Firearms target

A firearms target is made of a target sheet bearing a predetermined target pattern backed with a layer of woven fabric of a contrasting color. The target sheet is a material, such as paper, which permits a projectile to pierce the target sheet leaving an opening of substantially the same size as the projectile. In contrast, the projectile pierces the fabric leaving a multitude of severed fabric strands which extend into the area of the fabric pierced by said projectile. When viewed from in front of the target, these severed strands are highly visible through the hole created by the projectile in the target sheet due to the contrasting colors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates generally to the field of firearms targets. 
More specifically, the present invention discloses a target that provides 
a highly visible indication of the location of a hit. 
2. statement of the Problem 
Conventional firearms targets made of paper are easily produced in large 
numbers at nominal cost. However, it is often difficult to determine the 
location of hits on these targets without the assistance of binoculars or 
a spotting telescope. This is particularly true if the target is printed 
in black and white, since any bullet holes in the target will also 
typically appear to be black. 
A number of devices and processes have been invented in the past relating 
to high visibility or "indicating" targets, including the following: 
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Inventor Patent No. Issue Date 
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Kandel 3,423,092 Jan. 21, 1969 
Loe 3,899,175 Aug. 12, 1975 
Loe 3,895,803 July 22, 1975 
Dun, Jr. 3,353,827 Nov. 21, 1967 
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Kandel discloses a firearms target having a layer of foamed rubber or 
foamed plastic behind the target sheet. The foamed rubber has highly 
contrasting color, such as red or orange. When the target is punctured by 
a bullet, the resulting hole in the target sheet remains open and well 
defined, while the hole through the foamed rubber is self-closing, to some 
degree, so that the colored foam rubber is visible through the hole in the 
target sheet. 
The Loe '175 patent discloses a target having a metal foil sheet mounted in 
a spaced relation in front of a backup sheet of a highly contrasting 
color. When struck by a bullet, a hole substantially larger than the 
bullet is produced in the foil sheet. The bullet makes only a conventional 
size hole in the backup sheet. The point of impact thus appears on the 
target as a relatively large area of color which can easily be seen at 
targe range distances. 
The Loe '803 patent discloses a target having a brightly colored backing 
sheet with a transparent plastic film bonded on its front surface. A 
conventional target pattern is printed in a black and white ink layer on 
the front surface of the transparent film so as to completely cover the 
backing sheet. When the target is struck by a bullet, a section 
substantially larger than the bullet is removed from the ink layer at the 
point of impact. A smaller hole is made in the film layer and the backing 
sheet, thus causing the point of impact to appear highly enlarged and in a 
brightly contrasting color. 
Dun discloses a firearms target in which a resilient backing member of a 
contrasting color is mounted behind the bulls-eye of the target. The 
backing member is made of natural rubber, silicone rubber, 
polyvinylchloride or polyethylene (col. 3, line 35-39, and claim 1). 
3. Solution to the Problem 
None of the prior art references uncovered in the search show a firearms 
target having the structure of the present invention, namely, a target 
sheet with a backing sheet made of a woven fabric having a contrasting 
color. This design can be easily produced using widely available materials 
with minimal assembly, thereby providing a very low cost product. In 
addition, the size of the holes in the present target accurately reflect 
the size and location of the bullet impact, which allows accurate 
measurement of several bullet holes in close vicinity to one another, 
unlike several of the prior art targets which enlarge the area of impact. 
Finally, the present target offers sturdy construction making it highly 
suitable for rugged use in the field. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention provides a firearms target having a target sheet bearing a 
predetermined target pattern backed with a layer of woven fabric of a 
contrasting color. The target sheet is made of a a material, such as 
paper, which permits a projectile to pierce the target sheet leaving an 
opening of substantially the same size as the projectile. In contrast, the 
projectile pierces the fabric leaving a multitude of severed fabric 
strands which extend into the area of the fabric pierced by said 
projectile. When viewed from in front of the target, these severed strands 
are highly visible through the hole created by the projectile in the 
target sheet due to the contrasting colors. 
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a high visibility 
target that can be mass produced at low cost. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a high visibility 
target that can be readily mounted and used in place of a conventional 
paper target at existing shooting ranges. 
These and other advantages, features, and objects of the present invention 
will be more readily understood in view of the following detailed 
description and the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Turning to FIG. 1., a front view of the target sheet 10 is shown. The 
target sheet 10 is typically made of paper printed by conventional means 
with a target pattern 15 (e.g. a bulls eye or grid pattern) on its front 
surface. The selection of materials that can be used as the target sheet 
10 is limited only in that a bullet should be able to readily pierce the 
target sheet leaving a cleanly cut, well defined hole 12 roughly the size 
the projectile. 
An exploded cross-sectional view of the layers of the target is provided in 
FIG. 3. A backing sheet 30 made of a woven material is attached to the 
rear surface of the target sheet 10. The backing sheet 30 is made of a 
woven material having a contrasting color to the colors of the target 
sheet 10. For example, the target sheet 10 typically has a black target 
pattern 15 printed on a white background. A backing sheet 30 with a bright 
orange or red color provides suitable contrast against the black and white 
colors of the target sheet 10. In the preferred embodiment, the backing 
sheet 30 is made of a rip-stop nylon fabric, woven fiberglass, or 
Cordura.TM. fabric marketed by DuPont. In particular, Cordura.TM. fabric 
with a thread size of approximately 1000 denier has been found to be 
suitable. However, it should be understood that any of a wide variety of 
fabrics, thread sizes, and contrasting colors can be employed. 
The bullet hole 12 is shown in greater detail in the fragmentary front view 
of FIG. 2. A cross-sectional view of the portion of the target in the 
vicinity of the bullet hole 12 is shown in FIG. 4. As previously 
discussed, a bullet striking the target sheet 10 will pierce the target 
sheet 10 leaving an opening 12 through the target sheet 10 that is roughly 
the same size as the bullet. The projectile continues forward and pierces 
the backing sheet 30, thereby severing and/or fraying many of the strands 
of the woven fabric in the path of the projectile. The severed ends of 
these strands are pushed out of the way as the bullet passes through the 
backing sheet 30. In addition, at least some of the unsevered fabric 
strands will elastically deform as the bullet passes through the backing 
sheet 30. After the bullet has passed, the frayed ends 14 of the severed 
fabric strands will tend to return to their previous positions, thereby 
partially filling the hole 18 in the backing sheet 30 created by the 
bullet as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. It is important to note that these 
severed fabric strands extend inward beyond the edge of the hole 12 in the 
target sheet 10 and therefore can be readily seen through the hole 12 in 
the target sheet 10 by a shooter viewing the front of the target. 
Visibility of these fabric strands is further enhanced by the color 
contrast between the backing sheet (e.g. red or orange) and the target 
sheet (e.g. black and white). 
As shown in FIG. 3, a thin sheet of thermally activated dry-mount glue 20 
(of the type used to mount pictures for framing) can be employed to attach 
the backing sheet to the target sheet. A second target sheet 50 can also 
be attached to the rear of the backing sheet 30 by means of a second sheet 
of dry-mount glue 40 as shown in FIG. 3. The second target sheet 50 is 
printed with a different targeting pattern than appears on the front 
target sheet to offer the shooter a choice of target patterns simply by 
reversing the device. 
The preceding discussion describes targets that are manufactured and 
completely assembled at a central factory. However, it should be expressly 
understood that the present invention can be practiced by other means. For 
example, a kit for producing the target can be made by providing a backing 
sheet (i.e., a layer of woven material) with a layer adhesive on one side. 
The exposed adhesive is temporarily covered with a removeable cover sheet 
at the factory and the product is distributed in this form. In the field, 
a shooter can peal off the cover sheet to expose the adhesive. The backing 
sheet can thereby be attached by the adhesive to the rear surface of 
virtually any conventional paper target selected by the shooter. 
The above disclosure sets forth a number of embodiments of the present 
invention. Other arrangements or embodiments, not precisely set forth, 
could be practiced under the teachings of the present invention and as set 
forth in the following claims.