Baking Targets Prior To Shooting

[fc60]

Greetings,

I machine replacement 32 barrels for folks that shoot NRA matches at 50 yards. I always test the barrels at 50 yards to make sure all went well, and give the customer a starting point for reloading.

My supply of blank targets are stored in the shooting shed outdoors with no heat. In the NW corner of Washington State it is quite moist. During shooting, I was not getting clean wadcutter holes in the paper. A fellow shooter said he had a similar problem with Air Pistol pellets. His remedy was to bake the targets in an oven, or microwave, to eradicate the moisture.

Well, yesterday I tried this. I placed a stack of ten 8" x 11" targets in the microwave and after one or two minutes of radiating the target paper seemed crisper to the touch. Upon firing my test groups the holes were nice and clean, as you would expect from a "paper puncher".

This may be an old trick; but, it is new to me and I thought I would pass it on.

One disclaimer. I do not know if baking the target alters the dimensional integrity of the scoring rings.

Cheers,

Dave Wilson

Fabricator and shooter of fine 32 barrels and now baker of targets.

[WC]

In a fit of desperation, I know of someone that ended up ironing their targets! We tried some in the oven, but concluded that the target paper fibers were the cause of the tearing we saw with airgun. But certainly, there have been others before you that had success driving out the moisture your way.