Use targets that make sense...

[JTH]

My last argument was posted in the Information Arsenal forum, but since I'm not sure this qualifies as a "great article," I'll just post here instead.

When John Wallace was writing his series of articles about "Chasing the Timer," one of the things he talked about was how many people use huge targets for practice.  It got me thinking, so I went off a bit about choosing appropriate targets for actual practice.  (As opposed to general plinking.)

"Targets---Size DOES Matter..."

Thoughts?

(If you think you recognize yourself from one of my range stories, OF COURSE IT WASN'T you. Not at all.  You are a perfectly safe shooter.  If you really think it was, though---then please stop doing whatever I talked about in the story.)

[AWick]

minute-of-IPSC

Ha! That's awesome! I was out of both paper plates and targets one time and of course had already gone out to the farmland range. I did however have water balloons (unfilled) and string in my car so I blew those puppies up, tied a string of about 16 at a time, and set them at about 8 yards out. With a little breeze going on that made for a fun afternoon.

[JTH]

Ha! That's awesome! I was out of both paper plates and targets one time and of course had already gone out to the farmland range. I did however have water balloons (unfilled) and string in my car so I blew those puppies up, tied a string of about 16 at a time, and set them at about 8 yards out. With a little breeze going on that made for a fun afternoon.

When playing with .22 rifles in the past, we use to do a little competition where people had to run 15 yards, pick up and load their rifle, and pop three hanging small balloons (on a preferably windy day) at 50 yards---for time.  Any missed shots cost 10 seconds. (Which was a killer.  You couldn't afford to miss.)  People could stand, kneel, sit, or go prone---completely up to them. 

It was surprisingly hard, particularly since you KNEW that someone was going to try to run it faster if you had a good run.  So how fast was the best you could do?  You couldn't afford to play it safe, but you couldn't afford to miss, either... 

It was annoying to keep putting up balloons, but it was a ton of fun to shoot.  (Blacker Ops folks, expect to see something similar in the future....   )

[abbafandr]

I just picked up some cheap paper dinner size plate (9" IIRC).  They make a decent target; trying to keep shots in the center tightens it to about 6".  They are easy to put up and dispose of. 

[Lorimor]

I found some little 6" paper plates and have been known to staple them to IDPA targets. 

[bkoenig]

Paper plates make good targets.  They have the #1 most important attribute - they're cheap.  If you want to practice more precise shooting just take a Sharpie and make a small circle in the center.

[camus]

I really like shooting the 1 inch dots, I still can't do a clean run at 5 yards on the first run or even consistently  (yes, I have done it multiple times in a row, I probably should do more of it).

But sometimes a guy just has throw out a steel plate and a couple of IPSC targets and have some fun.


One thing I have notice is a can hit the A zone a lot quicker if practicing with full size targets than just having a card board target of approximate A zone size.

[gsd]

One thing I have notice is a can hit the A zone a lot quicker if practicing with full size targets than just having a card board target of approximate A zone size.

One thing I could offer for this is the psychological effect of having a large target visual with a small target area as compared to seeing a small target alone.

In explanation...if I am shooting at a b-34 style target, with an all black hit area and a little red vital area, I can usually keep them within a 3 inch group at 7 yards. Give me a 8.5x11 piece of paper and paint a 3 inch circle on it, then tell me to put them all in the circle, and I will psych myself out of it in a heartbeat.

[camus]

One thing I could offer for this is the psychological effect of having a large target visual with a small target area as compared to seeing a small target alone.

In explanation...if I am shooting at a b-34 style target, with an all black hit area and a little red vital area, I can usually keep them within a 3 inch group at 7 yards. Give me a 8.5x11 piece of paper and paint a 3 inch circle on it, then tell me to put them all in the circle, and I will psych myself out of it in a heartbeat.

Actually, I  meant more in terms of speed / transitions in my convoluted post, it probably has more to just finding the larger target quickly. Although I do seem to do a better job of staying on the paper with smaller targets as opposed to hitting a C on the larger.

That said, if shooting a bulls eye target, with a six inch black dot vs a 3 inch at the same distance I will shoot tighter on the 3, at least at closer ranges.

[kozball]

That said, if shooting a bulls eye target, with a six inch black dot vs a 3 inch at the same distance I will shoot tighter on the 3, at least at closer ranges.

Question, do you feel that you shoot at the same speed when engaging the different sized targets?

[bkoenig]

That said, if shooting a bulls eye target, with a six inch black dot vs a 3 inch at the same distance I will shoot tighter on the 3, at least at closer ranges.

Aim small, miss small.  I've noticed the same thing (albeit more with rifles).