300 yard shot spotters

[Keith Glasscock]

Hello all, I need some input from experienced highpower and F-class shooters. I am the local match director for F-class and prone, and I'm looking at our 300 yard matches specifically (we are having one on Sunday, and I'd like to try something differrent)

Here is the problem:

During a 300 yard reduced match, the shot spotter gets hit quite often. When we use golf tees, the result looks like a 12 gauge fired from 3 feet away - a huge, ragged hole. Hardwood and hard plastic spotters aren't any better, and the schrapnel gives me the cold sweats that someone is going to get hurt in the pits.

Can we use something else? I've thought about using white, round pasters, but I don't know if that would work - it is possible to cover the hole, but not be centered on it. I don't like not having a defined center for the previous shot - it could mess someone up that is chasing the spotter (especially in F-class).

Does anyone have any ideas for safer spindles?

Thanks,
Keith

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

When the shooter is is in the 10 ring, and especially the X-ring I switch from golf tees to white round pasters.

 

[Harold]

Maybe some type of styro-foam plug ?

 

[nosualc]

300 yd matches are tough on targets and spotters.

At all distances, we advise target pullers to switch to a golf tees when the shooter is shooting 10s or Xs. We also have the spotters wear a baseball hat to protect against splinters. Let us know if you find a better alternative.

-nosualc

 

[22BRGUY]

How about foam ear plugs?

 

[articmp]

Ear plugs would be the ticket! Just have to make sure that the backer would be stout enough to handle the work of having a plug pushed into it. Maybe pre-roll plugs into undersized tubes to allow them to be popped into place fast enough not to slow the line down. ?? Maybe plastic tubing cut to 3/4 to 1 inch to hold the plug, then use the tees to push them out to seat them? Military MRE boxes are about the stoutest cardboard I have seen.

 

[Zilla]

When the shooter is is in the 10 ring, and especially the X-ring I switch from golf tees to white round pasters.

This.

 

[effendude]

Your problem is why we rarely shoot the 300 yard F-class target anymore. Here is my suggestion for safety purposes. Go to an office supply store and get some 1/2 white round price stickers for garage sales and such. Paste the bullet hole with the white paster and then cover the white paster with a black paster on the next shot. It only takes an extra second or two to add the black on top of the previous white paster and then the target stays cleaner looking.

When we shot more 300 yard events earlier in the F-class program, I made up emergency repair centers out of 300 yard repair centers pasted on 1/4" poly carboard. When the center gets shot out, the approx. 18"x18" repair center can be quickly stapled over the hole when the target is pulled down. Much faster than swapping out the entire target which is important to allow a shooter to continue shooting quickly during a string. And it is invisible from the firing line. We have also made up some with 600 centers as the shooters can reallly ripup the 10-X ring during a string.

Scott

 

[LRCampos]

.

We shot almost only 300 meters F-Class and we use pasters with diferent colors (like effendude said) and sometimes more than one target per string (or the center part of it).

Other option, when we shoot at ranges that does not have pits is to use more targets (about one target per 10 shots) and let the shooters use spotting scope to know where his hits impacted. Not the best option, but is what we have.


LRCampos.

 

[Keith Glasscock]

Thanks everyone! I capitalized on the styrofoam plug idea. I bought a few feet of Polyethylene pipe from the local hardware store. It is the same stuff that drinking straws are made of. Some heat and a gentle pull stretches it to a tapered end. A flared plug and a little more heat puts an appropriate bulge on the other end. I'm going to see if I can shoot one tomorrow and see how it works. Initial testing indicates that it shoutld just punch through the target when hit as the plastic seems to deform and stretch when hit with a hammer.

Assuming I can hit it, I'll let everyone khow how it works.

I might try one or two for this weekend's match, but I'm going to go get some small white stickers for the match.

 

[lal357]

my club matches are 300 yds we switched to a 12" shoot-n-see targets we use to shoot at a 12" steel gong but bullet spray was to bad dont have pits. with the shoot-n-see's we can see the hits and adjust from there. are course of fire goes like this ...
5 rounds at the lower shoot-n-see in 5 min the line is called called cold for 2 min then 20 rnds in 20min at the top target (mr-63)after time is up we put new targes up and use pasties on the shoot-n-see .for the next round.