About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

The Right Now Range is an interesting product, and I like it. I wish it were made to be more heavy-duty and/or priced more reasonably, though.

It's easy to set up, and easy to use - but don't expect this target to take a lot of use and abuse. For most situations, it's a one-time-use product.

Pros

• Portable, light, and easy to set up.
• Offers an option for active targets (clay pigeons and/or hanging cans).

Cons

• Not very durable, nor water resistant.
• The top portion, where you put hanging or clay targets, isn't very sturdy.

Description

• Portable printed cardboard target "system" with round targets printed on the front.
• Also includes a cardboard rack or shelves up top for placing clay targets, hanging cans or plastic bottles, or just propping up other reactive targets.
• The front features nine (9) round bullseye targets: One large in the center, four about 8-10 inches in diameter, and four about 3-4 inches in diameter.
• Small elastic thingamabobs are included for hanging cans or plastic bottles from the rack (shelf).
• NOT recommended for archery or shotgun use.
• When set up, it measures 48" wide, 8" deep, and 45" tall.
• When closed up, it measures 24.5" wide by 24.5" tall.
• Cost at press time: $29.99 plus $10.00 shipping & handling.

 

Review of Right Now Range Portable Cardboard Target System

When I first heard of the Right Now Range (then called the Ready Range), I liked it. I still do. A colleague beat me to doing a write-up of it on AllOutdoor.com, but I emailed with its creator Neely Burks, and we kept in touch and later met up at the 2015 SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range.

A month later, I had a Right Now Range in my hands.

A few months passed before I was able to give it the attention it deserved, but finally that day came. I set it up at a private range and commenced to perforate it with a Ruger Blackhawk Flat Top 44 magnum. It was fun. When a friend's 308 rifle gave him trouble, the Right Now Range served as a nice large surface to show where he was hitting.

We enjoyed using it, and had a good time. The printing is nicely done, and looks great.

How Tough is it?

It was easy to see, though, that my Right Now Range was not made of heavy-duty cardboard. In fact, the plain brown cardboard in which it was shipped seemed tougher than the product itself. The Right Now Range has absolutely no waterproofing, either. This is a bummer.

After the one range session, I left my Right Now Range set up overnight to see how it would fare. That evening, a rain storm came through and utterly destroyed it. The glue let go and it basically gave up the ghost.

As I inspected it during assembly, I expected it to fail after being rained on. In fact, I don't recommend allowing the Right Now Range to stay out overnight, because even a heavy dew may ruin it.

Unfortunately, repeated disassembly and reassembly will not be possible if every Right Now Range is made as mine was. Heck, some of the tabs were flimsy going into their slots during initial assembly - I feel that taking it apart and putting it back together multiple times usually won't be practical.

Value?

As my buddies at the range observed, the Right Now Range should realistically be considered a one-time-use product. Anything beyond that is purely a bonus. With that in mind, I must take umbrage with the price of the Right Now Range: $29.99 plus a whopping $10.00 shipping & handling. Sorry folks, but $40 is just way too much for what you get.

Please Use With Caution

Please do not follow the example pictured on the Right Now Range website, which shows a man and boy firing at one of these targets without a backstop behind it to catch their bullets. Bullets can easily skip off of the ground - even soft ground - when they hit at a shallow angle. Always follow gun safety rules and ensure that your bullets will go into a good solid backstop which will safely stop them and absorb their energy without a chance of ricochet.

Conclusion

I like the Right Now Range and I think it's a great idea. For something you can set up quickly and happily perforate with bullets, this is about as handy as it gets.

That said, I wish it were tougher and/or cost less. If it were more durable and one could realistically expect to get multiple uses out of it, the current pricing of $40 wouldn't be too awful. I realize that our dollars' purchasing power is waning, but as it is currently, I feel like $20 would be top dollar for this product.

- Russ Chastain

Manufacturer/Vendor's Site: Right Now Range

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Disclosure: A review sample was provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.