Remington crow Field Target review

[Marc In Iowa]

Remington makes a series of targets for practicing airgun Field Target competition with adjustable size hit areas. This review is for the crow target.

I bought this crow target for practicing with my spring piston air rifle (Walther Terrus .177). Field Target competition for spring air rifles ranges from 25 to 55 yards. In Field Target you must strike the target in the “kill zone” of the target in order to score a hit. To make the competition more challenging such targets are usually supplied with three or four different sized holes for shooters of various skill levels. This Remington crow target has kill zone sizes of .5, 1.0 and 1.5 inches.

In traditional Field Target the entire animal silhouette falls over when a pellet enters the kill zone hole. The target then needs to be reset by pulling a string (a 25 - 55 yard string!) to raise the target to the vertical again. This Remington Target uses a second paddle as a target reset and only the paddle inside the kill zone hole falls down when a shot scores. The kill zone paddle can be put back to vertical by shooting the 1.5 inch reset paddle under the crow.

How well does this work?

I tried this target on the ground for my first attempt and found that it was simply too low to properly sight the kill zone hole paddle. I shoot down into a shooting lane in my forest from my elevated deck and that only makes the angle all the more difficult.

My next attempt was to put a fence post in the forest for mounting the crow target higher. This post places the kill zone paddle at about five feet. Which is just about right even for my elevated deck. I get a nice clear shot at the kill zone and reset paddles. When the kill zone paddle is down I see a nice clear hole making it very simple to know if you scored a hit or not.

Many fence posts come with a tab for hooking wire fence onto the post and I'm using that top tab to hold the crow onto the post by putting its dirt spade into that tab. I then used duct tape to wrap the bottom of the dirt spike securely to the post. This should allow me to place additional fence posts at the additional ranges I need in my forest to practice Field Target.

In one review I saw the 0.5 inch sized kill zone hole described as “humbling.” My first fence post is placed at 25 yards and I can already tell that practice WILL be humbling, even at that “close” distance.

With the Walther Terrus in .177 operating at 12 fpe (a medium power spring air rifle), it both knocks down the kill zone paddle and does the reset paddle very effectively. I'll need to test with some of my lower power air rifles/pistols to see how effectively those operate both the kill zone and reset paddles.

The metal that is used for the target seems to be sufficiently strong. My target however arrived with rust on the paddle linkages. I'm surprised that a target from a company I would consider a quality company like Remington would be designed with metals in the target mechanism that would rust inside the cardboard box after manufacturing; disappointing, especially for a target intended to be left outdoors. I've seen the same rust comment in other reviews. Fortunately it doesn't seem to affect the operation of the target.

Would I buy this again?

Yes, but the target is only really useful after elevating it off the ground. Placing the target in the ground I think would be too low even for people not shooting from an elevated deck (my target is elevated five feet). I've also seen this comment in other reviews as well. People shooting from a flat distance might wish to elevate it three feet or so for a better height.

You can place the target at various distances in your shooting area without worrying about different length strings coming all the way back to your shooting station. The different size kill zone holes allow you to adjust the target for your increasing level of skill as you practice.

This can be a good target once you have done some modifying and adjusting.

[GP2004]

Good review, thanks for posting.

[desmobob]

Thanks for the thorough review, Marc.  I have one of those targets and agree with your review.  Overall, I think the target was a good value.  Since I shoot from ground level, I can simply push the target into the ground as intended.

Tight groups,
Bob

[wimpanzee]

I've got two of those, a crow and a rabbit. I cannot shoot them with my marauder or mutant, as 30fpe dents them badly, very quickly. At 12fpe, they should last a long time.

[uncle paulie]

Real nice review Marc.

As these targets are specifically designed for Field Target, they are only rated to handle 20fpe which is the limit for Field Target in all categories. I have four of them which I have taken to the GTA spring fun shoot for the past two years and have had them out for all to shoot at. Additionally, I use them regularly in my back yard and they have held up extremely well. I have welded the different apertures in place as the vibration shakes them loose after a while and they tend to swing down out of place. A couple of drops of any oil will solve the rust issue. I mount mine in a chunk of 8X8 to elevate them a bit. They're a great value and if patient, you can occasionally find them at blow-out prices for $10ea.

pv

[Marc In Iowa]

... if patient, you can occasionally find them at blow-out prices.

I'll have to watch for that!

[Marc In Iowa]

With the Walther Terrus in .177 operating at 12 fpe (a medium power spring air rifle), it both knocks down the kill zone paddle and does the reset paddle very effectively. I'll need to test with some of my lower power air rifles/pistols to see how effectively those operate both the kill zone and reset paddles.

I tried out my Crosman Custom Shop 1377 w/14.6" barrel (~5 fpe?). It will knock down the target paddle but doesn't have the energy to do the reset.

[mobilehomer]

Try loosening the pivot nut just a little. This should allow it to swong more freely.