Cardboard backing

All the clubs I have shot score at use homosote.....1/2 " thick, comes in 4x8 sheets is a compressed wood fiber product. Has been around since late 40's and used as house sheathing, often coated with tar for some weather resistance. The newer homosote is light gray, and rigid if kept dry ...most common use today is bulletin boards. Best target backer I have used.
FWIW the target paper offered today pales in comparison to that from just a few years ago......one part of our sport that took a step backwards.
 
Pete Wass said:
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.
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The plastic buckets some sturdy building supplies come in can heal sort of behind bullet passage, with .22 anyway.

I shot one of the buckets, half full of rain water, I found at my shooting spot, and a thin spue was stretched out several inches beyond the hole and no water came out.

If the same stuff were available in thick sheets that would do the trick.
 
More ideas . . .

In NRA smallbore tournaments, where we have a large black aiming bull, it is sometimes hard to see a shot in the black. NRA's answer to that is to have circles cut in the target frame just a little larger than the size of the black. Light shines through the bullet holes for easier visibility.

Years ago we built Camp Perry type frames at our club. They have the holes cut out behind the black bulls for 50 yard and 100 yard NRA targets.They also hold plan white backer cards for checking for cross fires. Placing the white backer 6 inches behind the record target would show a cross fire displaced by one bullet hole, from the shooter next to you. For 100 yards, placing the backer 12 inches behind the target gives a one bullet hole displacement. (Two bullet holes from a shooter two positions away from you)

On another board I mentioned the difficulty of seeing bullet holes on the NRA 200 yard Smallbore target with it's black 12 inch aiming bull. Another shooter had a solution to that problem. He said if you place a yellow or red backer behind the target, the bullet holes appear as bright colored dots. The frame holding the record target must have a hole the size of the aiming black, and the colored backer should be placed at least 6 inches behind the record target.

Our 25 bull benchrest targets could give cleaner holes, and the backers might last longer, if we cut out holes behind each of the 25 bulls. That's a lot of work for little gain. Holes are easy to see at 50 yards on our targets. But: The holes in the target could be cleaner: When a bullet goes through the backer in an area there it hits part of a hole and part of the backer paper, it may show a tipped or ragged hole.

As for the qualtliy of target paper. At least two printing companies still use tagboard for tournament quality targets: American Target Company and National Target Company. They both hold license from NRA. The American Target company also prints the USBR targets. Some other printers do not use tagboard.

Joe :)
 
Regarding the new paper

It was suggested to us that we cut a square of X size behind each Bull. What this did was cause the paper to rip even more. I would second the homosote. Places I have shot at that use homosote it seemed to work well.

Anything works good as long as it is changed often. Most clubs I am familiar with don't want to change backing twice or more each match or for every tournament, for that matter. What would be nice is something that would be usable for a few matches. Like I said earlier, once holes get shot big enough in backers and there is strong wind, the targets come loose; seen it more than a few times.
 
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Cardboard

Garage door shipping boxes. 10+ ft. long x2ft wide. Find a local business that installs them. They bring the boxes back to the shop and put them in the dumpsters. RANDY
 
CostCo has "pallets" of chips -- potato, corn chips, pretzels . . . Corrugated cardboard and about 48" square. Locally I just move the stock and salvage the cardboard when the stock is low. I check all the time for these pieces. CostCo is fine with it. They know me and know that I won't mess up their displays going after the cardboard.

The other source is appliance shops, heavy equipment. I get wood pallets from the John Deere shop -- great frames for targets!
 
As previously stated, political/real estate signage.

Rewinder said garage door shipping boxes.

Also large appliance shipping boxes.

The plastic ones last longer but the shipping boxes are more plentiful.
 
For my situation, the thicker printer paper stapled on OSB backing is doing the trick. I purchased 90lb thickness 8.5x11" card stock which I am printing targets on.
 
Mirage ...

Mirage416 said:
For my situation, the thicker printer paper stapled on OSB backing is doing the trick. I purchased 90lb thickness 8.5x11" card stock which I am printing targets on.
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Glad to hear that. Sometimes the easiest solutions are those right in front of us. If you can find it, try the 110 lb next time. What color did you get? I like the Ivory because it's the closest color to the regular target paper. :)
 
abintx said:
Glad to hear that. Sometimes the easiest solutions are those right in front of us. If you can find it, try the 110 lb next time. What color did you get? I like the Ivory because it's the closest color to the regular target paper. :)
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I purchased the standard white. It works quite well.
 
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.[/QUOTE]

There is such a product. It is the rubber membrane that is used for seamless roof systems. The only hole that actually cuts in it is the meplat of the bullet. We use it behind the target boards approx 2". The coroplast target baoars have a 4" hole cut in the impact area of the target. That way the only thing the bullet is impacting is the paper. And the rubber backer "heals" so the bullet holes really show up. The Celotex or coroplast target boards that are immediately behind the target leave a LOT to be desired. The only thing the bullet should be impacting is paper
 
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print shops

I have found large cardboard at print shops. sometimes it comes as protection on each side of posterboard stock.
 
Homosote

I have a 100yd range at my home and do a lot of shooting there. Over the years I have tried everything that was free or cheap and have found that in the long run homosote was the best choice.

Dick
 
For my 1000 yard range at home I use Foil Faced Ridgid Insuation Boards. The are fairly cheap, weather proof, bullet holes seal up a bit and best of all they are so light I can put them up by myself.

They need a frame all the way around so the storms don't damage them but they last a very long time. I cut a 4x8 sheet in half and use 4x4 pieces.

My two cents.
 
Coroplast sheet is a very good choice

Coroplast is the brand name of corrugated plastic. Coroplast sheet is more durable than cardboard, And it is waterproof and lightfast. Coroplast sheets are easily available in local stores and can vary in size.
 
1/2 inch pink construction foam insulation backer and 65# copy paper targets

I have had the same 4x4 sheet of 1/2 inch pink construction foam as my target backer for about ten years. It is self healing and impervious to weather. Targets are usually stapled in the same place and it has yet to develop a void after 100's of rounds at each target position.

Targets and staples release from the foam without a tear.

I mounted the foam on the existing piece of plywood after it had seen its better days but it could just be mounted on a wood frame.

I also use 65# copy paper for targets. Bullets cut a nice clean hole.

Rick
 
Jianxin said:
And it is waterproof and lightfast. Coroplast sheets are easily available in local stores and can vary in size.
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Experience from other shooting sports says that Corplast is the last material you want for competitive shooting sports. While it's light and durable, the "waterproof" part means many water-based glues do not adhere to it. Additionally, after long term use, the center bows as the plastic deforms. The difference in thermal expansion coefficients also means a well-glued paper center may rip in half as the plastic expands behind it.

NOTE: Due to one or more of the issues noted above, at least one range BURNED their entire stock of Coroplast targets after a year of use. Other ranges donated their target stocks for target backers for "general membership" or "public use" activities at 100 and 200 yards.
 
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Asa Yam said:
Experience from other shooting sports says that Corplast is the last material you want for competitive shooting sports. While it's light and durable, the "waterproof" part means many water-based glues do not adhere to it. Additionally, after long term use, the center bows as the plastic deforms. The difference in thermal expansion coefficients also means a well-glued paper center may rip in half as the plastic expands behind it.

NOTE: Due to one or more of the issues noted above, at least one range BURNED their entire stock of Coroplast targets after a year of use. Other ranges donated their target stocks for target backers for "general membership" or "public use" activities at 100 and 200 yards.
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Well Yam, nothing that you shoot a lot of holes in and leave out in the weather will last forever. I think we could all agree about that. What would you suggest for target backers?
 
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