Best Reusable .22 Targets?

[Swifty Morgan]

I was out in the pasture shooting just now, and I ended up shooting at a cheap little set of three hanging metal targets. Everyone has seen these. They swing up when you hit them.

I got to wondering...are there better .22 targets out there? I mean targets you can shoot over and over, not paper.

 

[someguy2800]

I like Steel plates hung on chain myself. I cut out my own out of 3/8 mild steel plate which works well for rimfire as well as pistol calibers. 1/4” would be fine for 22’s. At longer ranges I have ar500 plates for rifles.

 

[Swifty Morgan]

I think I paid $13 for the set of plates I was shooting today, and it looks like the biggest one is getting cup-shaped. I don't know if the metal is just too cheap, or my friend whacked it while he was trying out his new .308.

 

[Everready73]

I would buy something a little better quality. Check out shoot steel.com or mgm targets. There are a bunch of manufactures now.

Most of them sell 1/4 ar400 that is cheaper than the ar500 and rated up to at least .45acp so would last forever with. 22. They are not expensive for a simple going style Target

This is a decent sure for 1/4 ar500 gongs
https://bluegrasstargetsky.com/collections/rimfire-and-pistol

 

[Kabic]

I like getting the resealable targets when they are discounted to 3 dollars and change.

I have cubes, stars and balls

 

[jmorris]

I built the 10 plate rack on the left around 25 years ago because I didn’t want anyone going down range.



It resets off the last target on the right. So if you have it out so far you can’t hit the little ones, you can still play with the larger diameter plates.

 

[Kendal Black]

At a gun show lately I saw some reactive targets that resembled the "jacks" or "jack rocks" used in the child's game, only bigger, with flattened circular targets appended to the ends of the arms protruding from the center. The evident idea is that you shoot a target and the "jack" flips over, exposing another target.

What is brilliant about that is you do not need to hang the target, simply set it on the ground, nor do you need to reset the target.

 

[HB]

At a gun show lately I saw some reactive targets that resembled the "jacks" or "jack rocks" used in the child's game, only bigger, with flattened circular targets appended to the ends of the arms protruding from the center. The evident idea is that you shoot a target and the "jack" flips over, exposing another target.

What is brilliant about that is you do not need to hang the target, simply set it on the ground, nor do you need to reset the target.

And they further away or more hidden with each shot. I dont think ive shot the metal one but the rubber ones are fun.

 

[roval]

i love my action target rimfire dueling tree. it's small enough that i dont have to break it down to transport and is very well made. it has 4 inch paddles. spray paint the frame and the targets and it looks brand new. here it is in action. i have it's bigger brother as well.

 

[Armored farmer]

I built the 10 plate rack on the left around 25 years ago because I didn’t want anyone going down range.

I have built several gongs for myself, and my bp club.
I gotta build one of those self resetting racks. That looks good!

 

[jmorris]

At a gun show lately I saw some reactive targets that resembled the "jacks" or "jack rocks" used in the child's game, only bigger, with flattened circular targets appended to the ends of the arms protruding from the center. The evident idea is that you shoot a target and the "jack" flips over, exposing another target.

What is brilliant about that is you do not need to hang the target, simply set it on the ground, nor do you need to reset the target.

What is not brilliant about them is that you are impacting the target at all sorts of different angles and some of them can sent the bullets in directions you might not want them to go.

 

[FL-NC]

The rubber targets that look like squirrels are fun, as are tennis balls.

 

[Riomouse911]

I bought a bunch of 1/4 “ AR 500 silhouettes scaled for .22 several years ago. Chicken, ram, turkey, pig, buffalo, squirrel, crow, desperado, etc.

They were shipped flat, I cut the base from 2” flat stock and sloppily welded the base on (no welding skills here!)

These things are unfazed by .22 LR, 9mm .45 colt etc. and the buffs need a solid hit from the LR to fall. .22 mag FMJ will leave a divot, but they flatten them all easily.

Only bummer is weight and bulk, so I spread them out using four milk crates so the weight isn’t too much.

Stay safe!

 

[22250Rem]

Thumbs up on the resealable targets that Kabic posted. I've gotten a couple round ones from Wal-Mart over a year ago and so far they've held up to a large amount of 22LR and they're still going strong but showing more wear & tear. But I feel I've already got my money's worth out of them and would buy another one when a replacement is needed. Here's one on my tailgate.

 

[Swifty Morgan]

Most of them sell 1/4 ar400 that is cheaper than the ar500 and rated up to at least .45acp so would last forever with. 22. They are not expensive for a simple going style Target

This is a decent sure for 1/4 ar500 gongs
https://bluegrasstargetsky.com/collections/rimfire-and-pistol

Those look pretty good. I could get rid of my pot metal targets and use the little frame for those.

 

[bassjam]

My favorite “reusable” target for .22’s are spent shotgun shells. At 40-50 yards a 12 ga hull is a good challenge for me with open sights and 20 ga that much more so. When they can’t stand up anymore lay them on their side for a different challenge. They’ll take a lot of hits before they need to be retired.

I also have that rimfire only set of hanging steel targets, as well as a set of 4" hanging gongs and one of those orange self-healing targets. I still tend to use shotgun shells the most.

 

[redneck2]

Pill bottles are cheap. As in free

 

[Labguy47]

We often throw out golf balls and tennis balls for reactive targets

 

[22250Rem]

This steel one qualifies as "reusable" because its been used over and over countless times for 20-something years now. At the rate it's going it should outlast me. Has always been limited to .22 rimfire stuff and I can't recall what it cost back then but I sure got my money's worth. It's a big hit with the kids so that makes it all worthwhile. Although for cost effectiveness it's hard to beat those previously mentioned 12 ga. hulls.

 

[Citadel99]

Old flat tennis ball. Use an awl to punch a hole in it. Tie a big knot at the end of a piece of 550 chord. Stuff the knot into the hole. Hang from tree. Shoot and shoot.

Mark

 

[fpgt72]

22 is not hard on steel, I bought a set of the small bore silhouette targets, and have hit them with 22mag with no damage. They also make them that are swingers, but seeing the steel fly is part of the fun.

 

[Random 8]

I like the soft rubber "safety" hockey pucks. You can hang them from a rope and they swing like crazy. They will handle high powered FMJ or hardcast from a handgun well also for many, many rounds. As above, the SB silhouette targets (1/5 scale) are a lot of fun also, and very challenging if you set them at NRA regulation distance and fire offhand.

 

[Dr T]

I still enjoy shooting tin cans...