Easy way to see pellet holes in a paper targets at a distance

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ThomasT

ThomasT

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Apr 25, 2021
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Deep East Texas on Sam Rayburn Lake, United States
www.uncletomsplace.net
Hello everyone,

Shooting paper targets with Iron Sights and Red Dot Scope, I cannot see the pellet holes when the target is 15-feet or at a further distance. I have been using a large Spotting Scope but it is always in the way and not very easy to use, ( photo #1 ).

Last week I ordered an inexpensive baby camera with a monitor, ( $27.00 ). I made a stable wood base for the Camera so that it could be set up just about anywhere near a target. The monitor has a built in battery which allows it to be used remotely, so I can set it right next to my Pistol for easy viewing. I now I can see each POI as I shoot and make any adjustments in my hold position as required.

ThomasT
Diana Bandit .177-115.jpg
Monitor-1.jpg
Monitor-2.jpg
Monitor-3.jpg
 
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I have contemplated taking one of the surplus / old wifi enabled dashcams i have, and make it into a remote target camera.
but there are a few unknown.

1: will the build in WIFI antenna reach that far ( 100 M )
2: Dashcams do not have a battery so in most cases i would need to add a Power bank to the mix, but that is also quite possible

We have tried the spotting scope + Deben mount + Phone, and it also work just fine for 30 M targets, but any further and my friend will have to find the bigger magnification lens for that which he have lost.
Also in the wooden shot shed, while you dont really feel it as a shooter, then a long zoom lens, it do very much pic up vibrations in the wooden shed.

You could go alternative and mount a bigger tablet, and then place the tripod and optics outside the shed, it is after all just 4-5 feet in front of you then.

PS: we both have cheap telescopes, my mirror telescope are actually quite small, my friends are a bit larger not least with its tracking mount.
But using those you do get REAL CLOSE to a tree 1000 M away, but unsure if they can focus on anything closer.


ATM i am more along the lines of getting a small screen as my new Oneleaf NV500 scope have a micro HDMI output, not for tracking pellet holes but it would make it more easy to keep a eye out for the rats VS having to lean in over the rifle now and them ( remember in the shot shed we have nice comfortable chairs, and we both like to lean back and run our mouths )

But baby monitor or say a dirt cheap wifi CCTV camera, those are nice plug & play options to get on with it.
 
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I was really into this back in the late eighties and early nineties. Back then, I had a camera with a fifty foot cable and a small B&W TV, with a Betamax recorder. I would shoot from the bench set up in my Wells Cargo trailer.
For indoors (10 meters), I built a pellet trap with lights. Spots aimed at the targets, and with the flip of a switch at the shooting bench, lights inside the trap that would light the holes.
The local airgun shop at the time was trying to talk me into doing home, indoor range installations in people unused attic spaces, complete with A/C and lighting, but I wasn't a business man.

Now I sit with my wife and shoot, and she can't see what's going on down range, so I am considering an easy way to set up an on screen view
My current setup is 30 & 75 yards from my covered porch.
Any ideas I will research. This is starting to become a priority.
 
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I did look at the security cam stuff but like mostly power and range or stand a lone WiFi kept coming up . If they get at)in home use no prob , but bench / field . Not so good ..

Another I seen to try is a app that connects 2 cell phones as master and slave. Using a old phone/ device at the rack controlled at the bench by your primary phone ( record,pictures ,ect)
 
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Also have a FPV kit, that after doing it on a RC car for a while ( man you get lost quickly viewing from ankle height even if your RC truck have a top speed of slow jogging pace )
So i retrofitted that to my DIY night vision goggles, that of course need a IR light source to work a damn.
I could easy take that apart and see stuff,,,,, and as its a high power 900 MHZ transmitter,,,,,, well if i was a super longe range shooter,,,,,, no problem.

Having multiple cameras going at different distances, i would think wifi CCTV cameras and a laptop maybe output to a larger TV would be ideal, this way you can use split screen and so have all ranges good to go.
wifi at least with a proper antenna, should not be a range problem over open fields, if need be a directional antenna can maybe be deployed.
 
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Peashooter said:
Also have a FPV kit, that after doing it on a RC car for a while ( man you get lost quickly viewing from ankle height even if your RC truck have a top speed of slow jogging pace )
So i retrofitted that to my DIY night vision goggles, that of course need a IR light source to work a damn.
I could easy take that apart and see stuff,,,,, and as its a high power 900 MHZ transmitter,,,,,, well if i was a super longe range shooter,,,,,, no problem.

Having multiple cameras going at different distances, i would think wifi CCTV cameras and a laptop maybe output to a larger TV would be ideal, this way you can use split screen and so have all ranges good to go.
wifi at least with a proper antenna, should not be a range problem over open fields, if need be a directional antenna can maybe be deployed.
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Hello @Peashooter

This system that I purchased allows for up to 2 cameras and already has Split Screen built into it. I did not order a second camera because of the area within my shop, one camera does the trick.

ThomasT
 
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