entoptics
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2018
- Messages
- 859
OK, that might be a bit of hyperbole, but it's the best thing I've come up with in a couple decades of trying different stuff, so I thought I would share...
Why this setup absolutely rules?
1) CHEAP!
2) Portable and easy to set up anywhere you can drive a pole into the ground a few inches.
3) Unmatched hole visibility
4) CHEAP!
Home Depot has 20' rebar for $9-$14. My local place charges $0.25 per cut, so I can get four 5' poles for $10-$15. If you look around, you can probably salvage/scrap some poles for cheap-free. I used a grinder to sharpen the ends of the poles for tough dirt (and they can double as lances for 4Wheeler jousting in the event your liege lord sends you in to battle). You're only out a couple bucks if "your friend" ever spins their turret with the wind instead of into it and a 208 ELDM slices through the rebar like butter at 850 yards, so fast that the upper segment is left dangling from the target for a few seconds. At least that's what I've heard...
Walmart has 20" x 30" foam board for a whopping $0.98 each...
20"x30" foam board at Walmart
It's just as or even more rigid than most cardboard, and the real beauty is the bright white, because bullet holes stand out like a squirrel's nuts. Black on white is the best contrast you'll ever get. It's even better than the splatter targets. When conditions are right (no mirage, even lighting, a decent 25X scope), I've been able to pick out 30 cal holes at 700 yds! Even in normal/poor conditions, a 15X scope will let you see 22 cal holes easily at 200 yards.
If you're shooting WAY out there (or Cousin Bob is sighting in Grand Pappy's 06 the night before deer season), you can even tape two boards together and mount them with the fold horizontal, and you've got a 30"x40" target.
The other reason the white foam board is the bomb? You can use ultra cheap 3/4" round labels as hole pasters!
3/4" round labels
1/3 of a penny each. Even if you buy small packs of them at brick and mortar, they're still in the penny range. Might be cheaper than masking tape, and way more convenient. They essentially vanish past about 50 yards, so they don't clutter the target with distracting splotches. The foam board can soak up millions of hits, and I usually end up replacing it due to paw prints, dirt, and crinkles from transport, long before I run out of shootable space.
I use the standard medium/large binder clips ($0.10-$0.50 each) to secure the target (depends on rebar diameter). These will bite plenty hard to hold the target in place in any wind you're willing to shoot in. They can be conveniently stored on the target for transport.
My final touches are a bit of survey tape for a crude wind indicator, and a plumb bob made of fluorescent string and a big *** fishing weight that dangles from another binder clip. The plumb bob is dual purpose. It can help you stay plumb if you don't have a level (shame on you!), but it also helps keep your camera straight when you're taking pictures of those sick "half MOA all day!" groups for posting on Sniper's Hide. Or, like me, when I snap pictures to use with the SubMOA app (Range Buddy for Android?) for group size measurements, it's important to keep the camera vertical so you don't bias your windage/elevation measurements.
Speaking of SubMOA, I also made some custom target backers to be printed on adhesive label sheets, which have a precise grid/circle pattern, so I can easily measure pixel distances when using SubMOA to measure groups. Having the grid mostly erases scaling issues when the camera isn't orthogonal to the target. Allows you to find measurement marks very near the edges of your group, rather than hoping the 1" spot that's 4" away from your group (I mean "my friend's group") isn't distorted from your sloppy iPhone grip...
8.5x11 printer labels, 2 per sheet
8.5x11 printer labels, 4 per sheet
Anyway, hope you all enjoy. Curious to hear suggestions for improvement or what you think if you try this system out. If anyone wants my grid templates for printing your own, just let me know, and I can probably attach them here for you to download.
EDIT: See post 15 (Click Me!) for PDFs of the grids.
Why this setup absolutely rules?
1) CHEAP!
2) Portable and easy to set up anywhere you can drive a pole into the ground a few inches.
3) Unmatched hole visibility
4) CHEAP!
Home Depot has 20' rebar for $9-$14. My local place charges $0.25 per cut, so I can get four 5' poles for $10-$15. If you look around, you can probably salvage/scrap some poles for cheap-free. I used a grinder to sharpen the ends of the poles for tough dirt (and they can double as lances for 4Wheeler jousting in the event your liege lord sends you in to battle). You're only out a couple bucks if "your friend" ever spins their turret with the wind instead of into it and a 208 ELDM slices through the rebar like butter at 850 yards, so fast that the upper segment is left dangling from the target for a few seconds. At least that's what I've heard...
Walmart has 20" x 30" foam board for a whopping $0.98 each...
20"x30" foam board at Walmart
It's just as or even more rigid than most cardboard, and the real beauty is the bright white, because bullet holes stand out like a squirrel's nuts. Black on white is the best contrast you'll ever get. It's even better than the splatter targets. When conditions are right (no mirage, even lighting, a decent 25X scope), I've been able to pick out 30 cal holes at 700 yds! Even in normal/poor conditions, a 15X scope will let you see 22 cal holes easily at 200 yards.
If you're shooting WAY out there (or Cousin Bob is sighting in Grand Pappy's 06 the night before deer season), you can even tape two boards together and mount them with the fold horizontal, and you've got a 30"x40" target.
The other reason the white foam board is the bomb? You can use ultra cheap 3/4" round labels as hole pasters!
3/4" round labels
1/3 of a penny each. Even if you buy small packs of them at brick and mortar, they're still in the penny range. Might be cheaper than masking tape, and way more convenient. They essentially vanish past about 50 yards, so they don't clutter the target with distracting splotches. The foam board can soak up millions of hits, and I usually end up replacing it due to paw prints, dirt, and crinkles from transport, long before I run out of shootable space.
I use the standard medium/large binder clips ($0.10-$0.50 each) to secure the target (depends on rebar diameter). These will bite plenty hard to hold the target in place in any wind you're willing to shoot in. They can be conveniently stored on the target for transport.
My final touches are a bit of survey tape for a crude wind indicator, and a plumb bob made of fluorescent string and a big *** fishing weight that dangles from another binder clip. The plumb bob is dual purpose. It can help you stay plumb if you don't have a level (shame on you!), but it also helps keep your camera straight when you're taking pictures of those sick "half MOA all day!" groups for posting on Sniper's Hide. Or, like me, when I snap pictures to use with the SubMOA app (Range Buddy for Android?) for group size measurements, it's important to keep the camera vertical so you don't bias your windage/elevation measurements.
SubMOA
SubMOA is a mobile app designed for shooting sports enthusiasts, especially precision rifle shooters. Features: 1. Use phone's back camera capture properly scaled target pictures 2. Allow pick target picture from device library 3. Allow manually set actual size on target picture 4. Allow...
apps.apple.com
Speaking of SubMOA, I also made some custom target backers to be printed on adhesive label sheets, which have a precise grid/circle pattern, so I can easily measure pixel distances when using SubMOA to measure groups. Having the grid mostly erases scaling issues when the camera isn't orthogonal to the target. Allows you to find measurement marks very near the edges of your group, rather than hoping the 1" spot that's 4" away from your group (I mean "my friend's group") isn't distorted from your sloppy iPhone grip...
8.5x11 printer labels, 2 per sheet
8.5x11 printer labels, 4 per sheet
Anyway, hope you all enjoy. Curious to hear suggestions for improvement or what you think if you try this system out. If anyone wants my grid templates for printing your own, just let me know, and I can probably attach them here for you to download.
EDIT: See post 15 (Click Me!) for PDFs of the grids.
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