Depends on several factors. What brand and type of target? What is the temperature? Nobody can really answer this.

 

I've always been told it takes 5 to 7 pellets to break a target.

 

Correct!

 

I would think the answer isn't how many but where. I suspect one that causes a crack is enough. You can punch a bunch of holes and all you get is dust off the target.

 

I've found a number of targets with 5 holes in them and still landed, intact.

Would this be a WF pitch made standard 108mm target?

A standard 108mm target made by another company?

Or the 108mm Rabbit target used in Sporting Clays, by any company? break em all Jeff

 

I pretty much only shoot trap. Whatever the club I'm shooting at is throwing.

 

Depends.
If good quality target-one depending on impact point along with spin on target.

Three should be consistently reliable on good quality targets.

I’ve seen 11 holes before. If the formula or bake isn’t right, you better be lucky.

 

We had one kicking around the local club for a while that had 8 holes in it and was intact. Likely shot during our winter Calcutta and landed in the snow.

 

Load 1 shell start at 5bbs see if it breaks if not goto 10 bbs see if that works if not goto 15 and so on. I ll be waiting for results

 

Many years ago the White Flyer Rep would come to the NY State shoot. He would hand out NY dome targets in small white boxes. I asked him that same question, his reply was with the target spinning properly, their data showed
3 BB’s would beak a target.
Just this past Saturday, I picked up targets at my club, White Flyer Bio’s. I did see many full targets with one thru hole plus small chips off the dome. I do not recall seeing any with two thru holes.
Only targets with no thru holes and no cracks are picked up. Next time I will look closer.

 

Many years ago the White Flyer Rep would come to the NY State shoot. He would hand out NY dome targets in small white boxes. I asked him that same question, his reply was with the target spinning properly, their data showed
3 BB’s would beak a target.
Just this past Saturday, I picked up targets at my club, White Flyer Bio’s. I did see many full targets with one thru hole plus small chips off the dome. I do not recall seeing any with two thru holes.
Only targets with no thru holes and no cracks are picked up. Next time I will look closel.

The spin has a lot to do with how easy the target will break. The better clubs will rub the arm with 80 grit sandpaper. That gives the target some traction so it can spin and not slid on the arm.

 

@Tron is right. A WF pitch will break a whole lot easier than one designed for ISSF trap (bunker) where the throwing speed of 65mph demands a tougher target. And that's without discussing sporting targets and their many variations.

 

Obviously it takes all of them, otherwise people could just use a bullet.

 

Looks like a couple hit this one, we found a bunch with chips and scuffs.

 

Jerry is right, its the energy that's in the spinning target that makes it come apart.

And the answer to how many is: one pellet with enough energy in the right spot to break a target.

Gun club porch talk will bring up the time they found a clay out in the field with 5/8/10/15 holes it in and attempt to show that as proof as the minimum number.
The problem with that theory is that it's based upon survivor bias. All you verified is that that specific target didn't break. Not what actually breaks a target since those are all broken and in pieces in the field.

Neil Winston addressed this topic from time to time from what I remember. Searching should help you find some of those gold nuggets.

 

One pellet can break a target if it hits the right spot. Multiple hits can't break a target if they hit the wrong spots. The target is spinning at 2,000 rpms. A pellet hitting the side going away, the left side, has its energy diminished by the surface spinning away at 2,000 rpms. If it hits the right side the surface is spinning into the pellet. Next, is the target going to the left, right or straight away? Does the pellet hit on the leading side or the trailing side? The target is also rising. Earlier is the trajectory, the target is rising faster so it will deliver more energy to the pellet going up compared to later in the trajectory as it flattens out.

Now, where does the pellet hit on the target? If it hits the rim dead center on a straight, the rim will take the energy at a 90 degrees angle. The further out either way and the pellet strike becomes an increasing glancing blow. This is amplified by what angle the pellet impacts the dome as it is round both in the horizontal and in the vertical.

My advice is you can't worry about all this. Just center the target and let physics take its course.

BTW, Winston demonstrated with high speed footage that sanding the arm does not increase the rate of spin. While it may not help it also can't hurt so sand away if that what you believe.

 

BTW, Winston demonstrated with high speed footage that sanding the arm does not increase the rate of spin. While it may not help it also can't hurt so sand away if that what you believe.

Well, I'll say the following disagrees with your premise. If memory serves, Winstons specific target brand and other criteria consisted of only one brand of target and one brand of thrower.

I'll quote a former Outers manufacture rep at the time from 2011.

"We found that one can get more spin and better stability by 'siping' (his quotations not mine) the rubber on the arm about 20 degrees right of vertical. Was proven using a hi-speed camera on loan from Federal Cartridge. We used that style of rubber rail on the traps we manufactured at the time (Outers). The siping would cushion and grip the target better during acceleration. This minor modification can be done on any flight rail on any machine".

Going forward, I'll continue to sand the arm as Pat Trap recommends. I use a very long sanding block with 80 grit or so.
Not just to get a better grip on rotation speed as the quotation mentioned, but to primarily keep the entire length of the throwing surface straight, free of a dog-leg appearance that occurs at the upper singles/hdcp target drop point if sanding maintenance has not been maintained.

 

Here we go again! Who's bringing the pop corn ???🙃

 

Had a young up and coming shooter ask me the difference between #9 and buckshot with everything in between. I responded that it was a matter of energy imparted to the target and the recoil tolerance of the shooter. Having a random assortment of different target, hunting and defensive loads I brought some for him to experience. Long story short, he missed with the first #9 shot load, did well with everything in-between
and broke the last target with a 00 Buckshot load thus proving one pellet is sufficient

 

One BB at 1175fps at the muzzle would be all thet is needed to break a target As they are considerably larger than normally allowed shot size.

 

71/2 or 8's ?

 

Heper or Eagle???

 

Kentucky "9s"

 

Sometimes you have to wonder ~~~

 

Yes sometimes you do,

Sometimes you have to wonder ~~~

View attachment 2037613

 

Lots of variables...type of targets, the size and hardness of the shot, temperature outside, distance.

Summer day, white flyer target, 7.5 hard shot, 3-4 bb's should be enough @ 40-50yds.

Winter day, you might need 6-8 @ 40-50yds. 60-80yds, you might not beak them unless the pattern is centered.

Champion targets and some Bios, plan on using #6 shot for any kind of yardage Summer or Winter.

 

Without data taken from a high speed camera test like that which Winston provided, verbal and written claims are just that. Contact PAT and Outers and ask them to provide it. If they actually have any, (which I doubt), they should be glad to provide it. Until then, its just speculation that sounds good but may not be.

 

For standard issue clay birds I like the previously provided answer of 3, but for (now discontinued) Champion BioBirds I'd say 5.

 

It takes as many pellets on target as possible!! That’s why a full choke comes to mind!!!

 

They come from a box marked Fragile As Eggs.

 

No clue about the Champion or any other bio style target but in last 6-7 months many of us locally have observed strange performance with White Flyer Blackouts either the centers getting shot out, multiple hits with known quality on the ammo at normal average 16yard breaking distance etc.