Night Vision Steel targets with thermal... No heat...

[PlinkIt]

Swapped one of my thermal units back to a gun it was on before, and punched in what I had written down as my zero.

I normally use reflective tape on cardboard to zero my thermals

But.... I had a can of paint... And started thinking...

Wonder what this will look like...
Been raining all day and conditions suck, but I could verify zero no problem

 

[atepointer]

Man nice! Something I figured out one day with a similar 'hmmmm'. I hunt white hot, but went to black hot and used tin foil? Oh man even in middle of the day it stands out like a white boy in Harlem. Nice work on the paint will pass this on to some fellers

 

[cake5150]

Never thought of using reflective paint, but thermal is the reason I kept aluminum foil scraps in my target folder at all times.

 

[Namekagon]

I have thermal, but have been using handwarmer dust balled up in a coffee filter, then hung from the target for a smaller aiming point. How do you use foil as a target? Seems to me I tried this, but couldn't see it.

 

[PlinkIt]

Just get a larger reflective piece of that's the case....

The reflective duct tape is like 2" and if you pull off a square it's plenty at a hundred yards

 

[Bravo6niner]

Just get a larger reflective piece of that's the case....

The reflective duct tape is like 2" and if you pull off a square it's plenty at a hundred yards

Ya I’ve had great luck with the aluminum ducting seal tape. Stick it to cardboard and roll ??

 

[Killswitch Engage]

damn now this is a brilliant idea. did you angle your steel at all towards the sky? i notice a dramatically better effect with foil when you do. thanks for the idea. gonna give it a try.

 

[shoobe01]

Thermal ID panels are, mostly, reflecting the sky which is essentially always colder than the ground. So, you get contrast. Some ID panels are striped, with specifically non-reflective bits to assure sharp edges, and your ID panel is visible.

Now, if trying to emulate targets, then heat is good (even if bad, like because ambient air is the same temp... because now you know). Militaries have forced air heaters inside the hollow-plastic popups, and so on. Seen adequate results from MRE heaters (which are terrible for food heating, so I always have spare as I use something else) simply taped to the back of a cardboard or coroplast target, but trapping heat seems better such as sticking it in a shallow box or trapping between two cardboard targets. I have heard of folks just keeping a propane torch in their truck for shooting on steel. Once warmed, it'll stay that way for a while so you can get back to the firing line and still have something at least outside-of-mammal temperature generally, though I have never done it.

 

[PlinkIt]

damn now this is a brilliant idea. did you angle your steel at all towards the sky? i notice a dramatically better effect with foil when you do. thanks for the idea. gonna give it a try.

I did angle it back to reflect the sky the same way I do my cardboard

I normally hang my steel and let it angle down, but I haven't tried this yet with the thermal as I don't expect as good of a result angled down on my hanging stands, but I will try it and report back if nobody beats me too it

 

[Killswitch Engage]

Thermal ID panels are, mostly, reflecting the sky which is essentially always colder than the ground. So, you get contrast. Some ID panels are striped, with specifically non-reflective bits to assure sharp edges, and your ID panel is visible.

Now, if trying to emulate targets, then heat is good (even if bad, like because ambient air is the same temp... because now you know). Militaries have forced air heaters inside the hollow-plastic popups, and so on. Seen adequate results from MRE heaters (which are terrible for food heating, so I always have spare as I use something else) simply taped to the back of a cardboard or coroplast target, but trapping heat seems better such as sticking it in a shallow box or trapping between two cardboard targets. I have heard of folks just keeping a propane torch in their truck for shooting on steel. Once warmed, it'll stay that way for a while so you can get back to the firing line and still have something at least outside-of-mammal temperature generally, though I have never done it.

none of that is new or untried for most anyone running a thermal. heat is great but it takes something to generate it along with keeping it there. reflection of thermal dynamic requires nothing more than reflection. thats what makes this a fantastic idea.

 

[PlinkIt]

@shoobe01 I do understand the logic behind using heat on the targets

I was just thinking it would be nice to paint 3-4 plates and leave them on my range. This way all I have to do is step outside and fire three shots.... Go on with my day.... Next week maybe I'll verify with 3 shots again

Trying to avoid set up time and bringing more materials out.

The 10x10 was still perfectly visible after putting a half dozen rounds on it, so I could get a good bit of shooting in without need for target maintenance with a torch or hot hands... Etc

 

[Rerun7]

I was using hot hands when I first started and thought there had to be something better. We were having takeout one night and I noticed the lid to the containers are aluminum foil on the bottom and perfect circles in various sizes. Started saving them since then and they work great!

 

[shoobe01]

Other idea for painting, never tried it but NIR is pretty near to visible, so likely will work: ScotchLight.

(Unless everyone knows this also) all the ScotchLite products are just delivery methods for microballoons. Tiny, tiny, tiny hollow glass balls. Their size and composition makes them extremely good retroreflectors.

So my concern for any reflective material like ScotchLite tape is that it will be very easily damaged. But we all know how long a plate will stay painted at least a little white. So I wonder how easy it would be to paint it with the same material.

Dunno where to get good retroreflective paint (I know it exists, such as for roadway striping, but the consumer versions are awful), but you can make some. Buy the microballoons (easy to get, often sold as filler for epoxy, etc.) Mix into some relatively clear paint, slather it with a brush or roller on top of a white painted target.

 

[Killswitch Engage]

paint the shit mexican chrome from a rattle can and lets see. we are overly complicating this discussion. theres million damn things that will work for a thermal target from hot hands, ice cubes, hot liquid. cold liquid, glittery sprinkles yada yada.... theyre all finite in use and life span. steel lasts indef and gives you instant feedback.

 

[PlinkIt]

@shoobe01 Try some of the stuff out and let us know how it works

I'm with KSE on the notes about steel. It lasts a LONG time, and I can drop the tripod down in the yard and shoot my few targets as a quick equipment check and know I am good to go...

I could have painted them a couple weeks ago

Stop on way too truck

Pew..ting
Pew....ting
Pew......ting

Load gear in the truck and go...

If no ting... Put that back in the safe cuz it needs work

 

[Killswitch Engage]

So about that Mexican chrome paint....I’d say it’s pure genius

 

[Squibbler]

Just added Mexican chrome paint to the buy list from hardware store

 

[PlinkIt]

So about that Mexican chrome paint....I’d say it’s pure genius

Glad it worked for you!

Did you end up leaning back to reflect sky as well?

I did notice that the can I got actually coats the steel really well compared to the cheap spray cans. I would equate it to the high coverage can or my regular spray paint

 

[Killswitch Engage]

Glad it worked for you!

Did you end up leaning back to reflect sky as well?

I did notice that the can I got actually coats the steel really well compared to the cheap spray cans. I would equate it to the high coverage can or my regular spray paint

i didnt need to with snow covered ground. maybe when the snow is gone i will need to angle it back but for now it works crazy good.

 

[Docsherm]

Swapped one of my thermal units back to a gun it was on before, and punched in what I had written down as my zero.

I normally use reflective tape on cardboard to zero my thermals

But.... I had a can of paint... And started thinking...

View attachment 7204413

Wonder what this will look like...
Been raining all day and conditions suck, but I could verify zero no problem

View attachment 7204414

I also get the small hand warmers and tape them to the back. I do the same with IR chemlights behind steels with NVGs.

 

[Aescobar17]

@shoobe01 I do understand the logic behind using heat on the targets

I was just thinking it would be nice to paint 3-4 plates and leave them on my range. This way all I have to do is step outside and fire three shots.... Go on with my day.... Next week maybe I'll verify with 3 shots again

Trying to avoid set up time and bringing more materials out.

The 10x10 was still perfectly visible after putting a half dozen rounds on it, so I could get a good bit of shooting in without need for target maintenance with a torch or hot hands... Etc

I do this regularly. I leave an 18x18 plate at 100 yds at all times, and I tag it for zero confirmation or to rezero after swapping optics all the time. I’ve zeroed a handful of thermals this way, and confirm zero every time head out to kill this way.

 

[Blue Ant]

I can definitely say it works. I hang my steel from the front and it angles it up enough to reflect the cold sky. Works way into the night as well. Was around 11pm when I left and I could still see it at 300. The pics here are from my phone at 100. I should have took pics with the unit! I'm thinking it was around 50 degrees that night and dropping.

P.S. I never join discussions here but yall have helped me, so I'm posting this, hopefully it will help others. So yep I'm a creeper....

 

[Gee Kay]

Just thinking outside the box here...
I know these things get really hot on the skin. You think they will work on metal? Holds heat (feels more like a fire than heat) for a few hours on skin.

 

[Geeb]

Just thinking outside the box here... View attachment 7246035
I know these things get really hot on the skin. You think they will work on metal? Holds heat (feels more like a fire than heat) for a few hours on skin.

If they produce heat, it will show under thermal.

 

[deersniper]

I can definitely say it works. I hang my steel from the front and it angles it up enough to reflect the cold sky. Works way into the night as well. Was around 11pm when I left and I could still see it at 300. The pics here are from my phone at 100. I should have took pics with the unit! I'm thinking it was around 50 degrees that night and dropping.

P.S. I never join discussions here but yall have helped me, so I'm posting this, hopefully it will help others. So yep I'm a creeper....

Lol

7 years

Mexican chrome makes you break the silence

 

[Blue Ant]

deersniper beating me up already. I swear! There were some pics I needed to see years ago on a bolt gun. Thats probably why join date was 7 years ago. I read and read and then I find my answers eventually, then no reason to post the same question everyone else asks a thousand times.

 

[deersniper]

Don’t be shy you can post more lol

 

[DownRangeThermal]

I've used high temp bbq paint with good success