Does it work ? I've heard if you color the bullet with a Sharpie it will color the paper as it passes thru. This would save me from having to make a dozen or so 400 yard trips down range. Couldn't ID some of the shots with the Leupold spotter and this range is kind of a pain to make trips out to the target.
Coloring Bullets For Ladder Test Identification ???
- Thread starter Wedgy
- Start date
ninehorses
New member
Well, some swear by the ladder test, some swear at it. I'm in the second group. It takes a seriously accurate rifle or you will just be wasting ammo. Run it three times, get three different results. Get a big temperature swing, and you can just about throw away your previous results. I don't know about you, but I shoot at several different temperatures, sometimes during the same day!. As far as the sharpie, it sort of works. You'll need a good target backer. Don't even think about trying it with ANY headwind or tailwind.
JTPinTX
Custom Call Maker
I use the Sharpies a lot for this. Not all colors work though. I got a 3-pack of blue, green, and red. They seem to work fairly well. Most important is the target you use. Some paper rubs the marker off better, and is more visible. Marked bullets passing through colored paper doesn't work well, you need something just white. Rougher paper seems to wipe the marker off better than slick paper does too. You will still have to look close to tell the difference because it isn't like a glaring stop sign, but if yo look you can tell. I usually ride the four-wheeler down to mark every three shots, beats the heck out of going to mark after every one.
Interesting idea.. Why not just hang several targets??
Write with a big sharpie on the target 1, 2, 3, 4 so you can tell in the scope which to shoot at. That is what i do.
I also get poster board and cardboard from Costco.
When I am in there, i go back to the Paper towels and TP, and there are what they call slips of poster board and cardboard between the layers. They just throw this away(send it out for recycling) but in most cases just give you a few at a time for free. I then have a wood template for a target that i overlay and spray with spray paint.
Write with a big sharpie on the target 1, 2, 3, 4 so you can tell in the scope which to shoot at. That is what i do.
I also get poster board and cardboard from Costco.
When I am in there, i go back to the Paper towels and TP, and there are what they call slips of poster board and cardboard between the layers. They just throw this away(send it out for recycling) but in most cases just give you a few at a time for free. I then have a wood template for a target that i overlay and spray with spray paint.
RMAdventure
New member
I use a sharpie on the primers when I am working up loads. Once, early in my loading career I spilled a box of freshly loaded cartridges starting at near minimum and working up to near maximum. Instead of risking the loads, I just pulled them and started over. Now with the primers marked, even a spill can be reorganized.
I've also used the sharpies to mark the bullets. This works well with ladder tests, where you are shooting at the same points, but watching to see where the bullets are hitting in relation to the point of aim. I originally saw it in a post from Accurate Shooter some time ago. Here is a video of the way I mark my loads:
I've also used the sharpies to mark the bullets. This works well with ladder tests, where you are shooting at the same points, but watching to see where the bullets are hitting in relation to the point of aim. I originally saw it in a post from Accurate Shooter some time ago. Here is a video of the way I mark my loads: