Instructor Tips | Making Targets Work for You

As shooters, we’re probably using targets in our practice and when teaching. As such, we’re probably dealing with issues which can arise with our paper, staplers, and more. Wind, rain, forgetfulness, and mechanical issues can flatline a good plan. Luckily, we are (hopefully) capable of thinking critically to resolve these problems before they impact our students. Here are a few tips I’ve come across over the years to help make our range time a success.

Staple Orientation on Target

While spray glue has become a very popular way of mounting targets, I’m still in the staple camp for hanging paper. Less mess, less waste, and I find it to be more reliable. The major issue I see instructors and shooters have with stapling targets is the wind tearing their paper from the staple. This gives the practice a bad name, but is largely user-error. Luckily, there’s a method to dramatically improve the security of your stapled target, without using half a box of staples per paper. Most people seem to haphazardly staple their targets. As with most things done in that fashion, results are usually wanting. Instead, we want to long edge of our staple to match the edge of the paper. Vertical sides have vertical staples, horizonal sides have horizontal staples. Stop and think about this for a moment; We want to resist wind, and providing a wider face will offer up more security from tearing our target.

I first learned this trick from Tom Givens back in 2020 during the Rangemaster Advanced Instructor Course. While it may seem minor, this tip is the #1 thing I associate with that class, as it’s had a massive impact on my shooting ever since. A few people have had similar “Ah ha!” moments when I’ve shown them, but unfortunately most seem to blow the advice off as pedantic. Trust me, this works, and it works well. Of course you’ll still need a reasonable amount of staples per target: B8 Repair Centers get the corners, Q-PT silhouettes get corners and one halfway down on the sides. Using this method will substantially improve the security of your target to the backer, and I’ll never go back.

Waterproofing Targets

There’s not much that can kill a range session more quickly than rain. Paper targets and moisture don’t play well together, and unless you brought along some steel, you may find yourself packing up early. I’ve seen a few tricks over the years, such as draping plastic sacks over targets, but they rarely work well or for any significant amount of time. One method that I found to be fairly straightforward and effective comes from John Murphy of Citizen Defender. John uses Scotchguard or Rain-X spray on his targets to help prevent moisture from being absorbed by the paper. Simply spray your target, give it a few moments to set, and you’re good to go. No plastic bags obscuring things or getting torn apart. No canopies for students to accidentally shoot.

This doesn’t mean that we’ll be burning it down in a hurricane, but this can help keep things moving on a wet day.

Staple Gun Maintenance

Outside of paper tearing in the wind, another thing I see people scorn staple guns for are parts breakage. I’ve personally had a few staple guns stop working in the middle of a range session, and I’ve watch a few more die in the hands of others. I understand why someone would move to another method of hanging targets after an experience like that. I think that may be a little short sighted. For starters, it’s important to purchase a high quality staple gun. We’re not substitute teachers, hanging a child’s art on a bulletin board. We’re firing staples through cardboard and wooden backers, potentially hundreds of times in a day or weekend. A bottom-of-the-barrel staple gun is a recipe for disaster. Appropriate length and size staples can also help make sure that we’re not causing any unnecessary jams in the stapler.

Like any mechanical device, a staple gun is subject to malfunctions. Poor quality ammunition, abuse, and over use can cause problems. We wouldn’t (shouldn’t) treat our guns likes this, but other tools don’t get the same treatment. Over the past decade I’ve seen exactly one instructor talk about preventative maintenance for staple guns, and that is John Hearne of Two Pillars Training. His comments were a revelation for me, I’d never thought of doing anything to my stapler other than use it and toss it in the range bag. I had no idea what service even looked like for these things, and I know I’m not alone. I could spend a few thousand words explaining this process to you, but I won’t. Instead, I recommend reading >>THIS<< piece, along with several related articles linked inside. Those articles are filled with tons of good information which should hopefully save you frustration, and money, while keeping your staple gun running for a long time.

Emergency Target Supplies

There may be a time when you realize that you’re running out of targets just before class. In today’s internet era, you probably order your supplies online, and that means shipping. There’s no way for your targets to arrive on time, and there’s not enough for class. What do you do in this situation? First, don’t panic, we can fix this. Order targets right away; while they won’t help you now, it’s best to take care of this before it slips your mind once again.

Next, take a look at your targets. What were you planning on shooting this weekend? Think about the size of your scoring zones–are they B8 bullseyes, USPSA A-Zones, or something else? We have plenty of day-to-day objects which can stand in for a typical target. Paper plates come in various sizes such as 8 and 4-inch circles. A 3×5 index card replicates many eye boxes found on several targets. A 3×3 sticky note provides an even more difficult shot. Even simple 8.5×11 printer paper can be slightly folded to match a USPSA A-Zone.

You may need to modify your lesson plan slightly, but that’s better than sticking with ragged targets or canceling due to an administrative mistake. Dave Spaulding mentioned this during a recent interview. While I’ve seen shooters use these everyday objects for targets, his perspective recontextualized it for me.

Closing Thoughts on Instructor Tips | Making Targets Work for You

These aren’t glamorous tips, but they can save you a lot of pain and frustration. Don’t let yourself be limited by what target you normally use. Keep an open mind, and adapt to the conditions you find yourself in. Take care of your gear, and not just what makes up your EDC.

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