G-ManBart Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 After all the rain today at the Nationals and the resulting bagging, taping, replacing, fixing that went on, I had to wonder if USPSA/IPSC has ever tried waxed targets. At work we have them...they're normal cardboard with a wax-like treatment that keeps them from falling apart when they get wet, but they're a lot more expensive than normal targets...I think two to three times as much. After seeing so many targets replaced today I'm not sure it wouldn't be cheaper to go with a more expensive target that wouldn't require bags and wouldn't have to be changed nearly so often. Anybody ever seen or heard anything like this before? R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKSNIPER Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 G-Man, We just use the clear plastic bag option. Works ok & is simple. JK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue_862 Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I think that it is a good idea. You would not have to use them all the time, just when you know that you are going to get wet. I don't know anybody that likes to shoot at the bags. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 How well do pasters stick to waxed targets? There's a difference between firing a whole qualification on one or two targets, and what we do..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted September 12, 2008 Author Share Posted September 12, 2008 How well do pasters stick to waxed targets? There's a difference between firing a whole qualification on one or two targets, and what we do..... Nik, Honestly, I'm not sure and that's one of the questions that immediately came to mind....I'll be checking that as soon as I get home and can try it out. I think they'll stick okay. You can write on them with a sharpie just fine (it doesn't smear) and if there was a lot of wax on it, that wouldn't work. It's almost like the wax is embedded in the cardboard rather than a coating. I will clarify that we only use them when necessary so as to avoid wasting your/my tax dollars R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted September 12, 2008 Author Share Posted September 12, 2008 G-Man,We just use the clear plastic bag option. Works ok & is simple. JK Honestly, that was a lot of the slowdown today....pulling up the bag, pasting, pulling the bag back down, having the bag pull the head down so that on partial targets we were playing with the bags to get the head to stay upright so there was something to shoot at etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDM Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Honestly, that was a lot of the slowdown today....pulling up the bag, pasting, pulling the bag back down,... I like your idea but until then then, put a slit in the front of the bag and you can reach in right through the front. It's much easier than pulling the bag up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokshwn Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 bart, you might want to check and see how the holes vary with respect to scoring and overlays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 (edited) If John Heiter peruses this thread, he will be able to tell you about what they did tat the Mississippi Classic a couple of years ago. One of his members sprays the targets with some type of waterproofing mixture and after they dry are put to use. They knew it was going to storm that weekend (seems like there was a hurricane in the Gulf) so they built samll "caps" for the targets just to keep the gross torrential rain off of them. But it was really neat how the targets held up and the pasters stuck to these targets. Johnnnnn... Oh Johnnnnn.. how about a little help here dj G-ManBart, I went back and found a post where we talked about this before. It is toward the end of the thread but explains that it is clear automotive urethane. Click here for rainy day targets dj edited to add link Edited September 12, 2008 by dajarrel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JThompson Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I'll chime in here since it looks like it will be nasty for the Milan match... I'm not sure what the answer is, but it would be nice to have options other than bags... I hate shooting through bags. When it's windy it';s even worse and scoring them takes more time as well. As the sport grows we will be shooting more matches in nasty weather, so it's time to figure out an option, besides bags, and get it approved for competition. JT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Norman Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 One solution that was talked about a year or two back is o extend the sticks up and put a cap of corrugated plastic over the target. Should work for targets that are stationary and so long as the rain is more or less vertical. If there is wind, then the cap will be less helpful. A combination of foul-weather targets and caps is probably the best solution. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
open17 Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 There was an article or two in Front Sight a few years ago about various methods of treating targets to make them water resistant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn jones Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 hi all, i requested the article that was in the front sight magazine a few years ago. the nice people at the uspsa office were nice enough to send it to me. i scaned it and here it is for you. see attached pdf file. i made about 100 a few years ago for the TN Section Champ. we didn't need them that year, but may need them this year. i used a spounge and rubber gloves with exterior grade poly urathane on both front and rear. this and the topping of the targets with a rain shield worked great the year of the MS Classic. lynn target_wet.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwx40x40 Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 What if the targets were made from corrugated plastic. Just like the stuff used in political signs and most of the real estate for sale signs are made of the stuff. I know it would be more expensive, but would be worth it in the big matches. I am sure one of our licensed target makers could buy sheets of tan plastic corrugate and run it through their die cutters the same a regular corrugate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maineshootah Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 After all the rain today at the Nationals and the resulting bagging, taping, replacing, fixing that went on, I had to wonder if USPSA/IPSC has ever tried waxed targets. At work we have them...they're normal cardboard with a wax-like treatment that keeps them from falling apart when they get wet, but they're a lot more expensive than normal targets...I think two to three times as much. After seeing so many targets replaced today I'm not sure it wouldn't be cheaper to go with a more expensive target that wouldn't require bags and wouldn't have to be changed nearly so often. Anybody ever seen or heard anything like this before? R, The Harvard Action Shooters in Mass use them all the time in foul weather. They have some sort of wax based treatment to them. I have a few that I picked up from them. They work well for light rain, fog. Heavy rain.. nothing holds up to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 The corrugated plastic ones would hold up to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn jones Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 What if the targets were made from corrugated plastic. Just like the stuff used in political signs and most of the real estate for sale signs are made of the stuff. I know it would be more expensive, but would be worth it in the big matches. I am sure one of our licensed target makers could buy sheets of tan plastic corrugate and run it through their die cutters the same a regular corrugate. the cost of the targets would be prohibitive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiDale Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 What if the targets were made from corrugated plastic. Just like the stuff used in political signs and most of the real estate for sale signs are made of the stuff. I know it would be more expensive, but would be worth it in the big matches. I am sure one of our licensed target makers could buy sheets of tan plastic corrugate and run it through their die cutters the same a regular corrugate. the cost of the targets would be prohibitive How prohibitive? I have no idea how much it would cost but politicians and real estate agents seem to be able to afford them by the millions. Having them on hand, especially for larger matches, would be great. Bagging targets is not up to the high standards the USPSA should have. Once the 'neck' gets wet the head droops and the following shooters do not have the same target presentation. After reaching under the bag a few times the pasters won't stick any more to the wet cardboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve J Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 How well do pasters stick to waxed targets? There's a difference between firing a whole qualification on one or two targets, and what we do..... Nik, Honestly, I'm not sure and that's one of the questions that immediately came to mind....I'll be checking that as soon as I get home and can try it out. I think they'll stick okay. You can write on them with a sharpie just fine (it doesn't smear) and if there was a lot of wax on it, that wouldn't work. It's almost like the wax is embedded in the cardboard rather than a coating. I will clarify that we only use them when necessary so as to avoid wasting your/my tax dollars R, The problem is not how well pasters stick to waxed targets vs. wet targets. Dry pasters stick just fine to wet targets. Wet pasters on the other hand won't stick to anything. The paper separates from the glue when they get damp. Keeping pasters dry. That's the real issue of shooting in the rain even with a more waterproof target. What if the targets were made from corrugated plastic. Just like the stuff used in political signs and most of the real estate for sale signs are made of the stuff. I know it would be more expensive, but would be worth it in the big matches. I am sure one of our licensed target makers could buy sheets of tan plastic corrugate and run it through their die cutters the same a regular corrugate. Bullets don't cut cleanly through coroplast. Scoring would be hard and continually argued, and... you'd have to replace them more frequently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 I agree with SteveJ. Coroplast makes a great target backer, which I've use it for, but the material doesn't take clean holes too well. fwiw dj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 A combination of foul-weather targets and caps is probably the best solution. We've done that. Works OK. Making the targets is a bit labor intensive. We try to do it ahead of the rainy season here in CA (which reminds me that I gotta start to put them together). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckbradley Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 I just happen to have some samples in front of me of wax targets. Pasters work fine on them dry or wet. How long is yet to be determined. One problem I forsee is as the target is shot water will get into the channels so testing on target life will need to be done first. Also not sure how they would hold up if used in dry , very hot conditions. Will the wax soften and distort the target? As far as cost, I have a price. its twice normal. Also shipping will cost more. I have to get 10k done at a time. My decision to not produce them is this. Most will not pay the extra to have them as a standby in case it rains. If you can get together enough orders to do 10k or even close to it I will have some run. I also looked into corrugated plastic a while back and its the same issue. Not sure how they would perf when run and if a completely new die would need to be made for plastic. If there is allot if interest I am willing to get some done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckbradley Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Guess not much. Did I figure right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mainus Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Maybe someone from the MI state IDPA match can chime in. I heard that they sprayed their targets with Laquer. You just had to wipe the water off and the pasters stuck just fine. Made the targets a littel hard but I guess it worked. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribble Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Hope we don't need that this weekend, I shot in the rain last weekend and it was not terrible but still kind of a pain to score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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