Rifle Steel Color

[outerlimits]

Let's hear it...

[Jesse Tischauser]

I voted white but now that I have a 1-6x it really doesn't matter.

[Doug H.]

I voted for black steel. More consistancy from shooter to shooter. But they need to have a light colored backer, white or yellow, so that they can be seen by the iron sight guys.

Doug

[RiggerJJ]

A very incomplete poll...but you are on the right track by offering black or white...The 2 secrets to target presentation are; contrast (the more the better) and shadowing (the least the better).

Backers are almost always needed to provided contrast/visibility. The only place recently I have seen backers were not needed was on stage 2? shooting across the lake at Ozark. The rest of the long range targets on the other stages at Ozark were pretty much invisible during at least part of the day. because...they didn't have backers, and they were white.

Florecent Orange - Required to be worn on hunters in most states for a reason; its highly visible! Even in shadows and during dusk! Flo Orange targets do work and work well, but they require a lot of work in that they need to be painted quite often. Not having contrasting backgrounds does make them hard to see.

White only - Most matches have figured out that white only targets are the spawn of the devil. If any shade or shadows hit them they go totally cloaked, especially if the shade is mottled thru tree leaves. can you say CAMMO? The ONLY time they are visible is when they are in front of a solid dark background. And white paint only lasts thru 3-4 shooters before they develop their own CAMMO. White also goes into cloaked mode when put out on ranges with sand or earth backgrounds.

Black only - again, most matches have figured out they are tough to see at least sometimes, but are normally better than white only. And again, they go into cloaked mode when in shadowing. Shooting them and knocking off the paint does much less to the visibility than white painted targets. BUT they need a light colored background to be visible throughout the day.

Magnification - Those who use magnification (scopes) have a big advantage, and usually don't have major problems seeing targets regardless of what color they are. Its the iron sighted shooters that usually get the raw end of the deal. When placing targets DO NOT use any magnification (binocs, rangefinders, etc) when you are at the shooting positions having people move the targets around for you. If you can see them with an UNAIDED eye, they are visible for ALL shooters. And check them out during different parts of the day just to be sure.

The bottom line - I have come to realize over a few years of testing and trying things with regards to long range rifle target color is there is no perfect answer. For the most part, black/dark grey targets backed with bright yellow are the most visible MOST OF THE TIME during the day. Placing a target so equipped in shadows means all bets are off, but not anyway near as bad as a dark target with no backer, or the worse, a white target with no backer. The backer only needs to be about 4 inches larger than the target so they don't block feedback on misses but still provide contrast.

My choices in order;

1st - black target with bright yellow backing

2nd - Florecent Orange

White or black only targets? NEVER!

jj

BTW, I voted for "Other", because my 1st choice was not available and "Other" met my 2nd choice.

Edited November 12, 2010 by RiggerJJ

[caspian guy]

I voted black but only with a suitable backer.

We use powdered lime on the berm behind the steel to create contrast. It seems to hold up fairly well and you can see the dust kick on misses.

[J.Schmitt]

Thank you JJ for laying that out. Well said. 100% agreement from an IRON shooter. Shadows are the worst. Now to get everyone on the same page. Build visible targets and I think people will come to shoot irons in TI and HM.

Jay

[Vespid_Wasp]

Use a contrasting backer and it doesn't matter much. Bright yellow backers behind a black target are ideal.

[Religious Shooter]

I like my steel like my women...

[-=VILLAMOR=-]

Very well said JJ.

As an iron sight shooter and engaging distant targets that may be low to the ground or in the shadow of the flasher, I found myself guesstimating about where the plate would be. I would love to see a black target with bright yellow backing. An idea would be a corrogated plastic panel painted in bright yellow behind the target. Those could take quite a few rounds and may not even need to be painted.

[2alphas]

As an iron shooter, I voted black. THis assumes a backer. Bright yellow is perfect, however I have seen targets 'backed' by having lime on the ground behind the targets. Worked well through entire match and no clean up.

TC

[springy]

I like my steel like my women...

Highly visible? or rusted with sharp edges and missing parts?

[Big Bore]

JJ pretty much summed it up...

[bigbrowndog]

what JJ said, and 4moa.

trapr

[Tyro Shooter]

I like my steel like my women...

Short, and easy to stand back up after they fall over??

[Mbauer67]

I like my steel like my women...

Is that big and round?

[Tom Freeman]

I like my steel like my women...

Big and easy to hit?

[GorillaTactical]

As JJ said earlier...my vote goes to a bright orange. Most long range steel should only be getting hit 1 time per shooter....so a whole squad can go through a stage (at least) before the steel really needs to be repainted. then just hop on the atv and spray em' up...the Orange is especially important if the targets are in a wooded setting. If your shooting against an open berm in a long flat area where you know where the targets are, they are easier to find, but in the woods you might as well just take the penalty on some of the darn things...

[Vlad]

Visible, and I've come around to Trapr's way of thinking that 4moa is not just a good idea, it should be the law.

[StealthyBlagga]

As an RO I'd like the target to be steel color - metallic gray - so I don't have to shut down the range each squad to repaint the targets. Is there a backer color that folks have found works well with such a target ?

[RiggerJJ]

Bright yellow!!!

[Bryan 45]

bright yellow works well with dark grey. It works GREAT with black.

Blue backers do not work so well. White backers with a black target work good, as long as the sun is shining on the backer (which it won't for all squads).

[Ranger_SXT]

I like red...

[StealthyBlagga]

Where do you guys obtain your yellow backer material ?

[Glen]

I prefer brilliant yellow targets with a black backer.

I like the contrast between the yellow target and the

black front sight. We use black garbage bags for the

backers.

Glen

[Benelli Chick]

http://victorystore00.stores.yahoo.net/18x244mmblank.html

Is where we get the backers.

They're for yard signs etc. They seem to work pretty well and they do have other colors.

White backers dissappear in the sun with sand/brown dirt behind them.

Denise