How to Make a Ballistics Target

Label the sections of the target.

Sport shooting and target practice are popular recreational activities in the U.S. About 19 million people a year engage in the sport. Whether you're a first-time shooter learning the skill or an Olympic trainee, it's necessary to have a target at which to shoot in order to hone your accuracy. Targets also make shooting safer by providing a visual focus at which to aim. A ballistics target is easy to design and make at home.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pen
• Compass

Instructions

1. Take a piece of paper about one foot by one foot in size, though you can use a smaller or larger paper depending on the preferred target size.

2. Use the compass to draw a circle about one inch in diameter in the middle of the paper. This will be your bull's-eye. Again, you can make the bull's-eye larger or smaller depending on preference.

3. Draw a concentric circle around the bull's-eye, forming a ring around the center. The width of the ring should be approximately equal to the bull's-eye's diameter.

4. Continue drawing concentric rings with your compass until you reach the desired level; five or six should work well.

5. Label the sections of the target. Label the outer ring "1" and proceed in single increments, so the second ring will be marked "2," etc. Label the bull's-eye "X." Alternatively, you can use a scoring system whereby you assign certain points to each ring.

6. Affix the target to the shooting surface you use. Make photocopies of the target before you shoot if you want to have extra targets on hand.

References

• Art of the Rifle; Jeff Cooper; 1997
• Where to Shoot: Introduction