Favorite Target for Load Development?

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

I know everyone has their own way of doing things.

Lately I’ve been looking around for a better target for load development. Lots of good ones out there but curious which you like best.

 

[straightshooter1]

This one is my favorite:

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

This one is my favorite:

View attachment 8065670

That’s one of my favorites. And the two target one.

Maybe it’s already “the best”

 

[paulrem308]

Have been using white poster board with 1\2 grid lines. Use orange target sticker of preferred size. Easy to see bullet placement when doing load development.

 

[JAS-SH]

I do photography so I have the software and printer to roll my own. The one below is multipurpose - works for load development.

I print then in 11x17 sheets of thin card stock so the holes on paper are nice and crisp. Everything is scaled in Mils. The red squares are exactly .1 Mil.

 

[ZA206]

I created some that I print out at work. This is the 3rd iteration… I print them in blue and green. Works for me…

 

[Baron23]

or similar

 

[brianf]

or similar

View attachment 8065796

those are evil, one shot per target will humble you real quick

".5 all day" gets a lot harder when you put 25 in a row on paper

 

[TicTacTex]

those are evil, one shot per target will humble you real quick

".5 all day" gets a lot harder when you put 25 in a row on paper

It increases the “if you do your part” factor.

 

[John Glidewell]

FREE Targets for Load Development, Training, and Fun Shooting « Daily Bulletin

Here's an early Christmas present to our readers -- a selection of FREE printable precision and fun targets. You can download these targets as PDF files and then print them out on 8.5x11 heavy paper. AccurateShooter.com offers a cool page with over <a href=https://www.accurateshooter.

bulletin.accurateshooter.com

I like the first one. 3 red diamonds 1/2"

 

[RegionRat]

Just food for thought.
Many of the above are very good and folks will cover the paper topic, but I will throw in the idea of ShotMarker (eTarget) since it hasn't come up yet.

With a SM or SilverMountain, you get an image of the target, it does the group stats in real time if you want them, it gives the velocity at the target, and it also puts the data in a CSV file for you.

Once I got a taste of working with electronic targets at work, decades before the ShotMarker or SilverMountain came out, it wasn't affordable for me to own a personal eTarget so when those came out I jumped on them. I was involved at two clubs with Beta testing them since I had industrial experience with the predecessors (all of which cost factors more).

Since I got a personal ShotMarker unit, I only pull out paper for subsonic stuff like rimfire or pistols since they won't register. The projectile must make a sonic shock wave to register with one of these inexpensive systems.

I realize paper is way cheaper, but once you find yourself out past a few hundred yards, or trying to practice for matches by yourself, you won't look back on what these cost. YMMV

 

[memilanuk]

But what do you put on the ShotMarker for your aiming point?

For my 600yd+ frame (4'x4') I just stick with an MR1FC, because that's what I shoot at in matches. I usually run an offset, so the POI is about 1.5 moa above the POA, to preserve the target center (even the corroplast backer gets chewed up eventually). That said, I usually *don't* aim at the center X... instead I'll hold one or two rings out @ 3 or 9.

For my short range (100-300yd) frame I usually habe something with a finer aiming mark - often just a BC target spot, the orange ones with a black diamond center. The struggle there (for me, my eyes, on the local range) is having something small enough for precision @ 100 yds, but still big enough to be visible through the mirage @ 300.

 

[acudaowner]

1/4" Permanent Round, Color-Code Dot Stickers: 1,000/Roll

Round stickers come on 3 inch ID cores and ship quickly from Kansas. Choose from 38 colors. Backed with permanent adhesive, simply peel and apply labels.

www.chromalabel.com

cheap and easy to use yea

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

I like these because they are easy stickers, and I can buy them in rolls of 250 for cheap. There's actually another one like it that I think I will like a little bit better because it's just the dot in the middle is a tad bigger and easier to see

 

[FredHammer]

I like the 4 UP!

https://www.larue.com/downloads/target-downloads/target-4-up-download/

 

[spife7980]

Butcher paper and 1/2” dot stickers
Large enough to not miss a horrible flyer and you can set as many or as few aim points as you want

 

[OkieMike]

Nothing fancy... I bought a ream of copier paper and use the 1/2" dot stickers. Cheap and fast. I also keep a manila folder for each rifle's targets... The copier paper is the perfect size for the folder.

Mike

 

[straightshooter1]

Just food for thought.
Many of the above are very good and folks will cover the paper topic, but I will throw in the idea of ShotMarker (eTarget) since it hasn't come up yet.

With a SM or SilverMountain, you get an image of the target, it does the group stats in real time if you want them, it gives the velocity at the target, and it also puts the data in a CSV file for you.

Once I got a taste of working with electronic targets at work, decades before the ShotMarker or SilverMountain came out, it wasn't affordable for me to own a personal eTarget so when those came out I jumped on them. I was involved at two clubs with Beta testing them since I had industrial experience with the predecessors (all of which cost factors more).

Since I got a personal ShotMarker unit, I only pull out paper for subsonic stuff like rimfire or pistols since they won't register. The projectile must make a sonic shock wave to register with one of these inexpensive systems.

I realize paper is way cheaper, but once you find yourself out past a few hundred yards, or trying to practice for matches by yourself, you won't look back on what these cost. YMMV

Yeah, I really like ShotMaker, but on public ranges, I'm not sure how that would work out. It's not unusual to have strays and ricochets hitting my my paper targets . . . mainly when I'm shooting at 100 - 200 yds. And I shoot a lot at 200 yd public ranges.

 

[RegionRat]

But what do you put on the ShotMarker for your aiming point?

Either the regular standard targets, or the load development target that Adam made.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0525/7235/6768/files/ShotMarker_Load_Dev_Target.pdf?v=1614621078

When you save the target, you can annotate to match your load notes, so it doesn't matter what target you use. Make it easy on yourself based on what works well for your scope and your eyes.

Yeah, I really like ShotMaker, but on public ranges, I'm not sure how that would work out. It's not unusual to have strays and ricochets hitting my my paper targets . . . mainly when I'm shooting at 100 - 200 yds. And I shoot a lot of shooting at 200 yd public ranges.

Agree, no way I would put my etarget on a public range where some yoyo could just blast at it.

When I was younger, I would use the public ranges near here (Los Angeles). I can't put a number on the incidents of having someone else blast my target and frame. Many of those incidents were folks who had to swing over nearly 45 degrees to do it, so it wasn't an accident most of the time. There were some idiots, but some were hardcore gangsters. We would typically play dumb but caught them most of the time. I don't remember the last time I shot there....

 

[semperfireloading]

The rolls that midsouth shooters supply sells, are absolutely outstanding. The best money can buy I think.

 

[Rocketmandb]

Large enough to not miss a horrible flyer and you can set as many or as few aim points as you want

At $6.99 per roll, they're a bit on the pricey side. That's $.00699 per dot...

 

[diggler1833]

Here I am, white-trashing it up on old cardboard box lids with Walmart white spray paint (use that for my steel targets) and a black sharpie.

Works for me though.

 

[MarkyMark007]

Tactical:

hunting:

f-class:

SHOTMARKER for F-Class <700m; paper print on very thin plywood on smaller target:

but for SHOTMARKER at 1000m I have bigger target and I paint circles on cheap roller shade for window:

Rollo Basic (B x H: 60 x 175 cm, Weiß, Verdunkelnd) | BAUHAUS

Rollo Basic kaufen bei BAUHAUS: B x H: 60 x 175 cm, Weiß, Verdunkelnd Online bestellen oder Reservieren & Abholen im Fachcentrum

www.bauhaus.info

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

I’ve always used these which are available for free on Accurate Shooter.

https://accurateshooter.net/targets/targetaccshooter.pdf

 

[FredHammer]

Great target ideas! I will say that the thin Styrofoam targets give the crispist holes!

 

[CZp-01]

1" spaced on a piece of cardboard.

 

[OkieMike]

Here I am, white-trashing it up on old cardboard box lids with Walmart white spray paint (use that for my steel targets) and a black sharpie.

Works for me though.

View attachment 8066282

If you have a feed or farm/ranch store nearby (Atwood's, Tractor Supply, Orscheln's, etc...) They'll give you the cardboard flats that come on top of the pallets of feed. Saves them from having to load them in the cardboard baler.

Some are even white on one side... No spray paint.

10 or 20 minutes with a razor knife and you can make up a pile of targets, backers, or even IPSC silhouettes.

If you want to get real fancy... Go to Lowe's and get a roll of the adhesive carpet/floor protector. Paint the cardboard white, chartreuse, or neon orange. Adhere the floor protection film over it, then paint the film black... Poor man's "splatter targets" dirt cheap.

Mike

 

[_Windrider_]

Box to bench makes a cool target

Store - Box to Bench Precision

This fine tuned target is the new and improved version of our original 100 Yard Load Development and Scope Tracking Target! Don’t worry! It is still printed on the same highly durable water resistant and tear resistant paper! Size: 30”x 23.5” New improvements include: -A larger and centered b

www.boxtobenchprecision.com

 

[diggler1833]

If you have a feed or farm/ranch store nearby (Atwood's, Tractor Supply, Orscheln's, etc...) They'll give you the cardboard flats that come on top of the pallets of feed. Saves them from having to load them in the cardboard baler.

Some are even white on one side... No spray paint.

10 or 20 minutes with a razor knife and you can make up a pile of targets, backers, or even IPSC silhouettes.

If you want to get real fancy... Go to Lowe's and get a roll of the adhesive carpet/floor protector. Paint the cardboard white, chartreuse, or neon orange. Adhere the floor protection film over it, then paint the film black... Poor man's "splatter targets" dirt cheap.

Mike

Yep. We've definitely done the Lowe's boxes before to cover our garden, but that is great advice to anyone needing cardboard.

Wife is starting her own vet clinic, so I have access to a ton of boxes right now. Plus, I live so far out in the country that almost everything has to get shipped. I have about 30 of these box lids prepped up and ready for whenever I can sneak out of the house for an hour and blast away.

 

[diggler1833]

It has just occurred to me after this thread and the ProChrono thread, that apparently I'm ghetto AF regarding my supporting equipment provisions.

 

[OkieMike]

It has just occurred to me after this thread and the ProChrono thread, that apparently I'm ghetto AF regarding my supporting equipment provisions.

No shame. If you go cheap on the less critical stuff, you can spend money where it counts.

Mike

 

[OkieMike]

Yep. We've definitely done the Lowe's boxes before to cover our garden, but that is great advice to anyone needing cardboard.

Wife is starting her own vet clinic, so I have access to a ton of boxes right now. Plus, I live so far out in the country that almost everything has to get shipped. I have about 30 of these box lids prepped up and ready for whenever I can sneak out of the house for an hour and blast away.

My youngest boy works at TSC... His employee discount makes it nice when gun safes go on sale.

Find out which days they get freight. Just talk to them and they'll probably let anyone have all the cardboard they want.

Mike

 

[Rocketmandb]

No shame. If you go cheap on the less critical stuff, you can spend money where it counts.

Mike

 

[OkieMike]

I am not a sports guy at all... But I really liked that movie. Lot of good laughs in it.

Mike

 

[Rocketmandb]

I am not a sports guy at all... But I really liked that movie. Lot of good laughs in it.

Actually, a lot of good lessons to be learned from that movie.

 

[6MT]

This is my favorit. if you print it full size, the increments are 1 inch. (Sorry about the crappy resolution.)

 

[blisters]

I mostly use the old Spuhr ones, my preferred target is the 45 degree MIL target which is extremely easy to center in the reticle (for me at least, I realize this is highly subjective).

You can download it (and MOA version, and regular squares version) here, on the last page:

Downloads

We have collected some useful downloads for your perusal below. If you miss something please let us know. Note: When you print the Target files please set printer option to “Actual size&#8221…

www.spuhr.biz