How to Make a Ballistics Target

Sport shooting and target practice are popular recreational activities in the U.S. About 19 million people a year engage in the sport. Whether you're a first-time shooter learning the skill or an Olympic trainee, it's necessary to have a target at which to shoot in order to hone your accuracy. Targets also make shooting safer by providing a visual focus at which to aim. A ballistics target is easy to design and make at home.

Things You'll Need

  • Paper
  • Pen
  • Compass
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Instructions

    • 1

      Take a piece of paper about one foot by one foot in size, though you can use a smaller or larger paper depending on the preferred target size.

    • 2

      Use the compass to draw a circle about one inch in diameter in the middle of the paper. This will be your bull's-eye. Again, you can make the bull's-eye larger or smaller depending on preference.

    • 3

      Draw a concentric circle around the bull's-eye, forming a ring around the center. The width of the ring should be approximately equal to the bull's-eye's diameter.

    • 4

      Continue drawing concentric rings with your compass until you reach the desired level; five or six should work well.

    • 5

      Label the sections of the target. Label the outer ring "1" and proceed in single increments, so the second ring will be marked "2," etc. Label the bull's-eye "X." Alternatively, you can use a scoring system whereby you assign certain points to each ring.

    • 6

      Affix the target to the shooting surface you use. Make photocopies of the target before you shoot if you want to have extra targets on hand.