Thread: What target design and why ?

Please share what design you currently prefer for range shooting paper ?

How does it work to aid precise reticle alignment ? What else has been tried in the past and discarded - and why ?


To kick things off: the current preference here...




When sized correctly a duplex reticle breaks the target into 4, squares being good. Allows placement of the reticle (black) over a white aiming point, and I find it slightly easier to tell the difference between squares and rectangles than matching the size of four sectors when using an equivalent circle. Disadvantage: hard to see shots in the black from a distance, and unfortunately it doesn't seem to work as well for me if the outer square is thinned down to fix this. For conventional crosshairs only.

I just stick 24mm red/orange dots onto paper. Easy to quarter them to line up on the middle. Sometimes I'll put a small cross above the dot where I want the final aim point to be at the distance, though I can get a pretty good idea by measuring the dot in the scope and just mentally adding dots on top to get the spot from the shooting position.

i use a cross its the easiest thing to aim the cross hairs on no guess work at all

Originally Posted by gadgetman

I just stick 24mm red/orange dots onto paper. Easy to quarter them to line up on the middle. Sometimes I'll put a small cross above the dot where I want the final aim point to be at the distance, though I can get a pretty good idea by measuring the dot in the scope and just mentally adding dots on top to get the spot from the shooting position.

Same. I use the back of a calender or poster as the paper is a lot nicer

This is a cool thread.

I discovered recently that an ammo box I have is an inch thick, so have drawn inch grids for sighing in. Last night I even made a half inch one for my friend's .17HMR at 100 because my targets were too big when I did my .22LR the other day...I had to aim at the corner of the target.


(Inch squares, Black Beauty last night newly shortened with new suppresser, 200yrds)


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Originally Posted by Puffin

Please share what design you currently prefer for range shooting paper ?

How does it work to aid precise reticle alignment ? What else has been tried in the past and discarded - and why ?


To kick things off: the current preference here...

Attachment 45422


When sized correctly a duplex reticle breaks the target into 4, squares being good. Allows placement of the reticle (black) over a white aiming point, and I find it slightly easier to tell the difference between squares and rectangles than matching the size of four sectors when using an equivalent circle. Disadvantage: hard to see shots in the black from a distance, and unfortunately it doesn't seem to work as well for me if the outer square is thinned down to fix this. For conventional crosshairs only.

Print it in red, can still see the lines well and also see your shots over the line I use a flash harry thing @kiwi39 sent me. Basically a diamond or square on its point. Although I got lazy and now just draw a 10- 15mm dot If you cant see where you hit its normally a good group

I use a half inch black dot with a band of white around it then another band of black out to two inches. could go smaller but with my mix of optics 12x is max with most being 9x or 4x and a 10mm dot is bloody hard to see at 200m looking threw a 4xcoke bottle

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25 points to you sir

Originally Posted by Gibo

25 points to you sir

Down 1 click and shes good till I have to change powder batch and start over.

Try the same square turned 45 degrees so that it looks like a diamond. Makes it easier to line up the crosshairs of a duplex reticle on the four corners.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Down 1 click and shes good till I have to change powder batch and start over.

Really, how much can a different batch change things? I don't think I have any two bottles the same batch

Originally Posted by Gibo

Really, how much can a different batch change things? I don't think I have any two bottles the same batch

ADI powders I have used seem really good, superformance went from near max to way over max from one tub to the next.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

ADI powders I have used seem really good, superformance went from near max to way over max from one tub to the next.

OK cheers, I use ADI but will keep an eye out. Shit it better be sweet, just loaded 50 at same load with new batch .....

Centre row: crosshairs perfectly centred
Bottom row: crosshairs offset slightly left - all by the same amount


A cross has to be drawn with the same thickness as the reticle for best results; too thin and it remains obscured for some degree of offset, too thick and it is not as easy to tell the offset as some of the other options. As pointed out a colour works best for a cross when the thickness is matched to that of the reticle, colour visible = alignment is off.

I like the diamond too. It comes down to a preference between noticing the difference between sizes of triangles, and squares that have gone rectangular.

The dot - it is probably slightly large for best comparisons here - comes down to the eye picking up the difference in the size and symmetry of the 4 sectors (slices of pie ) and whether this is easier as a personal preference to sizing triangles or squares/rectangles.

Please post with how these designs could be optimised further.

Anybody got anything from out of left field that will revolutionise target design ?