Target Set-Up Info
These targets are designed to give you the closest replication of what you see behind your sights when you shoot in competition. Thus, anything colored brown replicates paper and generally would require 2 hits (minimum) each time you shoot it. Anything colored white (except the No-Shoot or white portion of a Barrel) replicates a steel target and thus would generally require 1 hit each time you shoot it. Everything we have is designed to be used the same way targets are used in competition.
Our targets fall into 2 general categories, semi-reactive and reactive.
Semi-Reactive targets include anything that doesn’t fall over and disappear from view when it’s hit, such as the Metric target, Defensive Target, Classic Target, Plate Hangers, Steel Challenge Set, & Self-Resetting Poppers. The “impact plates” on these targets give feedback in the form of sound and a slight movement when hit. Definitely enough to know you made the hit (or you didn’t)……………….The semi-reactive targets give you the same visual effect behind the sights, but don’t require re-setting so they allow maximum efficiency in the use of your time when practicing. The semi-reactive Plates and Poppers have an additional training benefit since they condition the shooter to call the shot on the target and move on instead of always looking for the target to fall over to confirm the hit.
Reactive targets have “impact plates” which fall when hit in addition to sound feedback, such as Falling Plates, Falling Poppers, Texas Star, Plate Rack, Polish Plate Rack, etc. … Reactive targets are more fun to shoot and there is total accountability on hits, but require resetting every time so they are not as time-efficient as the semi-reactive targets.
To secure your targets, you usually only need 1 screw to hold them in place (exceptions are the Plate Rack, Dueling Tree, Large Texas Star & Large Polish Plate Rack). The targets are slotted to make it quick and easy to change configurations. Other methods sometimes used to mount the targets are magnetic strips or Velcro.
Most of the impact surfaces are marked “F” for Front. The “F” side is a different surface that will hold up to more shooting before the paint starts to go away. You can reverse them and shoot either side any time you want, but the “F” side finish will last longer.
You can use these targets in almost any size area. From 3 feet (1 meter) wide and 8 to 10 feet (3 meters) deep to larger. Some of our customers have literally set these up in a large closet in their house. Others use a basement, patio, spare room, garage, workshop, etc. Anywhere you can set up a shelf to mount your targets is a good place. In the photo at the bottom of the page, a 12-shot target array is set up on a 4 foot shelf, shooting this array at 10 feet (3 meters) will be more than challenging.
Set up as much overhead light as is practical. More overhead light will light the sights of your gun, especially fibre-optic sights. You need enough light on the targets to see them clearly, but not more than that.
Usually you would engage these targets from distances of 3 to 6 meters (10 to 20 feet). Most are scaled at 1/3 or smaller (exceptions noted in product descriptions on website). At 1/3 scale, you would scale your shooting distances from your normal live-fire engagements divided by 3. (example - 10 yards equals 10 feet or 9 meters equals 3 meters……as a starting point).
If you mount the targets to a wood shelf, it’s a good idea to pre-equip the shelf with a grid of holes, 2 inches apart side-to-side and 2 inches apart front-to-back (then make a circle mark around each hole with a permanent marker so you can find it later).This way you will be able to change your target configurations quickly and easily anytime after the shelf is mounted without making holes again. This will take a little time, but will give you unlimited options when you decide to change the way you have your targets configured.
Use a “Phillips head” #6 wood screw and make the holes in the shelf sized accordingly to provide a snug fit on the #6 wood screw.
