Field Uses for a Target Pin (Beyond Holding a Paper Target)
Jessica Bull
Ideas submitted to the TargetTack Survival Hacks Challenge with Tactical Belle.
The space in your pack is limited. Every piece of gear in it has to earn its spot, which is why the things that stay are usually the ones that do more than one job.
TargetTacks are target pins. That is what we designed them for, and that is what they are rated for. But customers kept telling us about uses we never put on the package, so we asked Tactical Belle to take a handful into the field and film what she found. Then we asked everybody else what they would do with one.
The ideas started coming in immediately. Here is what people are saying so far.
Before you read on: these are creative field hacks submitted by users, not safety instructions. TargetTacks are target pins made for holding paper targets on foam and bag targets. They are not tested, rated, or intended for emergency or survival use. Featuring an idea here has no bearing on judging, and none of these are finalists. Use common sense.
1. Trail markers
This was the most common answer, and two people arrived at it independently. One described them as subtle trail markers. The other framed it as marking the path back to camp, or flagging a hazardous spot on the trail so the next person sees it coming.
The logic holds up. The orange head is easy to pick out with a headlamp, the pin goes into soft ground or a bale without tools, and the whole thing comes back out and goes home with you. Which is the part that matters. If you put them out, collect them on the way back.
2. Paracord tied to the head
An extension of the same idea, and a good one. Tie glow-in-the-dark or high-visibility paracord to the pin so the marker reads from farther out and holds up after dark.
It solves the obvious weakness of a small marker, which is that a 3-inch pin disappears against a busy background. A length of bright cord does not.
3. Tent stakes
The entry was two words: gotta be tent stakes.
Worth being straight about this one. A 3-inch pin in soft ground will hold a tarp corner down on a calm afternoon while you set the rest of your rig. It is not a substitute for real stakes in wind, in hard ground, or under load. As a placeholder that already lives in your pack for another reason, though, it earns its spot.
4. Pocket-sized line guides for an improvised fishing rod
The most inventive one so far. Run a couple along a stick and you have line guides for a field-expedient rod.
We have not tried it. Whether it actually works is exactly the kind of thing this challenge is for, and it is a good example of what we mean when we say people find uses we never would have.
Add Yours Before October 2nd
We are building a Top 10 list of field hacks, and Tactical Belle's audience is deciding what makes it.
How to enter:
- Watch Belle's video on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok
- Comment with your idea for using a TargetTack outside the range
- That is the whole entry
Belle and our team choose 25 finalists, and she shares them with her audience. Her followers vote. The top ten win a TargetTack bundle, and the top three also win a mystery bushcraft bundle from founder Ben Berry's personal gear collection, with estimated values of $244, $243, and $201.
No purchase necessary. Got a few ideas? Each hack counts as one entry. Entries close at midnight Eastern on Friday, October 2nd, 2026.
See the full challenge and official rules →
Photos help. And you do not need a perfect idea, you need a real one. The entries that stand out tend to be the ones somebody actually tried.
Built by a Family in Maine
Ben Berry got tired of fighting with tape and staples every time a paper target went up. So he and his wife Julie built something better, out of their home in Brunswick, Maine.
A few years later, TargetTacks are in over 120 retail locations and on the cover of Inside Archery. We still answer our own phone. And we still learn half of what our product can do from the people who use it, which is the entire reason this challenge exists.
Veteran-owned. Family-operated. Made in the USA.
Read our story → | Shop the Variety Pack →
Questions
Are TargetTacks survival gear?
No. TargetTacks are target pins designed and sold for holding paper targets on foam and bag targets. The field uses described in this article are ideas submitted by users. They are not tested, rated, or warranted by TargetTack LLC for any purpose, and TargetTack products should not be relied on in an emergency.
What sizes do TargetTacks come in?
One inch and three inch. The 1-inch is built for firearms range use on standard backers, and the 3-inch is built for layered foam, hay bales, and straw butts. The Variety 12-Pack includes six of each, which is what most people carrying them outside the range end up reaching for.
How do I enter the Survival Hacks Challenge?
Comment on Tactical Belle's post on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok with your idea for a field use. Got a few ideas? Each hack counts as one entry. No purchase necessary, and entries close at midnight Eastern on Friday, October 2nd, 2026. Full details and official rules are here.
DISCLAIMER: These are creative field hacks only, not safety instructions. TargetTacks are target pins for shooting sports and are not rated or intended for emergency or survival use. Participants agree to use TargetTacks safely and assume full responsibility. Open to legal residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 or older. Void where prohibited. Read the full rules & disclaimer here.