Cardboard backing
- Thread starter Mirage416
- Start date
brian roberts
New member
Go to your local........
grocery or big-box stores, they have large carboard boxes different products come in. You should have an idea of the size you want, so tell them not all boxes qualify. Above all, don't make a mess.......
grocery or big-box stores, they have large carboard boxes different products come in. You should have an idea of the size you want, so tell them not all boxes qualify. Above all, don't make a mess.......
Bill Wynne
Active member
We have tried several different things at our range in San Angelo. 1/2" Black Celotex does work but it has a tendency to blast out the back quite a bit. A bit better product is a product called Thermo Ply® in about 1/8" thickness.
The very best that we have found is the corrugated plastic that political signs are made our of. It is called coroplast and can be found at sign shops in 4X8 sheets for around $12. the bullet holes seem to be much smaller than the bullet. Rain does not effect it. For best results we nail it on with regular roofing nails.
Celotex and Thermo Ply cost around $8 but the coroplast will outlast it in the weather.
On our busy range we replace it about every 6 months due to so many holes in the backing boards as well as in the coroplast itself.
Concho Bill
The very best that we have found is the corrugated plastic that political signs are made our of. It is called coroplast and can be found at sign shops in 4X8 sheets for around $12. the bullet holes seem to be much smaller than the bullet. Rain does not effect it. For best results we nail it on with regular roofing nails.
Celotex and Thermo Ply cost around $8 but the coroplast will outlast it in the weather.
On our busy range we replace it about every 6 months due to so many holes in the backing boards as well as in the coroplast itself.
Concho Bill
I was mainly just looking for something to produce cleaner holes on the target paper.
Right now all of my frames have 4x4 feet of OSB for backing. I just staple the targets to the OSB. Well, the bullet holes aren't always very clean looking; a lot of times the holes are very ragged or torn. I figured just using standard cardboard box material between the target and the OSB would make for nice clean holes. Do these other materials work just as good for that purpose?
Right now all of my frames have 4x4 feet of OSB for backing. I just staple the targets to the OSB. Well, the bullet holes aren't always very clean looking; a lot of times the holes are very ragged or torn. I figured just using standard cardboard box material between the target and the OSB would make for nice clean holes. Do these other materials work just as good for that purpose?
Last edited:
Bill Wynne
Active member
For that purpose, they will all work well including the cardboard. I recommend the coroplast because it will hold up best in the weather and it has a clean white look. We have a 2X4 flat lumber frame on the outside only and these products hold the target staples just fine.
If you want *big* pieces for long range practice (assuming the wind blows where you're at like it does here...) - make friends with a local auto body shop. The hoods and fenders that they get in come in big heavy cardboard boxes. Opened up and folded flat you can find some big enough for 6' x 8' or more. Thats what I ended up using for backers as I've been re-building our HP target frames. The price was right - free. They have someone else come in and haul the stuff off to the recycler otherwise.
Corroplast (plastic corrugated cardboard) can be purchased from a local sign making shop in a lot of areas; maybe $20-30 for a 4'x8' sheet - plenty to cut for a handful of 2'x2' close range boards and one 4'x4' board for longer distances.
HTH,
Monte
Corroplast (plastic corrugated cardboard) can be purchased from a local sign making shop in a lot of areas; maybe $20-30 for a 4'x8' sheet - plenty to cut for a handful of 2'x2' close range boards and one 4'x4' board for longer distances.
HTH,
Monte
Bill Wynne
Active member
Coroplast® is the product. This is about the product not where to buy it. It is UV treated. We are paying 12 bucks a 4 X 8 sheet for it from a sign shop.
http://www.coroplast.com/Smooth.htm
http://www.coroplast.com/Smooth.htm
D
Donald
Guest
Coroplast is the best. I have been using some from our local 2006 elections. Makes good flag material too. But you can get large sheets of heavy cardboard from furniture stores. They usually have an bunch of it.
O
Old Gunner
Guest
I was given several large Marlboro signs made of the corugated plasticlike material at a local convenience store. I'd planned to use them to cover a couple of windows that don't have storm windows as of yet. Never thought about using them as target backing.
The last time I went to a regular rifle range their target stands used chicken wire. You'd clip your cardboard targets to the wire with clothes pins. I'd taken several large pieces of cardboard and used only a couple so I left the rest there were there was already a stack of extras left by other shooters.
I have some old aluminum lawn chairs I've been thinking of using to construct a sturdy lightweight folding target stand. The hinges and such are already there. Just have to cut some of the tubing and rearrange it.
The last time I went to a regular rifle range their target stands used chicken wire. You'd clip your cardboard targets to the wire with clothes pins. I'd taken several large pieces of cardboard and used only a couple so I left the rest there were there was already a stack of extras left by other shooters.
I have some old aluminum lawn chairs I've been thinking of using to construct a sturdy lightweight folding target stand. The hinges and such are already there. Just have to cut some of the tubing and rearrange it.
W
Who Me?
Guest
A
abintx
Guest
Mirage ...
Before you go through the trouble of running around gathering up cardboard, first try a heavy target paper.
I use a heavy stock 110 lb. paper I pick up at either OfficeMax or Office Depot. The specific one I'm currently using is Wausau Paper EXACT INDEX Heavy Card Stock Smooth Finish, Ivory, 250 sheets, 8.5 X 11 inches, that I run straight through my laser printer.
I get the sharp holes you're apparently looking for.
If you need to down load targets for the 8.5 X 11 format they're all over the internet. A lot have been posted on this site and there's plenty at 6mmBR.com.
I think your current backing is probably just fine. Try a heavier paper.
Before you go through the trouble of running around gathering up cardboard, first try a heavy target paper.
I use a heavy stock 110 lb. paper I pick up at either OfficeMax or Office Depot. The specific one I'm currently using is Wausau Paper EXACT INDEX Heavy Card Stock Smooth Finish, Ivory, 250 sheets, 8.5 X 11 inches, that I run straight through my laser printer.
I get the sharp holes you're apparently looking for.
If you need to down load targets for the 8.5 X 11 format they're all over the internet. A lot have been posted on this site and there's plenty at 6mmBR.com.
I think your current backing is probably just fine. Try a heavier paper.
J
Joe Haller
Guest
Another vote for corpast . . .
We order coroplast from Beacon Graphics:
http://www.beacongraphics.com/supplies/coroplast.html
We have it in white and yellow: Size 24"x18". We use white for the odd numbers and yellow for the even numbers, as at Camp Perry. Helps cut down on crossfires.
We use a blue border of masking tap. Put the target in the blue boarder and you don't have to check plumb with a level.
These have held up well since we started using them 3 years ago.
The frames are movable, as we shoot at 25 and 50 yards in our "Outlaw" rimfire benchrest matches using the USBR target. Our club's scores are all reported in the "MATCHES" section of Rimfire Central: The RFC On-Line Matches each month. These matches have been on-going every month since January of 2001.
Joe Haller
We order coroplast from Beacon Graphics:
http://www.beacongraphics.com/supplies/coroplast.html
We have it in white and yellow: Size 24"x18". We use white for the odd numbers and yellow for the even numbers, as at Camp Perry. Helps cut down on crossfires.
We use a blue border of masking tap. Put the target in the blue boarder and you don't have to check plumb with a level.
These have held up well since we started using them 3 years ago.
The frames are movable, as we shoot at 25 and 50 yards in our "Outlaw" rimfire benchrest matches using the USBR target. Our club's scores are all reported in the "MATCHES" section of Rimfire Central: The RFC On-Line Matches each month. These matches have been on-going every month since January of 2001.
Joe Haller
Last edited by a moderator:
Pete Wass
Well-known member
Coroplast
A couple of the clubs I shoot at have Coroplast for backers. The problem with it is bullets cut holes their size and there is no spring-back, like there is with courigated cardboard. After awhile, the sighter area is so enlarged the targets will blow out of our frames and once the record target bulls are shot a few times,holes begin to enlarge. Cardboard will absorb water, unlike Coropalst but it stands up better to bullet strikes than coroplast, IMHO. The "Right Product" has not emerged yet, I believe.
Somewhere in the wide world there must be a material that "Heals Up" after bullets go through. That property would be beneficial in a number of ways. I think such a product must exist but not marketed well or something.
A couple of the clubs I shoot at have Coroplast for backers. The problem with it is bullets cut holes their size and there is no spring-back, like there is with courigated cardboard. After awhile, the sighter area is so enlarged the targets will blow out of our frames and once the record target bulls are shot a few times,holes begin to enlarge. Cardboard will absorb water, unlike Coropalst but it stands up better to bullet strikes than coroplast, IMHO. The "Right Product" has not emerged yet, I believe.
Somewhere in the wide world there must be a material that "Heals Up" after bullets go through. That property would be beneficial in a number of ways. I think such a product must exist but not marketed well or something.
Last edited:
Pete,
That doesn't sound like the Corroplast I'm familiar with. We use it here for backers for NRA HP & F-Class targets shot anywhere from 200 to 600yds. Typically the problem with it (besides some batches warping like a Pringle chip) is that the holes *do* seal up too tight - tight enough that it's difficult to get a box-stock spotter disc spindle into and out of the hole left behind. .224 is particularly difficult to spot that way - almost have to 'sharpen' the tip of the spindle. I have several targets of my own made out of the material, and I can say that they last a very long time compared to any other material I've used thus far. Combined with heavy paper like official targets or my own printed off on card stock, they leave *very* sharp and crisp holes.
Monte
That doesn't sound like the Corroplast I'm familiar with. We use it here for backers for NRA HP & F-Class targets shot anywhere from 200 to 600yds. Typically the problem with it (besides some batches warping like a Pringle chip) is that the holes *do* seal up too tight - tight enough that it's difficult to get a box-stock spotter disc spindle into and out of the hole left behind. .224 is particularly difficult to spot that way - almost have to 'sharpen' the tip of the spindle. I have several targets of my own made out of the material, and I can say that they last a very long time compared to any other material I've used thus far. Combined with heavy paper like official targets or my own printed off on card stock, they leave *very* sharp and crisp holes.
Monte
Pete Wass
Well-known member
What I am familiar with
Is Score Benchrest where nearly every rifle is a 30 cal and folks shoot many many sighters. It makes sense that small caliber bullets and not many of them wouldn't leave the same kind of marks and results
Is Score Benchrest where nearly every rifle is a 30 cal and folks shoot many many sighters. It makes sense that small caliber bullets and not many of them wouldn't leave the same kind of marks and results
We shoot .224, 6mm, 6.5mm, some 7mm, and a *lot* of .30 cal bullets - 60-80rds per shooter per day, usually minimum 3 shooters per target (3 relays) - so each target gets ~240rds or so through it per match. Granted, 600yd HP shooting being what it is, it's not the same as putting one bullet on top of another round after round. Still, it holds up about was well as anything else out there that I've seen.
Monte
Monte
H
henrya
Guest
Call around to your local bicycle shops. Bikes come in big sturdy thick cardboard boxes. You may find some for free this time of year with new store stock coming in daily.