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Target Shape - What is optimal?


Texas Jack Daniels

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Target Shape - What is optimal?

 

Circular with a ten foot radius, eight feet high.  Mounted inside a round building on the exterior wall.  One third painted red (rifle), another third painted black (Pistol) and the remaining third white (shotgun).  This will allow for the "customer's wants hits" syndrome, less Spotter questionable calls and almost guarantees more clean matches.  :blink:

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49 minutes ago, Hells Comin said:

If its single ply -sometimes u will need a whole roll.

I'm thinking 3 or 4 ply.

How about paper towels? 

 

In my buddy Widder’s case?  You’d better pack in one o’ them giant economy packs!!:lol: :rolleyes:

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3 hours ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

Lets see,  this thread has covered just about everything except the sizes of the Portie Johns and everyones

preference of sizes, colors, paper, hand wipes/sanitizers, etc.....

 

After all, Texas Jack Daniels only wanted to know our preferences to OPTIMAL targets.

 

This lunch table discussion has taken us into dessert time.....:D

 

oh yea, I like my Portie Johns double wide, medium bluish color, with hand sanitizers)

I'm sure TJD appreciates my input on that..... :lol::lol:

 

..........Widder

 

 

 

 

 

This is one case in which John Wayne is not good. We don't want the John Wayne toilet paper; Rough, Tough, and doesn't take $h!* off anyone...

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On ‎8‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 9:13 AM, The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 said:

Oh, I forgot about the card suits... HEINOUS!

 

I finally found something I want to comment about. I like the "interesting" shapes; such as coyotes, cowboys, card suits, and coiled snakes. I hated hoses; I got SG/tennis elbow from missing them.

 

I agree that holes in targets, like some cowboys have, are not optimal.

 

Back to card suits. They could be larger or closer and would be fine. I think what led to their demise was akin to throwing out the baby with the bath water. Too many scenario writers would have you pull a card to determine which suit you started on.  So, if you drew a diamond and it was in position two, you started there and had to hit that suit three times. if swept. Now that was HEINOUS!

 

IMO, it all comes back to the near/far thing. if the target is a harder to hit shape or is smaller, place it closer.

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Yes (yawn), squares are the optimal shape.

 

We’ve lost so much of the ‘fun’ stuff in CAS, why give up shaped targets as well?  I, honestly, have never heard anyone complain about target shapes.  Size, yes.  Color, yes.  Distance, yes.  Shapes, no.  And I feel if you miss a target because of shape, you should have aimed better.  It is the same for all competitors.

 

PLEASE STOP THE SLIDE

 

Possum

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I'm just glad that the vitals on a deer aren't diamond shaped - lord knows hunters everywhere would be reduced to tears in frustration. 

 

Thank the good lord that them al-kay-da's aren't shaped funny or we would NEVER finish shooting them all.

Besides - who ever saw a diamond shaped al-kay-da terrist?

 

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1 hour ago, Possum Skinner, SASS#60697 said:

Yes (yawn), squares are the optimal shape.

 

We’ve lost so much of the ‘fun’ stuff in CAS, why give up shaped targets as well?  I, honestly, have never heard anyone complain about target shapes.  Size, yes.  Color, yes.  Distance, yes.  Shapes, no.  And I feel if you miss a target because of shape, you should have aimed better.  It is the same for all competitors.

 

PLEASE STOP THE SLIDE

 

Possum

Well you're missing the point (pun not intended).  

 

If you like to have a crappy shot rewarded...great! Pat the shooter on the back and say "nice hat brim shot!"

 

You see...you see it as telling the guy that missed that he should have aimed better. I see it as "XXX?! you get a hit on a toe...or a hat brim...missing by a FOOT, and the other guy that missed the center of the target by 5" gets a miss?!"  Nice shooting competition!!

 

Slide???? Why??? Cuz folks want to have SASS be a shooting competition? 

 

Not saying everything should be Squares...but some of these targets are laughable!

 

Cheers!

 

Phantom...sliding along...

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If, when CAS started, all targets had been 2’ squares at 5 and 10 yds, would the sport have taken off like it did?  I think not.  I think part of CAS’s appeal is the ‘non-professional’ aspect of the targets, scenarios, etc.  And I think in our zeal to standardize the sport we have lost much of its unique appeal.

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4 minutes ago, Possum Skinner, SASS#60697 said:

If, when CAS started, all targets had been 2’ squares at 5 and 10 yds, would the sport have taken off like it did?  I think not.  I think part of CAS’s appeal is the ‘non-professional’ aspect of the targets, scenarios, etc.  And I think in our zeal to standardize the sport we have lost much of its unique appeal.

I set up stages every month for our club.  I pay attention to shooters' comments and try to deliver what they like.  I don't really hear a lot of complaints about target shapes or stage designs.   When shooters get briefed on a stage, they often joke about it and  laugh, then they all do their best to shoot through it as fast as possible without misses, Ps, Safeties, or DQs.   My (albeit limited) observation is that they enjoy when that happens, even for other shooters, and the enjoyment is magnified when the targets/stages are more challenging.   The slow shooters (including myself) always enjoy watching the fast shooters solve problems and turn fast times. 

The folks come back month after month because they enjoy the challenges. 

 The only grumbling or complaints I ever hear on our monthly matches is when stages are too simple, boring, too much of the same thing, or when the targets are set so close that everyone gets sprayed.  

 

The easiest ways to keep our distinct western theme in our contests is with our props, our dress and using target shapes like cowboys, outlaws, cows, buzzards, buffalo, boots, card suits, etc. in our shooting arrays.   If we do away with the western theme targets and only shoot squares or circles, we will lose something from the flavor and core of our sport, IMHO.  I would always vote to keep our shooting uniquely  "western" and "cowboy".   

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There is a club here that is leaning more and more all the time toward "Western Combat Shooting". Some folks seem to like it. Some don't.

 

One scenario - Shooter starts behind a closed door. At the beep, shooter goes through the door and shoots two rifle rounds at two small round targets (<12") on the back berm maybe 40 yards away. Shooter advances to a barricade with several angled slots in it and shoots the same targets with two shots through each of three slots - the top slot can be shot easy enough stooping over, but the lower ones pretty much require the shooter to drop to their knees to get a sight picture. Even if you're only 5' 6" and 30 years old, it's tough. Try it at 64 and six and a half feet tall, and you're very tempted to just pack up and go home. After those 6 shots, shooter advances again to another barricade with a vertical slot and shoots the last two rounds at the same targets. Shooter then moves laterally to another barricade with a square frame in front of it. Shooter must shoot two shotgun from one side of barrier, with one foot in the square, then two shots from the other side of the barrier, also with one foot in the square. Shooter then moves laterally again, and engages the (small) pistol targets (no barrier for the pistol string). Results have never been posted, but 90 second stages were the norm. Another scenario had 10 pistol targets in the shape of cowboys about 3" wide and maybe 10" high perched on spikes driven in the ground. Three to five hits were common.

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On 8/27/2019 at 2:16 PM, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

Good Topic, TJD.

 

Personally, I don't like diamonds.   But, here is the big nemesis, in my opinion.

 

If you set up 4 stages with 16x16 squares, and then set up a stage with the SAME targets turned to diamond

shape,  you've thrown a 'stealth' stage into the match.   

 

I agree with what Branchwater stated above.   In my opinion, The diamond shapes are deceitful.

Its almost like they have 4 aiming points and each one is at the edge of the steel.   Deceitful!

 

I ain't crazy about a couple other target shapes, but the diamond is the deceitful gremlin.

 

..........Widder

 

Diamonds are the most easily missed, they are my nemesis.:(

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7 hours ago, Grey Beard said:

I hate diamonds and target shapes with holes in them.  I hate them even more when I have to dump 3 or more shots on them!!!!! 

How about a dump target that is a diamond with a hole in it ?????.........:lol:

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30 minutes ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

 

The side where the blonde gets lost..... :lol:

 

..........Widder

 

 

That's funny right there - I don't care who ya are .......

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IMG_0293.JPG.9a02c40a1ca7a77438420c3ccf11a4fe.JPG If you need cowboys to make your match more entertaining or challenging or however you look at it; this cowboys center mass is 10 inches by 10.5 inches with another 5 by 7 rectangle on top for those of you taking head shots or just normally shoot high.    At what distance would your monthly match place this target and how far apart?

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9 hours ago, Kirk James said:

IMG_0293.JPG.9a02c40a1ca7a77438420c3ccf11a4fe.JPG If you need cowboys to make your match more entertaining or challenging or however you look at it; this cowboys center mass is 10 inches by 10.5 inches with another 5 by 7 rectangle on top for those of you taking head shots or just normally shoot high.    At what distance would your monthly match place this target and how far apart?

Great visual. I also wonder how many people would howl at shooting 10" square targets all day.

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Well from all the replies it is obvious that we need more stages with the targets in the shape of  Diamonds, Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Buffaloes, Coyotes, Buzzards, Card suits, Fat X shapes, State outlines,  Cowboys with arm holes, Donuts, or any other target shape except Squares, Rectangles and Tombstones so that shooters will get familiar with them.

 

Maybe a few workshops on how to shoot these types of targets are in order.

 

How about we switch the discussion to the pros and cons of vertical target arrays, varying the height of targets used for a sweep vice all targets at the same height, ground vs elevated shotgun knockdowns, and targets that move cause it is pretty obvious that this dead horse has been beaten into dust. 

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