Impact Pocket Zero Paper Target Holder

When I’m at my local farm shoot, I always check the zero of my air rifle before I start shooting vermin, to ensure that nothing untoward has happened and that my scope and rifle haven’t been bashed in some way, upsetting where the pellet lands in relation to the crosshairs.

There’s nothing worse than missing what you’re aiming at; it may just cause a loss of a point or two on a Field Target or Hunter Field Target competition course but when shooting live quarry, we really don’t want to cause an injury, we want to cleanly and humanely dispatch whatever we are targeting.

I’ve used all sorts of impromptu targets over the years but nothing beats a proper paper or card target. I was recently sent the Impact Kinetics Pocket Zero Paper Target Holder and it’s a very clever bit of kit. It was originally launched in 2003 and made and sold by BSA; it is now back with the designer.

The unit is made from laser cut, 1.5mm thick stainless steel, so it won’t rust, even when put away wet. It is made from four pieces of stainless steel, held together by stainless screws and nyloc nuts, and folds up into a very compact package and can easily be put on a pocket – hence the name! It fits in the top pocket of my shooting jacket and at only 9-ounces (250grams) you don’t actually notice that you’re carrying it, so you can always have it and a few cards with you.

The two side arms that hold the target card lock the components together when not in use and they clip over the heads of the stainless screws that hold things together. To use, the arms are unclipped and the unit can be assembled in three different ways. You should always make sure that you have a safe backstop etc. before using this or any other target.

Position 1

If you have a flat surface available, you just pull up the ‘card arms’ up and fit the card into the slots.

Position 2

If you want the card higher, open the holder and slot the ground spike into the body, so that it locks in place at 90-degrees and then raise the arms.

Position 3

If you want to shoot in long grass, fully open the unit and position the ground spikes so that they are in line with the body and slide them into the slots and push it into the ground.

Conclusion

It really is a very clever design, holds the target cards securely and packs away into a very compact unit when you’re finished. The way that the components lock together is very neat and I can’t fault it.