Nockover Targets

As a hunter, I realise the importance of practice to keep my accuracy up to par. It’s a regime that the HFT and FT boys take for granted and certainly one hunters would do well to regularly follow. I’m not the greatest fan of paper-punching, but when required for zeroing or checking changes made to a rig, I must admit it can begin to feel like a ‘chore,’ even though it needs to be done!

Essential, for making those quick and clean one-shot kills we should all be aiming for. Although I highlight the obvious need to keep accuracy honed to a high level, I’ve found, like others, that reactive targets do encourage you to ‘practice’ longer because they are both fun and challenging. I always get a feeling of accomplishment when I see them react to the pellet slamming into an area that ‘in some cases’ resembles the size of the kill-zone on the quarry we target.

THE SPECIALS

Nockover Targets manufacture all manner of reactive targets from the established fall-flats to spinner disc-types, but also in their range they have what are known as ‘Specials.’ Here on test are the main three, those being the Re-setting square on legs, Practice Field with variable re-set hole and the Large Practice 15/25/45mm top and 15/25/40mm bottom.

All are manufactured from zinc-coated, 3mm, metal front plates and where applicable have galvanised frames or ground stakes too. They’re also painted black with bright yellow ‘kill-zone’ and lower reset discs making it easy to see where the ‘misses’ hit and obviously indicate your successes. They all use the company’s acclaimed reset mechanism. Here, a main top position target disc is ‘attached’ by an articulating linkage and axis bolt to the reset disc hanging down below. Once the top disc is hit, it falls backwards onto a spur at the end of the lower arm that leads to the lower reset disc.

HIT IT!

Hitting the lower disc afterwards makes the assembly swing backwards and re-set the top back up to rest on a ledge in its original position. So, basically the method for targeting and resetting is the same for all, with some targets featured offering the shooter more of a challenge because the ‘kill-zone’ and even reset area can be reduced in size.