Best Target?

[mike3132]

For punching paper what is the best target to shoot? I use a paper plate painted red stapled on top of a larger cross target so the cross lines protrude from behind the plate. At distance I seem to shoot high and thought a smaller dot might be better.

My vision is slightly blurred rear close up so the rear sight sometimes is a bit doubled. I thought a big dot would help me but maybe I should try a smaller one. Mike

 

[Carl Fowler III]

These old eyes of mine give me fits at the range....still looking for that altimate target as well...it'll be interesting to see the results of this post! Right now the best I have found is a 2" blaze orange sticker placed in center of white 8-1/2 by 11 sheet of paper! :v

 

[Coot]

I have used a NRA slow fire 25 yard pistol target for pistols and for rifles out to 100 yards for so many years that I might not recognize anything else as a target. I do enjoy shooting charcoal briquettes hung on a string (when I can see them against the background).

 

[Billnpatti]

There is an expression "Aim small, miss small". The perfect target is one that is as small as you can see well. For the aging eyes, a peep sight is a work and a wonder. If you don't have a peep sight, the next best thing is to get one of the Merit Optical attachments that is an adjustable aperture with a suction cup that you put on your glasses. You simply place it so that you are looking thorough it as you aim. Then adjust the aperture for your eyes and the lighting conditions. It is better for target shooting than hunting. For hunting, a peep sight is a better choice. Actually, what is called a "Ghost Ring" sight is an excellent hunting choice. Aging eyes are a pain in the butt...... but the envy of the blind man. :haha:

 

[Rifleman1776]

get one of the Merit Optical attachments that is an adjustable aperture with a suction cup that you put on your glasses

Agree. I have one and it works fine. Two problems with them though. One, the Merit is very expensive, north of $60.00. However, there are now competing products on the market and you can make your own with some cleverness.
Two, they are good only on the range as you must hold both gun and your head the same way for every shot. That makes them useless for hunting.
Moving the rear sight up the barrel can help. Peepers are good but there is a steep learning curve before most shooters can use peeps for hunting.

 

[Robert Egler]

I too had problems with the rear sight as I got older. I have found that a ghost ring sight like the "Bullseye" sight from Marble Arms to be excellent.

As to targets, I use 3 inch red circle with a 2 inch thin black line grid for sighting in, but for general practice I shoot at color images of my intended target (squirrels or fox) in different presentations. Since I'll be shooting at squirrels or fox and neither looks much like a high-contrast geometric shape on a white target, so I practice with what I'll actually be seeing.

I just find a couple photos online in different poses and print them on my printer. I also calculate the apparent distance for the animal to be the size it is on the paper for the fox, and print the squirrel one life size.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I found that sometimes it's not the target size, it's the size of the front sight post. If it looks like you are trying to center a quarter on top of a 2x4..., you need to go to a thinner front sight post..., providing you can focus your eye on it. When folks swap out a thick front sight post they often then find the rear sight notch is a bit big too, so it's not uncommon to swap out both.
Not a very expensive option to obtain a more precise sight alignment.

LD

 

[roundball]

For punching paper what is the best target to shoot?

I buy cheap paper plates from WalMart and use 1", 2" or 3" stickers I buy from an Office Supply place as Aim Point stickers...different size A/P stickers depending on distances or what I'm trying to do on a given range trip...ie: 1" stickers to practice head shots for squirrels, etc. (example 3" sticker below)
For any load development / test targets I want to save, I use a preprinted sticker to capture the essential data.

 

[Billnpatti]

Oh, I forgot to tell you about putting fingernail polish on your front sight. I went to the Dollar store many years ago and bought a cheap bottle of white fingernail polish and one of a bright red fingernail polish. I found that if I put just a dab on the back of my front sight, it really helps. You have to be careful to completely cover the back of your sight and then wipe off any excess if it happens to get on the side of your sight. You just select which color works best for the target and lighting conditions. When you want to change colors, just a quick wipe with a bit of acetone on a rag will remove the polish from your sight and let you change colors or go to a plain un-painted sight. Also, depending on the lighting conditions, I sometimes smoke my rear sight to cut down the glare if the sun is to my back. This can work for either target shooting or hunting. If you are target shooting, you can make some shaders for your sights that help with your sight picture, too. Just recently one of our contributors, I think it may have been Rifleman1776 posted a great idea for some simple to make and use shaders. You might do a search and find them.

 

[Billnpatti]

Now, that's some mighty find shooting, sir. :hatsoff:

 

[necchi]

I use a 1 1/2" black dot on a 8 1/2x11 sheet of printer paper out too 100 yards.
Bill said it, Aim Small-Miss Small.

 

[jamesthomas]

I do the same Necchi, I go online to a website and print out the targets. I think its a 2" black circle with a 1" grid square on the paper. This year I plan on buying some of those life size targets (squirrel and deer) from either Bass Pro or Dicks Sporting goods to do some final sighting in. PLUS I may take a visit to the eye doctor an see if I need NEW GLASSES :td: . I can't see much past 15 yrds before everything becomes a big blur. :shake: If I had 2 wishes one of them would be to be able to see as good as when I was 15. I'll let ya'll guess on the 2nd wish :grin:.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Some years ago, I happened upon a case of US Army 100 (or 1000) inch targets. Not sure what the inch label thing is about, but they are just right for shooting offhand at 50 yards and pistol at 25 yds. There is a single black bull about 1.5 inches in diameter and a few rings around that. The sheets of paper are about 8 x 10. For bench shooting at 100, I sometimes use a farm disc blade that has a 2 inch hole in the center. If I don't hear a clang, I know it was a ten.

 

[Rusty_Nail]

Mike,

I print freebee's from online, and do them in draft mode/B&W on the printer to save ink. If you need brighter/darker ones, print them regular or photo quality full color.

Also a few critter ones on there.
http://www.mytargets.com/

 

[Semisane]

For 50 yards and out to 150, a 3" black dot works best for me. For under 50 yards a 1" dot works just fine. And political yard signs make the best target holders.

 

[Semisane]

I print freebee's from online, and do them in draft mode/B&W on the printer to save ink.

Rusty Nail, I print a master copy of mine at the highest quality then take it to a copy store and make a bunch at seven cents a copy.

The one below prints on 8.5 x 11" paper. I have it as an MS Word .doc file. If anyone wants it let me know in a PM and I'll send it to you as an attachment to an email.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I found that sometimes printing targets on standard paper is a problem with too much glare off the white paper. Do you have them printed on other paper? The manilla paper on which most targets are printed does not glare like the white finished copy paper.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Oh, I forgot to tell you about putting fingernail polish on your front sight. I went to the Dollar store many years ago and bought a cheap bottle of white fingernail polish and one of a bright red fingernail polish. I found that if I put just a dab on the back of my front sight, it really helps. You have to be careful to completely cover the back of your sight and then wipe off any excess if it happens to get on the side of your sight. You just select which color works best for the target and lighting conditions. When you want to change colors, just a quick wipe with a bit of acetone on a rag will remove the polish from your sight and let you change colors or go to a plain un-painted sight. Also, depending on the lighting conditions, I sometimes smoke my rear sight to cut down the glare if the sun is to my back. This can work for either target shooting or hunting. If you are target shooting, you can make some shaders for your sights that help with your sight picture, too. Just recently one of our contributors, I think it may have been Rifleman1776 posted a great idea for some simple to make and use shaders. You might do a search and find them.

Do you mean? :wink: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/...id/281217/post/1294780/hl/shader/fromsearch/1/

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I kept little jars of model car paint and q-tips in my shooting box to paint the back of the front sight. White, orange and red. Just a little dab'l do ya.

 

[William O.]

I can't say what the best for everyone is, but what works for me is the 6 inch Birch-Wood Casey Shoot-N-See adhesive targets. These have a 1 inch orange dot in the middle and show a bright yellowish green when hit; easy to see at 50 yards and hits are equally easy to see. Whichever range I am at I just stick the shoot-n-see circle to the middle of the provided paper target. I can only say to try it and maybe it will be the best target for you as well.