# Printing my own targets



## twomode (Jun 7, 2009)

So my bud sends me some links where I can print my own targets. I tried a few, of course on 8x11.5" paper. My question is at what distance or how do I figure the distance on these smaller targets? 

I'm hoping someone's already figured this out. Thanks


----------



## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

If you can hit an 8-1/2 x11 sheet anywhere, at 25 yards, and do it most of the time, you are shooting pretty well. At five yards, you should be hitting the bullseye, or very close to it, with every shot. You can extrapolate from there.

Of course, if you attend one of those spray and pray self-defense schools, it's anybody's guess what they will tell you.


----------



## twomode (Jun 7, 2009)

Spray and pray? I uh, think not. But you gave me a good reference point to start with, thanks.

Another thought, what does everybody else do? One thought is just buy them from the range. I'm sure they'd appreciate the biz. As a biz owner I know I would.


----------



## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

Unless I'm sighting in a scope on a rifle, I usually stick a flourescent dot on a paper plate. The dot is my aim point, and the paper plate is the maximum amount of error I will accept at 15 yards, with a full size handgun. Usually, about half or more of my shots will be within a couple of inches of the bulls eye, with the rest scattered about. At 25 yards, getting on the plate is about the best I can do, consistently, and even at that, I have a few misses. 

Everyone sets their own standard, according to their abilities, and how much they are able to practice. This is the standard that is comfortable to me, but I am 57 years old, and only practice once or twice a month. Sometimes I shoot better than this, and sometimes worse. But if I'm worse for two or three trips, I will get the .22's out and go back to the basics until I get the 'glitches' out.

If you are a beginner, start up close, and when you are consistently shooting near the bulls eye, start moving back. Keep challenging yourself, and become a decent marksman before you get carried away with the SD stuff.


----------



## literaltrance (Dec 24, 2008)

Bisley said:


> If you can hit an 8-1/2 x11 sheet anywhere, at 25 yards, and do it most of the time, you are shooting pretty well. At five yards, you should be hitting the bullseye, or very close to it, with every shot. You can extrapolate from there.


I agree with this. Anyone who can consistently hit something the size of a paper plate at 25 yards is doing well. IMHO, Good trigger control and overcoming flinches will change an "average" 1-4/10 hits to 7-10/10 hits. Now, getting good groups at 25 yards with a self-defense weapon is another thing entirely.... :mrgreen:

[Edit]: I should probably mention, shooting targets beyond 10-15 yards with a self-defense handgun is not exactly practical, but I enjoy it


----------



## unpecador (May 9, 2008)

twomode said:


> Another thought, what does everybody else do? One thought is just buy them from the range. I'm sure they'd appreciate the biz. As a biz owner I know I would.


I buy my 22.5" x 35" silhouette targets from the same company that the indoor range where I shoot buys from. The target company is a 15 minute drive from my house. I buy a pack of 100 targets for about $0.38 per target including tax. I'm sure the range would appreciate the business but at $1.25 for the same silhouette target, I'll pass, they already get enough of my money for the range time.


----------



## twomode (Jun 7, 2009)

Those are excellent ideas Bisley, makes sense. I think I'll start about 10 yards and see where I'm at. So far, I'm hitting a pretty close group at 25 ft, not yards so I guess I have a way to go. At one of the target websites, there's one that notes what you might be doing based on where you aim (bullseye of course) and what direction you hit. For instance, if you aim at bull, and the round ends up at roughly 1:30 clock position, it states "Heeling (anticipating recoil)." 3:00 means "Thumbing (squeezing thumb) or Too much trigger finger. Elsewhere, I read too much trigger finger would have you pushing your weapon down and to the left. I'll figure it out. This target was for right handers. 

Now while that might not be exact, and it would take multiple shots before adjusting, if I consistently hit in that direction, and I'm concentrating well on the center, it suggests an adjustment is in order. I'm not calling it the bible, but it might help.


----------



## clanger (Jan 27, 2009)

+1 Bisely. 

Paper Plates...you can get very creative with same with diff. sizes. 
I'll get a pack, and a paper towel tube, stand it up on the plate and shoot some flourecent orange paint onto the middle of it for a bull. 

Depending on the range, target frame or hanger, you may wish to use a backer or hanger of cardboard for retractable targets so you don't clang the clip or target hanger with a flyer. My local shooting dungeon charges 50$ a strike if you down a line or wreck a clip and your esssion is basically over after that with a stink-eye escort out . 

This is targeting on the cheap for an already sighted in firearm. I use a cardboard silhouette and tape or staple several on there at once for combat focus and bullseye shooting.


----------



## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

I use 3" x 5" note cards at 7-10 yards. What's that line from The Patriot? "Aim small, miss small"


----------



## SaltyDog (Jan 1, 2009)

After pricing targets at the local range - outrageous - I found this web site

*Official Targets*

They have them all from IDPA NRA Law Enforcement etc. and they are cheap.

I order them by the 100's


----------



## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

literaltrance said:


> [Edit]: I should probably mention, shooting targets beyond 10-15 yards with a self-defense handgun is not exactly practical, but I enjoy it


That just depends on which 'threat scenario' you fear the most. :mrgreen:

Most people who CCW have a particular scenario that they tend to visualize more than all the other possibilities. It may be based on what they have logically determined to be their most likely threat, or it may just be a phobia that they can't discard, but it affects how they train.

Mine is the Luby's Cafeteria scenario, in which a lone gunman methodically shot 50 people, in a building with large open spaces, 'almost casually' walking from one to the next, reloading two 9mm pistols several times. A single person, able to hit a target at 15-25 yards could have ended the whole thing very quickly.

I do most of my rapid fire drills with 6 steel silhouettes, at 20 yards, even with my short barreled pistols. I go only as fast as I can shoot accurately, and if I'm having a good day, I may take only head shots. Or sometimes, I'll just stick several paper plates up on the backboard and number them randomly, then shoot them in numerical order from 10-15 yards. If you can do it from those ranges, you should be able to do it even better, up close.

My personal belief is that a person who can hit small targets at longer ranges will out shoot most BG's, at any range. A person who can settle down enough to put his first shots on target has a very good chance of winning a gun battle with the basic loser-types who do most of the violent crimes. For the other types, who are actually experienced killers, the victim is going to need some luck to survive, whatever his skill level is, because this type rarely gives his victim any chance at all to resist. For anyone who is unlucky enough to draw this guy as his adversary, the fast draw/rapid-fire approach may never come into play, leaving only stealth or subterfuge as a way to bring a weapon into play.

Just my personal opinion, and not one that has been well-received by SD experts. :mrgreen:


----------



## johnr (Jun 13, 2008)

Maybe some long gunners can help us out here. Is the Black on the target a certain degree of the arc? it looks like some kinda simple math that eludes me at the present time.  

1 1/2" @ 25'
3" @ 50'
5 1/2" @ 75'
-
-
-
44" @ 3000' (high power targets)

YMMV

John


----------



## YODA308 (Jun 11, 2009)

*Dont matter*

All your needing in a target is an aiming point so size shouldnt matter


----------



## MauiWowie22 (Jun 19, 2009)

YODA308 said:


> size shouldnt matter


speak for yourself..........


----------

