Clay Targets for Rifle Match

[james]

Would appreciate thoughts on using clay targets for rifle matches. At a benchrest rifle shoot I attend they are considering using clay targets instead of the current balloon targets. I have heard from folks with experience in shooting clay targets with rifles there are times when the bullet will punch through without actually breaking it. The maximum distance shot is 500 yards and a concern is if the clay target doesn’t break completely you could have had a hit and not know it.

Comments appreciated, thanks!

 

[matthias]

Punching holes instead of shattering is a common problem with clay targets and rifles. It happens more when you hit the flat inner circle. If you hit the curved rim area they almost always shatter.

One rimfire shoot I went to they had painted the back of each clay with thick paint and claimed that helped them break more consistently. It seemed to work pretty well.

I can't help but think that some of the more "exotic" clay targets may work better for rifle targets. Maybe check with a sporting clay range?

 

[rockhound78]

We use clay pigeons during the winter for our varmint silhouette shoots. If any questions, the target setter can check for a hole when he goes out to put up fresh targets. We haven't had any problems.

 

[joshb]

Add some tannerite?

 

[Mulligan]

Both 600 and 1000 yard benchrest matches use clay targets for sighters without much issue. The bullet hitting the dirt bank behind the bird will (assuming the targets are sitting on a dirt bank) turn the target over is nothing else. As a 600 yard benchrest match director, I have never seen a time where the shooter couldn’t spot their own hits as long as they turned their power setting on their scope down.
CW

Edit
At the Rendezvous match this year, several of us used the clay targets instead of the sighter plates at 1000 yards because hit on the clays were easier to spot due to smoke in the from northern wildfires.
CW

 

[LuvDog]

Happens all the time with rimfire if you hit the middle of the bird. But with a good enough scope / spotter you can see the hole

 

[K22]

Yea, I experience that many years ago when the club I belong to tried it for a fun shoot. Occasionally the bullet would punch a hole in the bird but not break it.

One option might be consider using those animal steel silhouette targets used in Hunter Silhouette competitions. A hit is scored when the target in knocked down. It's really simple and the targets are reusable.

I shot the pistol version of it in the 70 and 80's in Western PA. It was very popular and some of the most fun I ever had shooting competition. The course is set up with a bank of 40 target, at ranges from 25 to 100 meters. Tons of fun. We used some of the shooter's kids to reset the targets and paid them.

 

[X-Caveman]

We use clays all the time in TX. No, it isn't perfect. You learn pretty quickly not to re-engage a clay unless you have already engaged all others and have ammo to spare. Any chip or puncture is scored as a hit. And, with centerfire at least, they usually break.

I do feel like it would be a step in the right direction vs the balloons (which I've shot the last 2 years).

1. All the same size
2. Less likely to move in the Kansas winds
3. Less likely to break the lot of them if you hit the frame
4. Easier to manage/ change out for the target setters. Inventory less of an issue.
5. Easier to score - remember the burst vs the slow leak balloon conversations? There will have to be a procedure for someone down range to check those that can’t be scored from the firing line. That shouldn’t be insurmountable.

Guys like @15T and @JoeDuke are the real experts. They've been doing it for decades. Maybe they'll chime in.

I support the switch. It's at least worth a shot. I don't have any ties to the original Varmint Jamboree, but I could see others being reluctant for nostalgia's sake. That's legit. Whatever they decide, I'll do my best to be there. Love the match.

 

[sneakboxer]

What about rabbit or battue clay targets? They are a bit thicker and might be more likely to break when center punched. Midi's and minis could make a bonus target being smaller. I never shot them with a rifle but I threw a bunch as a kid. they all sound like fun to me.

 

[CaptainMal]

Commonly done yet I consider them a PIA.

Often they are not visible to someone on the line and everything stops to send someone down to fix that. Then a center hit can happen as you discuss. Most important thing is you need to see where the hit is on the dirt. Don't need a clay bird to tell you that most all of the time.

On a steel plate you can see your actual impact, much more informative than a blow-up clay.

 

[X-Caveman]

There are no dirt berms. Being able to spot your own trace and judge impacts on flat ground is an important part of the game.

 

[jk80]

I shoot approximately 25 to 30,000 clays a year. They make a target called a flash target that REALLY is obvious when you hit it. BIG puff of smoke. 5bey can be hard to get so I've made some by putting carpenters chaulk powder underneath the target and covering it with tape. Works well enough and doesn't affect target flight detrimental.
I'm sure it would work for use as a static target, especially mounted in a stand they make to hold them as such.

Edit: you just want some chaulk in the area under the "poker chip" area of the target, not the whole bottom.

 

[JoeDuke]

We shoot a target board with clays arranged like this at 400 yards. You get to take ten rounds to the bench to break the 8 clays. As x-cavemen said, never shoot at a clay a second time unless you have broken all the others. You just may have broken a chip out of the edge and cannot see it.
Indeed with 6.5's and smaller calibers, if you centerpunch the larger clays, often you just put bullet sized hole thru them. Hit them around the edges and they break nicely. When shooting 7mm's they seem to break more rather than just punch a hole. It is seldom that you shoot the middle out of a mini clay but it is impressive when you just leave a ring. As a normal rule at 400 yards using a 42x Nightforce, I can see any hole that I have shot in a clay. But if mirage is heavy, you may have to set and look at it for a while to determine if a hole is there or not. In practice, I have substituted the large flat "rabbit" targets for the large clay. They seem to break just about the same way.

 

[ebb]

We used to shot clays a the 565 Saturday shoot at Manatee, later after they moved the berm to 600yds to stop the whiners they went to a clay sized swinger out of steel. If you are talking about a standard clay target at 500yds I think it would have to be pretty windy to be a challenge. Rifles shoot pretty good now and to be much of a challenge it should be smaller. they glued the clay to a 6x6 piece of cardboard and stapled the cardboard to a wood fence. with 20.5 Leupold I could see just about all hits at 565 occasionally a small hole took a second look and the spotting scope could see it at once

 

[spudgun]

Been using clay targets at all our 600 yd IBS matches. Also use golf balls for sighters at 600 too.

 

[james]

I appreciate all the comments!