Targets

By Charlie Chalk

While many of us compete on a regular basis, some people like to just shoot; without formal boundaries such as who won or lost. If you shoot, soon the paper bulls-eye loses a certain amount of excitement and you begin to seek out other targets. If it breaks or makes noise; a target has some appeal. Often, these targets are called "novelty" targets.
Among black powder shooters, there are a wide variety of targets that are used. Because black powder guns use a soft lead projectile, some targets can and should only be shot with a muzzleloader. Come to think of it; on the other hand, some targets that are designed for cartridge guns, shouldn't be hit with .50 caliber muzzleloaders. I remember a beautiful swinging target I had that would take a hit from a .38 and when I blasted it with my Lyman .50 caliber "Great Plains" rifle.....well, let's just say it now swings in a new direction.
The best iron silhouettes are those of half or three quarter inch plate. Most common are large buffalo, medium bear, and small crow. Scale plans are all over the internet. For the best and most equal knock down, place all target bases on small posts driven into the ground. This makes it more likely that a hit will spin and knock over a target, not just spin it around. This is easily done by those who shoot .50 or .54 caliber, but what about the .45 shooter? They may not even be able to spin the target at 100 yards. The obvious answer is to have targets of the same size but use lighter steel, for those who shoot small calibers. These same light weights could be used for pistol shots also. If you paint them a special color, you will avoid having large caliber shots being taken on the lightweights.
There are many novelty targets that are available at little or no cost; if you can't make the iron ones.
Many items are right at hand in your home. The other week I was at a pistol shoot, set up like a duel. Each man chose a card to see whom he shot against. Instead of shooting at each other, we fired at balloons. Accuracy and speed got me to the next to the last round before I was "killed".
Other targets that break are charcoal briquettes tied on strings, crackers, and candy wafers. All these present a different challenge by size or by their swinging on a string.
Other single-shot targets can include some interesting things like, snuff the candle flame, (set the candle in a box to keep the wind from blowing it out), split a playing card placed on edge, cut the pine cone and an all-time favorite; split the ball on the ax. This last shot is a short range target using a double bit ax and two targets on either side of the ax head after it is driven into an old stump.
For those who like to shoot in teams, try two man teams cutting a two by four that is sharpened and driven in the ground. This kind of shoot takes both skill and speed. And always try to get at least one team member who has a very large caliber gun on your team. Those kinds of shoots can always be held at the end of a day and all the competitors of the day will be pared up into teams. Team shoots are good for beginners because they can be put on a team with veterans who will be able to share their skills.
The next time a group of your friends suggest getting together for a shoot, tell them you will bring the targets. Try a few of these shots and I would bet you will have more fun and you will shoot more often. If you belong to a club, why not run a novelty shoot for black powder? Invite non-shooters and those who own "them fancy cartridge guns" to give it a try, in black powder.
One last thought; if you do prizes, have everybody bring an item of a certain value and when the day is over, top score picks from the table first all the way to the last place. Everybody wins.