Make Your Own Shoot-N-C / Visishot style targets - no really!

[Zombieoutfitters]

Hi gang,

I've LONG been on a quest to develop my own variation of the popular Shoot-N-C or Visishot targets. You know the ones that flake away around the bullet's path leaving a highly visible spot down range.

Yeah I can buy 50 for $15, that's $.30 each and pretty cheap. But I like to make my own stuff when I can. Kind of a two-prong enjoyment and hopefully save money to buy something more important, like an AR or ammo.

Today I tested my FIRST truly viable alternative - a home made Shoot-n-C type target...and wanted to share it with the community.

Here is a photo of the TWO designs I tested today.



The white and black one is nothing more than a Walmart bag painted with a spot of matte-black spray paint. It took 5 seconds to make in my basement last night. I found that this target did the trick, but it was shot with .22cal and as you can see the flaking is quite large. That is good for visibility but it eats up the target quick. Plus the semi-translucent bag coupled with it's lack of weight makes it a poor outdoor choice and not that visible in "other than perfect" conditions.

The one with the yellow center is the better of the two. It is made up of a 9x12 polypropelene bag - like the bags they use for magazines and comics. Also the bags I ship zombie targets in. Since I still have 900 of them, this will make a good use for them. This 9x12 bag is open on one side and makes it very easy to slide in a brightly colored sheet of paper. Spray on some matte-black paint and VOILA this target really does the trick! It was shot up with 9mm round nose "berry's" dipped bullets and held up well. I even took a few pucks with the .22 and they were showing up almost EXACTLY like a Shoot-N-C would.

Below is a link for buying 1,000 bags for $25. Add $15 for 2 reams of bright colored paper. Add $8 for 2 cans of spray paint. Total is $48 for 1,000 targets or $.048 a piece. NICE!! Almost 1/10th of the cost. If you use 1,000 targets in your life of shooting you would save $252.00. Enough for maybe a P22?

http://www.linersandcovers.com/page/LC/PROD/poly-bags/LCF0912

Sure it takes some time to make them & you need a place to let them dry, but they can be painted up real quick and you can slide the paper in them at the range.

If you are really frugal, you could cut the bag in half and use it as a "cover" for the colored paper instead of a sleeve, lowering the cost to $.036.

My next design idea is a white or colored plastic or wax paper plate painted up with black-matte. Not as many color options as being able to insert any color paper you want...but more sturdy and much easier to make / store.

If you have your own variation or viable idea - SHARE!

Enjoy!

 

[Independence Arms]

that is friggen awesome! thanks for sharing.

 

[45collector]

Now you've done it. The Shoot-N-C company is now going to visit you late one night with a rag, bottle of chloroform, hatchet and a shovel. Nice knowing you.

 

[Admin]

"George Lucas gonna sue somebody!"

 

[Business]

Now you've done it. The Shoot-N-C company is now going to visit you late one night with a rag, bottle of chloroform, hatchet and a shovel. Nice knowing you.

lol too funny, was the plastic bag the only method you tried? what did your failed attempts consist of? my thoughts were yellow sticky paper over cardboard with spray paint over.

 

[pdm]

Now you've done it. The Shoot-N-C company is now going to visit you late one night with a rag, bottle of chloroform, hatchet and a shovel. Nice knowing you.

"Hey, does this rag smell like chloroform to you?"

 

[Dman]

Nice work. That's a very interesting idea with the bag. I went through a bunch of type of spray paints layered over different types of paper. I found that some glossy poster board worked ok, but not great. My method was not much cheaper then the real stuff. Yet, I like you enjoy making things instead of buying, just for fun.

 

[endus]

Where are you getting shoot-n-c's 15/50? lol

Cool idea though!

 

[Zombieoutfitters]

Followup on making your own Visishot or Shoot-N-C LIKE targets.

Thanks guys. Remember, I said Shoot-N-C TYPE targets.

*cough* *cough* (sounds of struggle) *thud*...."Hey, where did that zombie guy go?"

Anyway, on to the good stuff.

My failed attempts consisted of:

• Layering targets over colored construction paper - FAIL- the bullet passed clean through both
• Printing on translucent laser paper and sticking it on various other types of paper -FAIL- the translucent paper shattered, detaching from the rear paper and the bullet went clean through
• Placing stickers over colored paper -FAIL- bullet passed clean through
• Taping a target over a brightly colored piece of paper but taping it so it "curved out" from the colored paper leaving a gap that I hoped to see color through -FAIL- bullet passed clean through both

Pretty much ALL paper-based solutions failed.

Then I got to thinking. I took a REAL close look at a shoot-n-c STYLE target in an attempt to understand the physics behind the transaction between bullet and paper. I noticed that most targets of this type are kind of like scratch cards, but more importantly...there were two principles that have to be met to make it work.

First, the stuff that flakes off has to be allowed to A) "bond" to the bullet on it's way through the target and B) easily "detach" from the backing material - ideally forming a circle a little larger than the bullet as the backing is stretched.

Second, the backing needs to be flexible. It needs to allow the bullet to pass through it but leave a hole smaller than the diameter of the object passing through it. This helps create a ring around each shot as the coating is sheared off the backing.

Put the 2 principles together and you get HOW they work. Knowing that, it was just a matter of trying to figure out what materials would serve as a good backing and a good coating.

My first thought was SCRATCH TICKETS!!! But to print 1,000 targets at 6x9 would cost about $1500. $1.50 a target - and a small target at that. Obviously one cannot afford to setup a screen printing operation at home to make their own version so that was out.

The rest was just figuring out what materials I had on hand to meet both those principles and struck gold on the first go-around.

So if you are thinking of making your own "revealing" targets...start with a THIN flexible backing. Thin plastic sheeting, poly, stretch film, trash bags. Paint them with a matte color - and you'll be off to the races. From there you can experiment with backing and paint colors or with something behind the flexible backing to help show color through the hole like I use with the sleeved poly bag.

I imagine you could even use white paint on black trash bags to get a white target with black holes. You could easily make "man size" or "game size" targets on big black bags with white paint and a template. If you have white bags, try black or red paints to get a red/white or black/white contrast. Options are MANY once you get the principles down.

Those ideas lead me to my next idea of trying to find an option more readily available than having to order poly-bags. The thought of searching for suitably flexible plastic or wax plates in the grocery store, preferably red or yellow party plates...paint 'em up and see what they look like. Will report on how that works out when I find good materials.

Using the poly bags last night I made 24 targets in 30 seconds using only 12 poly bags. I took a 9x12 poly bag and painted TWO 6" circles on it. Two targets on ONE sheet! Pop in some bright paper, or even white, and you're good to go.

Enjoy - AND SHARE your ideas!

 

[Zombieoutfitters]

Where are you getting shoot-n-c's 15/50? lol

Cool idea though!

I saw a product on Midway, but it turns out discontinued when I tried to find you a link. It's more like $25 for 60 which means you would save EVEN MORE making them yourself.

 

[Zombieoutfitters]

Nice work. That's a very interesting idea with the bag. I went through a bunch of type of spray paints layered over different types of paper. I found that some glossy poster board worked ok, but not great. My method was not much cheaper then the real stuff. Yet, I like you enjoy making things instead of buying, just for fun.

Dman, posterboard would work okay but it's too rigid and performs like paper, balistically speaking.

If you could find a thin plastic board...that would work nice. Something that STRETCHES AND RECOVERS to leave a hole SMALLER than the bullet after passing through.

In the case of the Walmart bag it worked pretty good b/c the stretch of the plastic bag removed enough black paint to reveal the white surface of the bag in a ring left by the path of the bullet. Though the bag was just a tad too flimsy leaving the holes bigger than I wanted. The tensile properties of the bag also "shook off" more paint from previous holes each time it was struck from the shock across the surface of the bag.

In the case of the polystyrene bag, the stretch of the poly removed enough paint to leave a "see through" hole on the surface of the poly...through which was visible any color placed beneath it. The poly material was also strong enough to provide a surface that did not transfer much energy when struck repeatedly...this left prior bullet holes relatively unaffected by additional impact to the target.

Theoretically...using the poly bags and a colored printer you could make a multi-colored bull on a sheet of paper...put it in the poly bag - then create a template to paint a bull over the poly bag with matte paint. Depending on where you shoot it will reveal different colors.

Again, once you get the materials right - limitless ideas will take off.

 

[atilla]

you can do this with a solid ink printer as well. dukeinmaine figured it out after i gave one to him.

i ran off a bunch of targets but he ran off cooler ones! print one layer of a light color, then print a dark color on top of it.

 

[TWtommers]

Try regular spray paint on wax or parchment paper. It will hold the paint long enough for it to dry and won't slide off but will likely splinter off when shot.

 

[Zombieoutfitters]

you can do this with a solid ink printer as well. dukeinmaine figured it out after i gave one to him.

i ran off a bunch of targets but he ran off cooler ones! print one layer of a light color, then print a dark color on top of it.

Why am I not surprised! Dukeinmaine was incredibly helpful getting me on the right track loading my own slugs. Respect!

 

[Zombieoutfitters]

Updated color home made Shoot-N-C LIKE targets

A quick trip to Staples yielded a ream of BRIGHTS paper in 5 colors for $11.50 including the Deval tax. Only 4 colors were bright enough to be usable for targets.

I took them all to the range to see which colors I liked best and darn it I like THEM ALL!



Enjoy!