Favorite things to shoot at...

[SpecK]

So yesterday we went out to put a few hundred rounds down range. I brought my customary 5 milk jugs filled with water (1 frozen). My buddy showed up with 2 twelve packs of soda and some tannerite. I like to see what stuff does after shot and how far it sprays/blows up ect.

What do you all shoot at when your plinking? What do you have the most fun with?

[Bawanna]

Everybody and especially new shooters like to see something happen that they caused as opposed to a small hole in a piece of paper they may or may not be able to see.

I like shooting clay pigeons as you get immediate satisfaction if you connect, but of course there is the cost and bulk and mess. I pick up everything when I shoot out in the woods.

Way back when and we've spoke of this before I used to get strings of I think somebody called them safety suckers. They come all attached with a little loop for a handle instead of a stick. Very cheap, also very small though.

But real handy to hang on sticks or branches etc. Don't leave a trace as I think the animals eat the busted up sucker. (while we're not around evidently).

[DKD]

Personally I hate paper Targets. They serve a purpose for weapons zeroing and for measuring groups. I persoanlly prefer cold steel Targets especially the reactive type & knock down targets. We have alot of them at our blck powder club...on what we call the woods walk where we load from the shootin pouch and shoot the various gongs, chains, church bells and the like from 10-50 yards...its alot of fun especially when shooting flintlock guns off hand unsupported. Sometimes whenthere isn't a scheduled club shoot I go down and engage those targets with my handguns...great fun and excelent practise.

[SpecK]

Fine idea, bawanna. Now i know what to do with those suckers from the bank...

[Barth]

I used to have a friend of a friend that new someone with property and a berm.

Favorite targets?
We shot up a car door, pumpkins, stuffed animals with cans of tomatos inside.
And my personal favorite, a mannequin dressed in leather and wearing a long wig
that we called Bondage Betty.

I cut her in half with the first shot.
A 12 gauge slug fired from the hip Rifleman Style.

The Rifleman - Starring Barth Six Barrels
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IVCwYPjFXc
http://www.valdefierro.com/rifleman241.jpg

[Bawanna]

I remember as a kid I was allowed to go to a little family owned dime store. Quite a busy area and I wouldn't do that walk now in that area in broad daylight but the man that owned the place was a pretty neat old guy. Heck he was probably 30 but I was about 8 so it's all relative.
Anyhow I think they were a penny a piece or maybe even 2 for a penny. I'd just put whatever money I had on the counter. He never seemed to count it but always gave me a pile of them little suckers. Far more than I paid for I'm sure.
Dude was probably grooming me for a play mate for all I know. Never did invite me into the back office though so maybe he was just a good guy.

[Dueeast]

Once, years ago, I went out to shoot my Rem 700 .243 i just wanted to shoot with no specific target. When I drove out to my spot, I had just a few cans I brought to shoot at. I discovered that someone had dumped about 30 quart and gallon full paint cans. i propped them up and had a ball from 50 yards! Boom! Red! Boom! Green! Boom! etc. color balls 10 feet in diam. and the lids flew off like Frisbees and I assume they're still flying (from @ 1978). It was one of the best times shooting I ever had, I just wish someone was there to share it with.

[Armybrat]

It would be nice to have Gunny's TV budget and buy a buncha watermelons.

But even though we have "no inflation" (according to the politicians in DC), it's kinda tough to shoot up very many of those $5.99 melons if we have to pay for them ourselves.

I think I'll write my congresscritter and demand a free AR 15, ammo, and sufficient "targets". :D.

But tin cans & iron target that go "PING" are a lot of fun.

[muggsy]

I use to enjoy shooting ripe cantaloupes at 100 yards with a .22-250. Most were vaporized.

[Bawanna]

Funny my kids, well youngest is 17 oldest is 26, but they have always wanted to get lots of pumpkins at Halloween.
Mom usually forgets and ask why so many? Usual reply is so we can blast em afterwards.

Makes good sense. Most people just carve em and toss em in the trash. Usually the woods are full of blown up pumpkins but not for long, the critters eat that stuff too.

[Tilos]

Golf balls

[Barth]

Funny my kids, well youngest is 17 oldest is 26, but they have always wanted to get lots of pumpkins at Halloween.
Mom usually forgets and ask why so many? Usual reply is so we can blast em afterwards.

Makes good sense. Most people just carve em and toss em in the trash. Usually the woods are full of blown up pumpkins but not for long, the critters eat that stuff too.

There was cattle on the property I shot at.
And they loved the shot up pumpkins.

[JFootin]

There was cattle on the property I shot at.
And they loved the shot up pumpkins.

You shot at cattle? :eek: Yeah. They loved the shot up pumpkins 'til you nailed them while they were preoccupied! :(

LOL! Just playing with your post! :D

[Bawanna]

There was cattle on the property I shot at.
And they loved the shot up pumpkins.

I hear them cattle taste a lot like beef.

[jocko]

now I know why they made u the super moderator!!!! Just sayin

[lowroad]

Cow baiting hm?

[yote]

Paper targets. Sometimes paper plates with an "X" drawn throught the middle if I am out of targets.

[SpecK]

Paper targets. Sometimes paper plates with an "X" drawn throught the middle if I am out of targets.

oOoOo fancyyy would dry ice bombs be something good to shoot? would they still combust or just fizzle out with no compression?

[Barth]

I hear them cattle taste a lot like beef.

ug
After shooting up the pumpkins,
the cattle on the property enjoyed a fine halloween meal.
http://mkmercurio.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/abundance2.jpg

[Bawanna]

You better back off Barth, I believe that one's about to charge ya. Looks awful mean.

I just ate one of his relatives a minute ago, now I'm gonna rinse my pallet with a little scotch. On a Monday night, what's this world coming too.

[Barth]

You better back off Barth, I believe that one's about to charge ya. Looks awful mean.

I just ate one of his relatives a minute ago, now I'm gonna rinse my pallet with a little scotch. On a Monday night, what's this world coming too.

He does have shifty eyes...

[AJBert]

With my .270's or .32 Win Special? Elk and deer, of course!

[LorenzoB]

...But real handy to hang on sticks or branches etc. Don't leave a trace as I think the animals eat the busted up sucker. (while we're not around evidently).

Squirrels vs. chipmunks on a two day sugar high!

[Scoundrel]

tv_racin_fan helped me find those suckers Bawanna's talking about.



Bawanna is correct on those suckers, they are called safety pops.
http://www.candyfavorites.com/safety-pops-bulk?gclid=COe8-oq_yqsCFRJW7Aodv3y_4w

They are AWESOME targets. Hang them on thumbtacks that you've pushed into wood, or hang them on branches, etc. If the wind is in your favor, the powder from ones you have hit will produce a very nice smell. I love them. They're not super cheap: $36 shipped gets you a 5-lb bag which includes about 125 safety pops. That's about $0.29 per target. However, unless you're a fantastic shot, it will take you a few rounds to hit them, and I feel that they are worth it. You have to keep track of the little plastic bags they come wrapped in, but you don't really need to go collect the little paper rope loops they hang by.

Clay pigeons are good too. I did the math on those and I think they were about $0.25 when purchased from Walmart. The math works out better with those than you think because generally after the first hit, you can still see some smaller fragments to shoot at. Just keep shooting till you can't see any sizable piece of orange left. Of course the more you hit them, the smaller the pieces to pick up - but they are biodegradable so you don't have to pick them up. Leaving them feels a _little bit_ ghetto because they don't look like they're gonna melt away anytime soon, but they do.

I also like to shoot at water balloons. You can buy a pack of 100 of them for like $1.50. Fill them with water or not as you feel like it. Stick them to a board with thumbtacks. They're more reactive when filled with water, of course - they splash pretty good even with .22LR. But that's a lot of work. I can't wait to hit them with .223 next time. Without water, they just disappear, but that's still better than a hole in a piece of paper. But these are not biodegradable and the pieces can be very small, so cleanup ain't too great.

I've also had good fun with eggs. The cheap ones at the grocery store go for about $3 for an 18-pack, which works out to about $0.17/egg. if you have your own chickens, so much the better. These go "splorch" pretty good when raw. If you hard boil them first, you can sometimes hit an egg 2 or 3 times before there aren't any pieces left over that are big enough to shoot at, and you don't have to clean those up at all.

Another good target idea is cheap knock-off brands of "Ritz" crackers. You get about 150 crackers in a box for a couple bucks, which works out to about $0.02 each. Hard to beat that, and again you can sometimes hit one more than once, and you don't have to clean them up. Animals and insects will eat them, of course, and the first time it rains they're gone.

[Scoundrel]

Everybody and especially new shooters like to see something happen that they caused as opposed to a small hole in a piece of paper they may or may not be able to see.

I found that I started out being satisfied with paper targets, but moved on to wanting more feedback from my targets.

The holes in pieces of paper are very good for gauging my skill level, dialing in scopes, troubleshooting problems with gun setups, etc. But I dig going out and shooting something that little bits of go flying away when I hit them.

Tannerite and other explosive targets would be fun, but I am concerned about safety issues and law enforcement issues (just because it's legal doesn't mean they know that or that they can't give me grief about it). So I haven't done any of that yet. We keep talking about filling a pumpkin with Tannerite on Halloween but have not done it yet.

[tv_racin_fan]

The saf t pops are simple because they are on a loop and you can hang them on just about anything.

Dum Dum pops would be cheaper but not quite as handy.

Saf t pops can be had for about $76 per 1000 and the dum dums can be had for about $70 per 2300 or so.

http://www.spanglercandy.com/candy-store/saf-t-pops/bulk-saf-t-pops

http://www.spanglercandy.com/candy-store/dum-dum-pops/dum-dum-pops-bulk-lollipops

[steve666]

Try cans of shaving cream. If you are using something with a little oomph you can use apples and watch them explode.

[Popeye]

Always thought,Cell phones blow up nicely when shot with a 30-06 from an M1 Garand. :D

5712

[gb6491]

Always thought,Cell phones blow up nicely when shot with a 30-06 from an M1 Garand. :D

5712
Very nice rifle Popeye!
Regards,
Greg

[Scoundrel]

Always thought,Cell phones blow up nicely when shot with a 30-06 from an M1 Garand. :D

5712

Ah, I see you have the rifle that goes "PING!"

Sorry, Monty Python reference. Couldn't help myself.

[SpecK]

Daaang, remind me not to go to your walmart- mine is 90 clays for $8...the bass pro here has 90 for $6 :eek: thats $0.15 a piece! we do shoot alot of clays with the shotty's, just never thought about setting them up for the pistola.

And Tannerite can be dangerous, use with caution. But it will ONLY go off about being stuck be a high velocity round (pistols wont do it) and just make sure everyone is back....obviously I wouldnt do this with alot of people around but find somebody with some land and I promise your pumpkin idea wont disappoint. We blew up a porcelain pee-hole a few weeks ago...that was fun

[Scoundrel]

Daaang, remind me not to go to your walmart- mine is 90 clays for $8...the bass pro here has 90 for $6 :eek: thats $0.15 a piece! we do shoot alot of clays with the shotty's, just never thought about setting them up for the pistola.

And Tannerite can be dangerous, use with caution. But it will ONLY go off about being stuck be a high velocity round (pistols wont do it) and just make sure everyone is back....obviously I wouldnt do this with alot of people around but find somebody with some land and I promise your pumpkin idea wont disappoint. We blew up a porcelain pee-hole a few weeks ago...that was fun

That's the only price I didn't verify completely, so it figures I'd be wrong about that one. I did a quick Google search for clay target pricing and figured it would be close enough. WRONG!

[JFootin]

__________________
”Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars.”
~Unknown


That's a good saying right there! :yo: Sort of strips the flesh off the gun control argument! :75:

[SpecK]

That's a good saying right there! :yo: Sort of strips the flesh off the gun control argument! :75:

Nice J, I was wondering how you could use this emoticon. The description is '75' ??? wth???

[SpecK]

That's the only price I didn't verify completely, so it figures I'd be wrong about that one. I did a quick Google search for clay target pricing and figured it would be close enough. WRONG!


gotta keep you accountable :D

[Popeye]

Very nice rifle Popeye!
Regards,
Greg
Thanks Greg it is my pride and joy, my most cherished piece of American pie. It's a Springer Circa 1955. It has done many military funerals for vets who are on there final mission. It gets shot once or twice a year shooting live ammo. A few friends and I get together and bring them out along with some other old military weapons. They might not be as accurate as they once were but, We have a good time with them non the less.

A friend sent me this the other day.

The M1 Garand

Do you wonder why that rifle
Is hanging in my den?
You know I rarely take it down
But I touch it now and then.

It's rather slow and heavy
By standards of today
But not too many years ago
It swept the rest away.

It's held its own in battles
Through snow, or rain, or sun
And I had one just like it,
This treasured old M-1.

It went ashore at Bougainville
In Nineteen Forty-Three.
It stormed the beach at Tarawa
Through a bullet-riddled sea.

Saipan knew its strident bark,
Kwajalein, its sting.
The rocky caves of Peleliu
Resounded with its ring.

It climbed the hill on Iwo
With men who wouldn't stop
And left our nation's banner
Flying on the top.

It poked its nose in Pusan,
Screamed an angry roar
And took the First Division
From Chosin Reservoir.

Well, time moves on
And things improve
With rifles and with men,
And that is why the two of us
Are sitting in my den.

But sometimes on a winter night,
While thinking of my Corps,
I know that if the bugle blew
We'd be a team once more.


- Unknown Author

[JFootin]

Nice J, I was wondering how you could use this emoticon. The description is '75' ??? wth???

You cannot do smilies if you do a Quick Reply, but you can select them on the right of the message edit window if you click Quote at the bottom of a post or the Post Reply button at the top or bottom of any page of the thread. Or, if you are entering a Quick Reply and decide you want to use some Smilies, you can click Go Advanced.

[SpecK]

You cannot do smilies if you do a Quick Reply, but you can select them on the right of the message edit window if you click Quote at the bottom of a post or the Post Reply button at the top or bottom of any page of the thread. Or, if you are entering a Quick Reply and decide you want to use some Smilies, you can click Go Advanced.

cool, didnt know you could do that from quick reply.

i was meaning when will you ever need to use a 'melt your face off' smiley? and that the others are 'frown, smile, EEK!, stick tongue out' what is 75?


"Can't wait for dinner tonight, Clarice" :75:

[Tinman507]

thanks greg it is my pride and joy, my most cherished piece of american pie. It's a springer circa 1955. It has done many military funerals for vets who are on there final mission. It gets shot once or twice a year shooting live ammo. A few friends and i get together and bring them out along with some other old military weapons. They might not be as accurate as they once were but, we have a good time with them non the less.

A friend sent me this the other day.

The m1 garand

do you wonder why that rifle
is hanging in my den?
You know i rarely take it down
but i touch it now and then.

It's rather slow and heavy
by standards of today
but not too many years ago
it swept the rest away.

It's held its own in battles
through snow, or rain, or sun
and i had one just like it,
this treasured old m-1.

It went ashore at bougainville
in nineteen forty-three.
It stormed the beach at tarawa
through a bullet-riddled sea.

Saipan knew its strident bark,
kwajalein, its sting.
The rocky caves of peleliu
resounded with its ring.

It climbed the hill on iwo
with men who wouldn't stop
and left our nation's banner
flying on the top.

It poked its nose in pusan,
screamed an angry roar
and took the first division
from chosin reservoir.

Well, time moves on
and things improve
with rifles and with men,
and that is why the two of us
are sitting in my den.

But sometimes on a winter night,
while thinking of my corps,
i know that if the bugle blew
we'd be a team once more.


- unknown author

++1000

[AJBert]

I didn't get in the service until 1982 and the M1 was long gone...

except in boot camp. My first introduction to one had a welded action and lead filled barrle which I had the opportunity to march around with for 8 weeks. Fun times I tell you.

I did have the opportunity to shoot a match grade M1 several years later in a few leg matches and absolutely loved it.

There is a fairly rare M1 sniper edition in the store right now. First one I've seen. Scope is mounted to the left and has the flash supressor. Original military scope on it to boot!

[les strat]

I save all our water jugs, fill them with water and food coloring.

[jlottmc]

That is one of the rifles I'm after. Any Marine has a connection to the M1 (here's a clue, take a look at our rifle expert badge). I want one, then again I like old military guns.