I have some scrap laying aroun and a plasma cutter i was thinking bout making a bunch of circles for gongs. Is there a standard size for distance. I was thinking bout a bunch of four inch amd 6 inch. Im gonna put fence posts at various distances and hang targets. Was thinking boit also making a shooting gallery with targets welded to hinges that would be portable i just dont know what would be the best sizes for them lol so if there is a standard its a good starting point
Steel targets
- Thread starter imtrigerhapy
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The little shillouettes are standardized. I have 10 sets of each. You could find the specs pretty quick on the internet.
The chickens are at 20. Pigs at 30. Turkeys at 35 and rams at 45.... I think that's the way it goes. The 45 yard ram is a couple inches high and maybe 3 long. The little chickens are pretty much 1" circles. The pigs are probably 1.5 high and 2.25 long. The turkeys are about 1.25 circles with a head and legs.
You can get a set at Wal mart for a pattern. I think they are 10 bucks for a set of four. Easy to make.
The chickens are worthless. You spend more time looking for them than its worth. You bend them and rip them off the base. You blow the paint off them every shot. But the rest of the regulation size shillouettes are a lot of fun. I replaced the chickens with a 410 shotgun shell and it all worked out.
I painted and repaired so much steel I got tired of it. I found kids dinosaurs at the thrift shop. About the same size and bigger for longer distances. They take a licking and keep on ticking. I think they react as well as steel. But the regulation shillouettes are pretty cool. They make a nice sound, go down hard and they are a challenge to hit using regulation rules.
The chickens are at 20. Pigs at 30. Turkeys at 35 and rams at 45.... I think that's the way it goes. The 45 yard ram is a couple inches high and maybe 3 long. The little chickens are pretty much 1" circles. The pigs are probably 1.5 high and 2.25 long. The turkeys are about 1.25 circles with a head and legs.
You can get a set at Wal mart for a pattern. I think they are 10 bucks for a set of four. Easy to make.
The chickens are worthless. You spend more time looking for them than its worth. You bend them and rip them off the base. You blow the paint off them every shot. But the rest of the regulation size shillouettes are a lot of fun. I replaced the chickens with a 410 shotgun shell and it all worked out.
I painted and repaired so much steel I got tired of it. I found kids dinosaurs at the thrift shop. About the same size and bigger for longer distances. They take a licking and keep on ticking. I think they react as well as steel. But the regulation shillouettes are pretty cool. They make a nice sound, go down hard and they are a challenge to hit using regulation rules.
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There are standard sizes of round plate targets but each body makes thier own rules for targets.
I suggest you make 2 MOA targets for distances.
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Unless you're making them for some sanctioned events, just cut them to whatever size is reasonably challenging for you, at the range you shoot. Maybe throw out a round paper target, shoot a group with a large shot count and pick the size that includes 80% of those. That should be both do-able and challenging.
GsT
GsT
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That's a good suggestion. A great starting benchmark.
You can always whittle them down with the plasma cutter as skill level increased or just move them out and make a smaller ones for the close range targets.
I like to shoot at targets too small to hit. You often learn more from your misses than your hits. For most guys that's just no fun. If you keep targets positioned and sized where you hit them regularly it sure boosts your confidence.
The regulation turkeys are a big challenge for me. That's a tough bird to hit offhand. When I come to that target I just have to accept a bunch of misses. I try really hard on that one. I think those misses teach me more than slapping down rams a bit farther out. One or two out there that are tough to hit mingled with several that are easier to hit IMHO is the way to go.
You can't learn much from your misses on a hanging target. I like targets on the ground so I can see my misses. On a hanging target, unless it's a hit you are shooting in the dark.
Elevated targets are not much better unless there is a close backstop. You can miss a lot of shots at an easy target if you can't tell which direction your missing.
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