Target Camera Systems

[DeviantLogic]

One of the things that I always find difficult shooting solo is knowing where my rounds are hitting at 200+ yards. Have any of you guys had first hand experience with target camera systems, such as the ones offered by Bullseye Camera Systems (http://www.bullseyecamera.com), Target Vision (http://targetvisioncam.com), or TargetCam (http://www.targetcam.net)?

Kind of wondering if it's worth it to buy one of the systems. For the parts involved, the prices seem kind of steep, so I've considered building something myself...although I know it would be a bit clunkier than one of the purchased setups.

[alamo5000]

Up the road about half an hour or so they have a 100 yard indoor range that has all that stuff. Every now an again if I am bored and the weather is bad I will go there to shoot. I don't know which brands and all that they are using but you can monitor your shots live in there. It's an interesting concept.

One thing I have done though is take my longest camera lens and put it on a tripod (or not) aimed at the target...after I shoot I can zoom in and look at shot placement. It's only as good as far as it's good for though.

I would think a cheap telescope (even one for kids) will provide better feedback to the shooter though. It just depends on if you want to get out of shooting position or not or if you have a spotter or not or a number of other factors.

To me a cheap telescope would be a whole lot easier to deal with than some video monitoring system. It would be way cheaper too.

[alamo5000]

I should also add that camera systems are also going to depend largely on the type of target used...at least that's what I think.

If your target has a large and dense enough grid pattern on it ... and the camera system has enough resolution to pick that up... then you can count squares of a known value and see where first round cold bore hits.... and second round... and third and so on and so forth.

Just looking on that tiny little monitor though you will only get a 'general idea' of where the hits are, not precise measurements.

If you are logging your shots on a piece of paper as you go, of course you can measure once you pull the target because you will know which hole is which....

It all just depends on what you are wanting to do.

For precision shooting a telescope and a log book would work just fine and be more reliable and cheaper. If you have a spotter that would be even better. He can spot and log both.

[alamo5000]

Also most camera set ups are going to be angled off to the side... so any shots you see will have a measure of distortion because generally they aren't looking at the target straight on.

Now that I think about it the less I want a video set up and the more I want a telescope or a good spotting scope with enough zoom to get there.

The camera thing does work though if you have any long lenses. That does mean though you're packing camera gear with you the whole time.

I am thinking a good spotting scope/cheap telescope is the best option. Combine that with the right kind of paper targets (or steel) and you will see your shots no problem.

[Slippers]

I was really wanting one of these, but the various offerings all have drawbacks, and some seem like cobbled together security cameras with wifi boosters and directional antennas. Then there's the batteries, risk of some idiot shooting it, and so forth.

I finally gave up on that idea and use an inexpensive yet decent spotting scope (Konuspot 80), with shoot-n-see targets for zeroing/load testing at 200 yards. For distances beyond that, I rely on some good steel targets, which I spray paint white and add a contrasting color for a bullseye. It's very easy to see hits on them even at 300-400 yards, plus you get the sound effects. :)

[DeviantLogic]

Thanks. I've got a Leupold spotting scope, but I still struggle if I don't have a spotter. I was hoping the camera systems would be useful in that I wouldn't have to get out of position to see where the shots landed. Many have features to distinguish the different shots, which would be perfect for load development/ladder testing.

The only idiot I'm worried about shooting it is myself [:)]