Thread: Thermal target design.

Over time,iv always tryed to improve targets for thermal scopes and clipons.Last day or so I made this target up.The cross hairs on only 10mm wide strip of tin foil.These show up as white hot and I can hold my day scope black cross hairs on centre of these strips.Which make for very accurate shooting.Next time I will make the tin foil strips only 6 mm wide,should still beable to hold cross hairs centre of tin foil strips.
Heres my surprise to myself with 5 shots,checking my clipon 100yd zero.This design of target may help other thermal shooters out there.No harm in trying.



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Nice, good idea. Last time I played with one of those it was a black cross using a laser toner printer - it did work if the sun was in the right spot but I think your idea would be a lot more effective.

That is one of those inventions that is so effective and simple at the same time that its surprising it wasn't invented already. Well done.

To make target,big piece of cardboard box? Glue a tin foil cross on it,foil strips say 40mm wide,400mm long.set out some sheets of say A4 paper,what ever is handy and square.Form a cross with gap to see foil say 10mm wide.No foil under sheets,but you get the idea.Glue the lot together.

will tin foil off my hat work? A guy I know puts an ice cube in a snap lock bag and staples it to the backing board probably better in winter

A few years ago I purloined a metallic silver paint stick thingy from my wifes art stuff. Paid for that misdemeanor later, didn't put it back before she noticed. But it did the job for me, just drew a cross on A4 sheet and taped it to cardboard box, job done. Tin foil worked good too though.

I reckn I could bring the A4 sheets into centre,give you say 5mm tinfoil cross.Really fine tune your aiming to say inside 5mm.Give a nice tight group with practice.

What time of day?

Originally Posted by Tahr

What time of day?

About 4pm with the sun behind me,little NW breeze now n then.Concentrate on yr cross hairs on centre on tin foil,horizontal and vertical.Dont bother about yr scope mil dot.
My day scope group in 1st photo,there's 5 shots in that to.Top right hole slightly bigger,2 shot.

When I was shooting thru clipon,clipon was on 2x and day scope on 4x.Makes for seeing cross hairs against tin foil easy and hold steady.

Final check thru thermal clip on befor chasing deer.I chose the red dot group as my final go to hunting group,1.5"high.Now leave scope alone.

Hornady 150gr ssts flying at 2836ft/s,deer wont know what hit them.

Thermal zero finally same at day zero.So any dialing up will be the same for day n night.Now for a bit of distant shooting.

There's four shoots in there,the middle bullet hole slightly bigger.So elevation is pretty good at a hundy from day scope thru clip on.

I found this design a bit more forgiving at 300,400yds.A 6inch black circle thru my clip on which is on black heat.The red dot of my day scope retical I just adjust magnification to fit red dot inside target black dot.I allow about a inch between circumference of outer and inner circles.I can see outer black ring around red dot.Can hold this steady at 300 to 400yds and get good elevation data.At 400yds I got 3 shots about 2 inchs about horizontal.So 2 clicks down on day scopes gets me 400yds zero.Shots fired on a nor west windy evening so nothing straight for windage.Two small white labels on tatget show my 200yd and 300yd zeros.
When adjusting day scope,I adjust thermal clipon cross hair up n
down to line up with day scope cross hair.
All works fine.


Second photo shows red dot of day scope inside black heat dot of what thermal shows.
I now leave my day scope on 2 1/2'' high at a hundy and that gives me a 2 1/2'' drop at 280yds.Thermal clip on set at 2x match's days scope cross hairs.All good.

Thanks. Definitely better than my chewing gum method

Got a bit bored at home,so I thort il visit our local paddock in the evening.Make sure my 308+thermal on song.I like the 300yds setting on scope.Just point and shoot as most deer are inside 300yds befor I pull the trigger.
There was a slight southerly breeze from right to left,but that didn't worry me.Just doing a elevation check.Day scope set at 2 1/2 inch high.Result group 5/8'' below line,all good to about 340yds if really needed.


A nice spot with Mount Cook in the back ground.