost….

Now she gets ink on a plan so maybe it would be ok now but I'm to spoiled with the splatter targets that are more like card stock and do not get wet.

 

[Richo877]

The library only charges $.10 per page to print and there's all sorts of downloads online. Your taxes pay for libraries, use them.

Downloadable Targets | Freedom Munitions

Order your ammo online and we'll ship it directly to your doorstep. New & Remanufactured Ammunition - Made in the USA

www.freedommunitions.com

 

[Alexx1401]

I did that for awhile and had a binder I kept them in.

Until my wife told me how much ink I just used and what it cost….

Now she gets ink on a plan so maybe it would be ok now but I'm to spoiled with the splatter targets that are more like card stock and do not get wet.

As my eyes kept getting older I got spoiled with the spatter targets too. Buy them a bunch at a time from Jeff. I saw a video of how to make your own one time but looked like more work than I wanted to put into doing it.

 

[Spitpatch]

"Targets" of the paper type can be utilized for different purposes. Often, what the shooter wants is an instantly visible register of bullet impact, with little or no further use for that target. The splatter type sheets are ideal for this, since junk washing machines are less than easily portable, and plywood is expensive.

For more directed purposes, The target must be compatible with the sights and proper sight picture to allow the gun (and the eyes) to do their best. A black scope reticle against a black bull fails at this requirement. Conversely, a buckhorn and bead do very well with a round black bull and a 6 o'clock hold.

Frustrated with printed paper store-bought targets, years ago I designed my own. These are printed on normal copy paper, and though ink costs are a factor, I have not been sent to the poor house as a result. "Draft" setting on the printer helps a lot.

The primary feature of doing so is consistency. 20 years later, I can reference previous results for a particular gun and continue research utilizing the identical target. This measures real progress or actual deterioration from a newer load. While store-bought targets are also "consistent", their availability was always spotty and intermittent.

This target allows for enlarging or reducing according to application (scope power settings, type of sights, etc.) The 50 yard target (or a target shot with a 12 power scope) would be of smaller squares. Larger squares serve the other end of the spectrum. Square bulls not only work well for scopes, they are nearly ideal for pistol "brick and slot" sights, reducing windage and elevation errors.

I still utilize round bull store-bought (or copied) targets for guns with globe sights, or buckhorn and bead arrangements.

For true consistent research in maximizing the accuracy of your guns, documentation is EVERYTHING. Ongoing consistency in the target used is absolutely essential for any comparison toward improvement.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

For range work or sighting in....
I take paper / cardboard from our recycle boxes at school...
Then draw a circle with a coin or a rectangle with a playing card for use as a target.

At the local shooting pit...
I like shooting at :
The left over clay birds...and clay bird bits....
Spent shotgun shells...picking them up afterwards and tossin' them in trash at home...
Odd colored small rocks , leaves or flowers.
Andy

 

[Mikej]

For rifle at distance we get the cheapest large 5-bull paper targets and ad sticky bull's in fluorescent orange and/or green.

Amazon.com

Paper plates for hand gun.

We got a couple of these for stands..
https://hatpointtarget.com/ They have worked quite well.
And keep a supply of cardboard pieces in the range box for backers.

 

[therealhitman]

 

[Spitpatch]

View attachment 1884747

"Somebody back East is sayin', 'Why don't he write?' "

 

[Catfishmoon]

I am another fan of splatter targets in general, especially when handgun shooting past 15 yards. I usually can not see where the bullet impacted on other style targets and I want to immediately see where my bullet hit the target without having to pickup and use a spotting scope or similar, I want to adjust my next shot accordingly...
If I were rifle shooting with a telescope or shooting a handgun at a closer distance my thoughts would be different.

 

[gmerkt]

Steel targets are the way. They're an expensive buy in but pay for themselves in the long run. Just a wee bit of paint now and then.

These are good, but not allowed on the range where I'm a member. Danger of ricochet.

Until my wife told me how much ink I just used and what it cost….

I don't know about her printer, but my Canon home version has atrocious cost for ink cartridges. They sell the printers cheap, then kill you on ink cartridges. I've purchased some of those home brew ink kits and saves some money with those.

The primary feature of doing so is consistency. 20 years later, I can reference previous results for a particular gun and continue research utilizing the identical target. This measures real progress or actual deterioration from a newer load.

For true consistent research in maximizing the accuracy of your guns, documentation is EVERYTHING. Ongoing consistency in the target used is absolutely essential for any comparison toward improvement.

The two ideas above, very organized and on point. Most people aren't that focused, I'd think. I'm not. But I do keep records.

At the local shooting pit...
I like shooting at :
The left over clay birds...and clay bird bits....
Spent shotgun shells...picking them up afterwards and tossin' them in trash at home...
Odd colored small rocks , leaves or flowers.

Yes, this is the order of the day mostly out in the hills by Darrington. I take paper targets if I'm going to sight-in or do chrono work. I actually prefer to do chrono work out there, because it's too fiddly at the range. Shooting at rocks and other miscellany would get me kicked off a range tout de suite. Decades ago, I went to a range with a couple of other guys. One of them commenced to do that; the range master was on him right away and kicked him off.

 

[lucusloc]

Or you buy paper targets for 10 cents each and call it a day? Quite a few of them have multiple targets per sheet, so the cost per target is significantly less than that.