Jeeper Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 What do most people use for targets when praticing? Do you buy IPSC targets or do you use something else?DO you find that smaller target help accuracy? DO you practice on steel alot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironman Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Steel & paper. I download targets off the internet and print them on 8.5X11 paper. The steel I picked up about 8 months ago from an old guy that use to teach tactical handgun and shotgun. I use the paper to learn the feel of the gun (or refresh myself to the feel), that could be anything from trigger feel or obtaining the proper site picture. The steel is used for picking up the pace and multiple target acquisition. I usually do both, in no certain order, when I go to the range each week. One trick that my friend showed me was how to make an IPSC target from a paper bag. Just cut the bag in half down to the bottom of the bag. Leave the bottom and just cut it on three sides. Now the bottom of the bag is the head and the rest is the body. It is kind of funky but it works and it a great way to recycle paper bags. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 If you go to an IPSC match, generally they will have partially shot up targets that just get thrown away at the end of the festivities. I'd just grab a couple out of the garbage pile and tape them back up. Other people probably plan to grab spent targets for their practice too, so make sure to ask first and be ready to share the wealth. If you can find a police range, they throw out targets by the ton. No, they're not IPSC, but you can get the paper IPSC targets on the cheap and paste them over the police ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Paper plates are good, cheap, and available in several sizes. Good for no-steel-allowed ranges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garfield Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Hi, I've cut out the A-zone of the classic IPSC target in thick carton. When I go to the range, I take with me some sheets of carton that I've cut from used boxes. I draw the contour of the A-zone on these sheets using my cut-out A-Zone. I score myself according to the rules: Hit = 5, Miss = -10. For me, as a Production Division shooter, A's are the only hits that count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liota Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Some things I've tried... 1. Cheap gold paint on steel looks just like cardboard from a distance. It's great if you have IPSC shaped steel. You can then only paint the A-Zone gold and leave the rest white. It really causes you to focus on the A-Zone if the rest is a NS. 2. 8" plates spread out over the width of the bay gives me transition practice. 3. After matches, no-shoots are great practice targets. 4. Cheap soda is cheap entertainment...no real training value, but the coolness and fun factors are pretty high. 5. Blank sheets of paper. 6. Pepper poppers left on the range from a match. Liota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBChaffin Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Just to add to Liota's post: I use some steel targets shaped like a full size IPSC target but without the D zone, and after some searching and testing, I found some readily available paint that looks a lot like cardboard color. I don't remember the brand (Home something maybe?), but it's a light yellow can with a paint color (brown) cap. The official color is "Nutmeg Satin" and it's available from Walmart for $3 a can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew_Mink Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Yet another perk of being the IPSC match director at my club, is I get dibs on all the shot up targets. So I get some that are untouched, a lot of shot up ones, and some that are painted with hard cover. I just use those in whatever arrangement I think I need to practice on at the time, and maybe add some steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chp5 Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 I shoot cardboard, steel plates and some bowling pins. One tip I learned from a local GM (thanks Wayne!) is to shoot at partial cardboard targets. I use masking tape to simulate hard cover on all my IPSC tagets. This helps/forces me to call my shots. Full IPSC targets now look huge after always practicing on partial targets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew_Mink Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 That wouldn't be Mr. Seale would it Cy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Heiter Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 You guys need to practice with dbchaffin some time. When he says he uses "some steel targets", he's being modest. When we got together for an informal practice session this past Sunday, we set up a 27 round field course including pepper poppers, US poppers, plates, steel "Half IPSC's", an activator double pendulum prototype, and a windmill. Most of that was his personal stuff. He's fortunate enough to have a brother who sells custom targets out of his welding shop so he gets to do all the field testing. The steel "Half IPSC's" are my favorites for practice because they're easy to set up, you get the ring of steel, you don't have to waste time pasting or resetting them, and they last forever. They are modeled after the half size IPSC targets I've seen a few places but these are actually full size A, B, and C zones with the D zone cut off made out of 1/2" mild steel. Major .40 hits remove some paint but they don't really do any damage and even major .38 super loads barely leave dimples. I figure if I can hit A/C all the time in practice then I should have no problems with the real thing. By the way, the paint is "American Accents" made by Rustoleum for Walmart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chp5 Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Patches - what's the little knob or hanger sticking out of the target? TSC - yes, that's Mr. Seale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew_Mink Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Cy, the next time you get a chance to shoot a club match with Wayne, when he steps into the box tell him "Hero or Zero Wayne!" Tell me what happens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Heiter Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 It's just that, a hanger. I guess you can't see it well in these photos but the target plates have a hole in them and can be taken off the stand for transport or you can switch out to other styles of targets that hang on these same stands. The knob is actually part of the stand that sticks through from the back. It gets painted with the rest of the target so you really don't notice it when you're at shooting distances and it allows the target to swing freely to help absorb impact. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Cool target, I like the wooden fence in the background, it gives you extra incentive not to miss I use Standard targets, 10" steel plates, 6" steel squares and A US Popper. Paper plates work well, but shooting the same targets the same targets I see in a match seems to work better for me. I am in the process of making a couple swingers, because I hate shooting them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Patches/DBChaffin, Would you guys be willing to post a picture of that stand you made for the 1/2 IPSC? I would like to steal shamelessly from you. That setup rocks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 hook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 base Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 side view Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBChaffin Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Kyle is the man. Thanks for posting those, I appreciate it. I was going to post them when I got home since I don't have access to them at work. My brother sells them if anyone doesn't have access to the equipment to make them. I think the stands are $30 and the targets are $30 as well, with a few bucks extra for the welded on "A zone" on one side. He also has other shapes available and the price varies based on size and complexity. The cowboy action guys seem to like 'em. We use them for practice and for steel hardcover in matches on occasion. If anyone is interested, he can be reached at Blackdog Manufacturing, (601) 597-0419. (Sorry Brian for the shameless plug for my brother's work. Hope that's ok). Bryant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Holy Crap! That was fast. Thanks guys. And thanks Flex! That's a far better design than the ones I've seen out of rebar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 For dryfire I use 1:3, 1:4.5 and 1:6 cut out IPSC silhouettes printed up on my computer. The largest will print out on a standard sheet of paper. Use a heavy border. At 10 feet, they will appear to be 10, 15 and 20 yards away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liota Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Our club makes stands out of the same material, but we put some angle on the back to form a...Oh heck! I'll see about taking some pictures. They work great and you don't have to worry about shooting the hook off the front. It just sits together. Liota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDean Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 I made these in SolidWorks. I paste them to walls. Use a color printer if you can for the paper target, that way your eyes get used to brown. I originally sent these to a shooting buddy along with this email: "I tape the targets to a wall about 5-10 feet away. I'll set them up in "arrays" with a popper or two in there somewhere. Putting 2 or 3 arrays along a 12ft wall does a pretty good job of simulating the transition angles of most IPSC stages. Set them up like classifiers, draw off tables to them, press the trigger twice...reload...and press the trigger twice again at them. Concentrate on pressing the trigger ONLY when the sights are on the A-zone (NOT c-zone). Watch your front sight stability as you press the trigger and reset it. Make sure it never leaves the A-Zone!! Memorize/burn into your muscle memory where the A-zone is on IPSC targets. The biggest help I think these have been to me is the practice of focusing on the last shot BEFORE I transition to the next target. Making sure that on that last shot (trigger press), the sights are aligned with the Azone, and the pull is undisturbed and complete before I SNAP to the next target. I used to get a lot of MIKES on that second shot as I'm transitioning to another array. I would pull or push the gun off the target prematurely. These wall-targets will enforce good visual patience. Remember, the most important shot is the one you're taking NOW! If things seem slow...don't worry about it. As TT said to me..."TRUST YOUR SPEED". Poppers: Set it (them) up naturally lower than paper to simulate real stages. Sometimes you'll see that starting on the POPPER (depending on where it's at in the array) is best 'cause it's lower and you can see all the paper above it. You'll be able to transition faster to the paper targets above the popper, rather than shoot down (below the gun and your arms) to the popper if you engage the paper first...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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