Slingshot Targets and Catch Boxes

Why reactive targets make you better

When a shot hits a spinner, two things happen at once. The spinner flips, which is instant visual confirmation, and a clear miss is just as obvious because nothing moves. The hit also makes a sharp, audible smack, which tells you that you connected before your eye even registers the spin. Two feedback channels firing together is a much stronger learning signal than a paper target you walk down to inspect between sessions.

The sizes work as a progression. The big spinner is forgiving enough to keep a beginner hitting. The small one tests serious accuracy at 10 meters. As you improve, you move down the range. Aim small, miss small: shooting at a smaller target tightens your groups even when you miss, because your aim was more precise to begin with.

One exception. In your very first sessions, shoot paper at 12 to 15 feet. Spinners are more fun, but you can't see a miss on a spinner, and early on the pattern of your misses is the whole point.

Targets to buy

#1The first target

SimpleShot Spinner Targets 5-Pack

$9.99★ 5.0 (6 reviews at simple-shot.com)

• 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 mm
• WSA regulation sizes
• Loud SMACK on a hit
• Takes steel

Our verdict. Hang one, take aim, and the first clean hit tells you everything: a sharp spin and a SMACK you can hear across the yard. Five sizes, from early wins to the one where sharpshooters get made.

40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 mm, the WSA regulation sizes. Designed to take direct steel hits head-on. Every SimpleShot frame already ships with an 80 mm spinner.

Nice targets, easy to see, make a nice pop when hit, nice to practice with especially for a beginner like me. Well worth the money.

These things are really tough, and take one heck of a beating. Easy to see, and such a satisfying smack when that ball makes connection. Love that sound.

See it at SimpleShot →

#2Self-resetting

SimpleShot Self-Resetting Knockdown Target

$9.99★ 4.4 (18 reviews at simple-shot.com)

• Resets itself
• 5 disc sizes, 4 to 8 cm
• All-metal brackets
• Mounts vertical or horizontal

Our verdict. Connect and it snaps flat, then springs back up, daring you to do it again. You settle into a rhythm and lose track of time. Five disc sizes to grow into.

4 cm to 8 cm discs, 8 cm mounted out of the box. All-metal brackets and fasteners included; mounts vertical or horizontal. Screws into a surface, so it's not a catch-box target.

Easily assembled, functional reaction targets. Different sizes allow for progressive challenge increments… 10 to 12 meter from shooter with intermediate size targets work great for developing consistency and accuracy.

See it at SimpleShot →

#3The backstop that pays for itself

SimpleShot Catchbox for Slingshots

$49.99★ 4.8 (112 reviews at simple-shot.com)

• 17-inch cube
• Folds flat
• Quiet enough for a basement
• Free 5-pack of spinners
• North America only

Our verdict. The quiet magic of a catch box: your ammo stops disappearing into the yard. Shoot, gather, reload. And it soaks up the noise, so the basement and late evenings turn into range time.

A 17-inch cube with room to hang spinners, stand cans, or clip in a paper plate. Corner joints snap together, the front flap gets you in and out, and it folds flat. Shooting heavy or fast ammo? Add a layer of fabric at the back. Ships within North America only. Free 5-pack of the upgraded white spinners in the box.

I love it! Easy setup, sturdy, high quality. Being able to shoot safely in my back yard every night after work is enjoyable and beneficial!

Easy to put together and easy to use and it works. Wouldn't be able to practice and re-use steel ammo without it.

See it at SimpleShot →

The catch box

A catch box is the one piece of gear that changes how much you shoot. Three reasons:

1. Your steel comes back. Shoot a bottle of 3/8" into a box, scoop it out, refill the bottle. One bottle lasts years. Without a box, steel is a consumable.
2. It's quiet. Fabric soaks up the impact. That's the difference between a basement range and no range in winter.
3. It's the whole range. Hang a spinner inside it, stand a can on the floor of it, tape a card to the back wall. One box, every target.

Pair it with soft-hit targets: spinners, cans, cards, anything that hangs or sits loose. Mount-and-screw targets like the Knockdown want a post or a board, not a box.

Build a catch box

You can be shooting into a homemade box in twenty minutes.

1. Get a sturdy cardboard box, roughly 16 to 24 inches on a side. A moving box or an appliance box works. Tape the bottom shut and stand it on its side so the opening faces you.
2. Hang a backstop inside. Old T-shirts, a towel, a scrap of carpet, or a piece of tarp hung loose from the top so it swings. Loose fabric stops ammo far better than tight fabric. Two layers for steel.
3. Cut a slit near the top of the back wall and feed a string through it to hang a spinner in the middle of the opening, in front of the backstop.
4. Angle the box slightly downward or set it on a tarp so misses and spent clay collect where you can find them.
5. Replace the fabric when it's shot through. That's the whole maintenance schedule.

Setting up a range

• Distance: 12 to 15 feet on paper until you group, then back out to 10 meters (33 feet), the standard competition distance. Then the woods, at unknown distances.
• Backstop: catch box, hay bale, a hillside. Know where a miss goes. Steel ricochets off hard surfaces.
• Eyes: ANSI Z87.1 safety glasses, every session, everyone on the line.
• Indoors: catch box, rubber or clay ammo, light bands. A garage or basement works all winter.
• Quality over quantity: five focused shots teach more than an hour of flinging. If your shots start drifting, stop; you're reinforcing bad habits.