Targets and stands for new shooters

Start here

A target has one job for a new shooter: show you where every shot went, so the next one lands closer. That's why the first thing to buy is a pack of reactive paper targets, the kind that shows a bright ring or splatter around each hole. You can read your hits from the bench instead of squinting downrange or waiting for a cease-fire to walk out and look. Our best shooting targets for beginners starts there and ranks the rest. If you're still putting the whole kit together, begin with our first range kit. Ear and eye protection come before any target.

Where you shoot decides what else you need. Indoor ranges hang targets their own way and set their own rules, so ask at the counter before you buy anything that isn't paper. Some outdoor ranges expect you to bring your own. Connecticut's Glastonbury public range, for example, says targets are not provided. That's when a stand, a backer and a stapler join the list.

How the category splits

Targets split four ways, and each suits a different stage:

• Plain paper (bullseye and silhouette). Rings for tight groups, outlines for a bigger shape to aim at, and B-27-style sheets for keeping score. Hits show as plain holes.
• Reactive paper. Shoot-N-C and splatter-style targets that show a bright color at each hole. The best first target, and our best reactive targets ranks them.
• Self-healing. A material the bullet passes through and that closes back up, so there's no paper to change. Outdoor use, with the range's blessing.
• Steel. Plates and gongs that ring when hit. Satisfying, but they come with the maker's minimum distance, a mounting angle and ammunition limits. Save them for later.

Stands split three ways too: ready-made stands with their own backer, stands and bases that hold lumber, and the DIY route with 2x4s and cardboard. Our guide to the types of shooting targets covers each target type in depth, and the best target stands roundup covers the stands.

What changes from one model to the next

For targets, the differences that matter are how hits show (a published color ring or splatter, or nothing), whether the sheet is self-adhesive or needs staples, the published size, and whether pasters (small stickers for covering holes) come in the pack. Self-adhesive reactive sheets are the easiest start: they stick straight to a backer.

For stands, look at how big a backer it holds, how it grips the ground (spikes, stakes or a steel base), whether you have to supply lumber, and whether the maker publishes a weight. The Caldwell Ultimate Target Stand, for example, sizes its backer by what it holds rather than by its dimensions, and doesn't publish a weight. That's worth knowing before you hang a big silhouette on it.

For steel, one thing matters above the rest: does the maker publish a minimum safe distance? We don't list steel that doesn't. After that, check the plate thickness, because Champion's Steel Target Warnings tie what you can shoot to how thick the plate is.

The beginner mistake: buying steel first

Steel looks like the fun option, and it is. But it's the target type that comes with the most safety rules, and it teaches a beginner the least. Champion's published minimum is 15 yards for its lightest ammunition classes, including non-magnum handgun, and farther for heavier loads. It also wants the face angled down toward the ground and everyone behind the shooter. A ring tells you that you hit. Paper shows you exactly where, and that's what a new shooter needs to see.

The fix: start with reactive paper, get your groups tight, then add steel from a maker that publishes its rules. Read our steel target safe distance guide before you buy, and make sure everyone at the line is wearing Z87+ glasses (the high-impact mark on safety glasses). Our best shooting glasses lists pairs whose makers state it.

Where to go next

Torn between the two main options? Paper vs steel targets lays out the trade-offs. Handy with a saw? Our DIY target stand guide walks through a 2x4-and-cardboard build and the brackets that make it easier. And before you hang anything, our shooting range etiquette guide explains the hot and cold range calls that decide when you can walk downrange.