I enjoy fishing quite a bit, but I also enjoy shooting targets so I wrote an article about steel gong targets.
Before I explain why steel shooting targets like the ones made by Shooting Targets 7 are the most proficient way to increase your marksmanship, and perhaps also the most fun! I’ll let you know about the downfalls of paper targets.
Paper targets are not only silent: meaning the marksman is unaware of whether they have hit the target in the first place. The marksman has to follow his round of shooting by travelling to and from the target to then determine how many rounds he actually managed to get through the target. This not only means the shooter cannot correct the angle of his shot, or, if it seems to be the problem, the sight on his gun.
Going further, once the marksman has made his count of how many shots hit the perishable target, he then has to repair the holes made, so as not to count them next time he continues his rounds of shooting.
Now that we’re aware of the difficulty of perishable targets, let’s look at the benefits of steel gong targets. Steel gong targets immediately allow you to know whether or not you have hit the target; they produce a loud, satisfying noise letting you know that the shot fired was an accurate one. For more info on shooting steel targets check out this link.
Having been made of steel ranging from 3/8” to 1/2” inch thick, the gong is not going to need to have repairs made each time a shot is made. In fact, the marksman does not need to make the walk back and forth to the target each time they complete firing a set of rounds. Which, in itself, allows for a more proficient use of time on the range and, subsequently, this allows for more shots to be fired in the time spent with the rifle. Considering the maxim, practice makes perfect, this will undoubtedly improve your marksmanship skills as you will spend more time shooting and knowing exactly where your projectile hit, and less time walking.
Now the steel gong targets weigh between 1.5g and 16.2lbs, and have diameters ranging from 4” to 12”, these ranges of sizes would be applicable depending on the skill, precision and type of gun you are using. What’s more, the steel gong targets are extremely easy to transport and very easy to set up, as they are held up with a metal bracket and chains on both top right corners. Here is a good video showing how steel targets sound when you shoot them Lastly, they’re also cheap, pricing roughly around $50 per steel gong.