Mini Review: Zombie Targets

A good friend gave me a set of Zombie Shooting Targets for Christmas that I've been using for the last couple of times I've gone shooting.

They are fun and great gift (one of the best shooting gifts I've received, really funny!), but for any "serious" shooting, they have some issues. The biggest is because they are a lot of black and gray printing on white paper, it can be difficult to see where you're hitting when hung at the range.

At 30ft:

It can be pretty hard to see what you've hit, especially on this specific version ("Zombie Chuck"). When close up its no problem, however. Here is the same target at 3ft:

And lastly the target at the counter, or "too late" range for a zombie. :)

So, to wrap it up, they are fun targets and worth buying some as a present or joke. If you're hosing down the target with a GSG-5 or something like that, or are just having a day blowing off steam or getting used to a new boomstick, there are totally worth it.

But if you're seriously trying to work on grouping, trigger control, and/or shot placement, they aren't that great.

I'll happily use the rest of the them for fun, then go back to my green torso silhouettes.

Simple Novice Shooting Problems Diagnosis

Found on Mad Duck Training via Says Uncle, apparently reposted about 80 million times.

Review: Cannon Safe EX20 (sold exclusively by CostCo)

Recently, CostCo had a $779 gun safe onsale for $200 off, with free curbside delivery. Fire rating is 30 minutes, UL and Residential Security Container listed (a must have), Type 1 electronic lock (made by S&G), weighs 420 pounds, and is 60"H x 28" W x 21" D. It also includes a power passthrough, so you have power inside the safe for a humidifier, lighting, or whatever.

It was identified as a Cannon EX20 14-gun safe, a model that appears to be exclusive to CostCo, as Cannon Safe's website had no such model. On inspection and based on the sticker on the door,  I'm guessing this is an older model Patriot safe, with corners cut for CostCo. On the door there is a sticker that lists it as a "Series P1".

Delivery arrangement was easy. CostCo emails you to let you know the order was sent to fulfillment, and Cannon them emails you to arrange delivery. It took a couple of weeks.

Cannon makes it crystal clear this is *curbside* delivery only, but the driver didn't even blink when I asked him to put it under my carport in the backyard (I have an RV gate and its concrete the entire way).

The exterior is flat black, with a glossy knockdown splatter over it, like the common texture on drywall, and was made in Mexico according to the sticker on the back.

The power passthrough (cable included, but its just a regular computer power cable) is in the back.






The interior is *very* basic, I'd even say its the absolute minimum possible. The interior walls are drywall (which provides the 30 minute fire protection) covered by very thin fabric, and the shelves and dividers are 3/8" pressboard.

I took the shelves out so I could add some rope lighting along the inside edge and it was obvious that construction was the most basic available.

The safe has 4 holes in the bottom for drilling into the floor, but one of the holes in mine is offset between the hole drilled in the drywall bottom and the actual hole in the safe that it'd be a pain to tighten a bolt into it. It was a pain to unbolt the safe from the pallet. Typical of the low-end "quality" of the safe.








The safe holds a decent amount of guns, and I'm pleased at the price I paid.

Overall impressions are you get what you pay for. If you're looking for a safe that is reasonably priced (close to cheap, IMHO) and does an acceptable job as a theft deterent, this isn't a bad choice.






As a side note on lighting...I bought a 12' LED rope lighting strand at Christmas for $8, and hot glued it into the safe around the inside edge every 8-10", which left plenty of slack to plug it into the internal outlet. It works FANTASTICALLY and really lights up the safe. Totally worth the minor glue gun burns!

Update: After several months, the hot glue holding the LED lights in lost its grip and I found the lights lying in bottom. I re-glued using GOOP glue (available at any hardware store) and its working like a champ...I also found that the largest of my plastic woodworking clamps (like these: Just Clamps) work great for securing the drying glue.

Next up is to figure out some automated on/off switch...