Black Target Event...Ever Shoot It

I never have. I’ve shot some black targets during Sporting Clay courses. But never a black trap target event. I’m sure it’s popular somewhere during Black Friday or Halloween but I have not seen it on a local scale. Have not seen a black bird during a prize round. Green bird, white bird yes. Have shot pink birds on mother’s day and breast cancer shoots.

Just curious if it’s a regular or holiday/special for any of you guys?

 

If I remember correctly there was a club in NV that thru an all black target against some white dessert sand. A big money shoot.

 

Sounds like a nice background to shoot against. I know the amount of cloud cover and bright skies can play tricks with them. I do like shooting them at Sporting, especially rabbits. The black puts me in a bit more of a focus mode. The black seems to disappear quick and get picked up on late.

Be neat to shoot a round of trap with them. Out my way majority of trap targets are all orange. I do like shooting black rim targets. In my case it steps up the focus level. I’ve never professed to be any real shooter but I do like to shoot. I do like variation or something out of the norm once and awhile.

Can’t say I’ve seen a yellow target in a long time either.

 

That's what I learned to shoot trap with. all black targets. That's all we had at the Winchester gun club in Denver back in the '70s. And all white targets at night. I don't recall ever seeing a colored target of any color other than black or white in those days at that club.

 

Some clubs in New Mexico throw all black targets up in to a blue sky. Las Vegas club threw all black, but they were shiny painted black. The dull black are nicer. Roger C.

 

Shot them for years in Vegas. Showed up real nice with their background.

 

We shot black targets at the Lincoln Park Gun Club in Chicago on the lakefront.The club faced east so you didn't want to be on a early squad.It is all gone now,but was great while it lasted.
Yellow dome targets were the norm at other clubs in the area.All white was the night time target.

 

I'll add one more thing. It seems those black targets would turn to dust, ink balls, I mean really disappeared in a puff of smoke if I was dead on target. Today when I hit one of these bio-targets dead-on they come apart in a big 360 degree spray of little pieces, but never turn into just smoke, ink or dust balls. Obviously, a different material used today. What's the difference, if anyone knows?

 

Try only hitting them with the dead center of the pattern. Roger C.

 

I’m not the trap chairman at any club or anything but know enough guys to talk to. Maybe I can generate enough interest to pull some type of event off. I’d like to shoot 4-5 rounds of them like a 100 bird event or something. Can only see how much interest I can dig up. Hard to break guys away from the norm though.

 

They were probably made with ‘coal tar’. Today they use ‘petroleum pitch’ instead.

 

Bio's have no petroleum pitch in them. Bio's are a waste of money, the pitch targets were never a hazmat problem. I was told this by the head of CERTIFIED CHEMICAL CORP. Roger C.

 

Roger, I only ever shot all black targets once and that was back early in the 1960's at the Fisher Brothers Shooting Park in Findlay. Later it became Jaqua's. If my memory serves me well it was a normal summer day with white puffy clouds and some sunshine. They seemed to show up pretty well and I did break 99 16yd that day and at that time I was very happy to break 99. Seems odd that I can remember so clearly from nearly 60 years ago something like that and I can't hardly remember when I had my last donut. LOL

Dave Berlet

 

David, If you think your memory is bad, What is a donut? We shot them a lot at the Las Vegas gun club, they were the painted ones. In New Mexico they were dull black up into a beautiful blue sky. I loved them. Roger C.
P.S. The all black with the cuts across the top made by Eclipes were the best flying targets ever put in the air.

 

The closer you threw them to the 50 yard stake the more broken targets you got . they were very fragile, but they really broke nice. Only ever shot the orange dome Eclipse. That was also at Fisher Brothers.

Dave Berlet

 

I've always believed "coal tar" and "petroleum pitch" were one and the same. I haven't seen all-black targets in decades.

 

Back in the sixty's that's all my local club threw -- Black during the day and white at night --If I remember right, most shooters wanted to shoot at night!