Better Cardboard Target

[Tom Givens]

My favorite cardboard training target is back in production and available again. This target has anatomically correct scoring areas, a neck, and a more humanoid head. It is far superior to IDPA/USPSA cardboard targets. They are about a buck apiece in quantities of 100. See

https://shootsteel.com/shootsteel-co...pack-of-100-1/

I have no connection, BTW, I just like the target.

[Wayne Dobbs]

I've been using it some and I agree, Tom, it's a great training target.

[Doc_Glock]

Very nice target.

[CraigS]

What is the reason for the triangular head target area? And why is it so small?

[HCM]

What is the reason for the triangular head target area? And why is it so small?

It’s small because that is the size of the “T-Zone” on people. Shooting people “somewhere” in the head, especially with handgun rounds does not guarantee incapacitation.

The T Zone aka the “Triangle of death” covers the nose and behind the eyes. These sensory organs don’t actually matter themselves, but are simply the target area. What makes the T-Box different from any other area is the part of the brain which rests directly behind it. Beyond this point is the lower brain, the parts most responsible for the processes that cause us to continue living. It houses the brain stem which is responsible for our organs functioning automatically, namely our heart, lungs, our central nervous system, as well as controlling the rest of our brain itself. This means that losing it guarantees a complete and instantaneous loss of consciousness and life.

[Kirk]

These targets are by far my favorite as well. Having the 5" circular B-Zone is awesome and can mimic the black of a B8, and I also use the B-zone for steel challenge stages by setting up 5 and just counting hits to the circle. Obviously makes the drills more accuracy intensive but seems to translate well for me. The A-zone is perfect for pure accuracy drills, too. I'm running low though, so this thread is timely. Going to put in a pre-order.

[CraigS]

It’s small because that is the size of the “T-Zone” on people. Shooting people “somewhere” in the head, especially with handgun rounds does not guarantee incapacitation.

The T Zone aka the “Triangle of death” covers the nose and behind the eyes. These sensory organs don’t actually matter themselves, but are simply the target area. What makes the T-Box different from any other area is the part of the brain which rests directly behind it. Beyond this point is the lower brain, the parts most responsible for the processes that cause us to continue living. It houses the brain stem which is responsible for our organs functioning automatically, namely our heart, lungs, our central nervous system, as well as controlling the rest of our brain itself. This means that losing it guarantees a complete and instantaneous loss of consciousness and life.

I had always thought headshot means done, but then I have also seen accounts where the bullet didn't penetrate but glanced off. Thinking to pics of a skull, that target area has almost no bone at all, mostly just cartilage, so it would make skull penetration much more likely. And then hitting the organs in the area is what causes the real damage. Thanks for this info.

[UNM1136]

Late last year I tried taking a statement from a kid that took a pistol round (can't recall if it was 9mm or .40) just below his right nostril above the lip. His palate was busted, and so were several teeth, but he was alert, conscious, ambulatory, and able to break into a secured wing of the emergency room seeking treatment. Dude was tough to understand, but the only way was he out of the fight was psychologically.

pat

[JHC]

I had always thought headshot means done, but then I have also seen accounts where the bullet didn't penetrate but glanced off. Thinking to pics of a skull, that target area has almost no bone at all, mostly just cartilage, so it would make skull penetration much more likely. And then hitting the organs in the area is what causes the real damage. Thanks for this info.

All true. A friend who has shot some people in the face and seen many more shot in the face observed that such a hit almost always caused a profound change in the target's behavior to his/their advantage. Also that the context of placing a hostage rescue shot with a scoped rifle is not exactly the same as going for the face in a close range gunfight; pistol or carbine. I'd be very curious to hear what went into the design of the head/face of the VTAC target (Kyle Lamb).

I really like this target also.

[HCM]

I had always thought headshot means done, but then I have also seen accounts where the bullet didn't penetrate but glanced off. Thinking to pics of a skull, that target area has almost no bone at all, mostly just cartilage, so it would make skull penetration much more likely. And then hitting the organs in the area is what causes the real damage. Thanks for this info.

As a young man I worked with a former NYC Transit police office who took a .38 spl LRN to the high forehead, did not penetrate the skull, instead traveled between the skin and skull, following the contour of the skull to the back of the head.

Another example would be Deputy Jared Reston:



another example: