Cool Targets

[InkEd]

What are some things you guys like to shoot at besides paper targets. I know water jugs are fun. Personally I like to go to Blockbuster and get the old plasti. Signs they use to mark shelf space for DVDs (the little things that look like the front of the DVD box) especially for bad movies.

What are some other things you shoot at for fun?

 

[Erik M]

soup cans and aluminum cans out of the recycling bin, milk jugs, 2 litre pop bottles.

Although its unfortunate, people litter so much on the local atv trails and county boat ramp that you can usually find more than enough aerosol cans and pop bottles to shoot at.


I hear tale that a great number of members like to shoot old bowling pins, I wouldnt ming trying that someday.

 

[alex_h]

pumpkins every nov 1st we have "the great pumpkin hunt" always a blast.

 

[brandnew]

We usually grab 5 or 6 cases of RC Cola or Grape Soda or whatever's cheapest, then shake it up before we set it up.

And considering the nature of the topic, it's worth while to remind people to PICK UP YOUR TRASH! I use caps because some people just don't get it, and around here popular shooting locations in national forests have been shut down because people leave crap out there. You know the stuff, old couches, TVs, electronic circuitry from their whatchamajig that crapped out on them.

Please, everybody pick up your brass, pick up your hulls and pick up your trash.

 

[franconialocal]

Good ol' clay pigeons (orange) set out on the embankement about 200yd. downrange. You know when you hit them. and they make a good challenging target (size).

 

[gyvel]

Hollowed out pumpkins with containers of Tannerite inside.

 

[plasticman]

the only thing Ive shot were paper targets. the sad thing is that where I shoot, you can only shoot paper. Im missing out!!!

 

[bigfatdave]

Get a tennis ball
Punch two small holes
Thread a string through the holes
Hang the ball from something in front of the backstop
Shoot at the ball, it becomes more challenging once it gets moving
For triple bonus points, cut the ball down from the string

A tennis ball will take an amazing amount of abuse, when it is just too shredded to hang, stuff it with junk, wrap it in duct tape, and hang it up again!

 

[Sav .250]

For plinknig..........just about anything.

For effect.........regular targets.

 

[longdayjake]

I like to throw a bunch of golf balls way out on the range and see if I can hit them. They are fun because many times when you hit them they go flying pretty far.

I don't think this is good for the environment, but a buddy of mine had a full can of that foaming engine degreaser that the spray nozzle had broken off of while it rolled around in the back of his truck. I was there when he shot it with an sks. It was an awesome explosion mixed with a very awsome shower of foam.

 

[eight433]

I don't think this is good for the environment, but a buddy of mine had a full can of that foaming engine degreaser that the spray nozzle had broken off of while it rolled around in the back of his truck. I was there when he shot it with an sks. It was an awesome explosion mixed with a very awsome shower of foam.

Had the same thing with a can of that "great stuff" expanding insulation foam. MAN did that make a mess

 

[halfded]

I like 5 gallon buckets. They take a huge amount of abuse before you can't shoot at them anymore, and once they've hit that point I just kick it over and lean my target backer against it. Another bonus is that a the bucket is just about human torso sized, good for defense practice.

We also get those shrink wrapped cases of bottled water, which come with a cardboard "flat" on the bottom. I save those and use them as backers to staple paper targets to (I shoot in the woods at a dirt berm and don't want to build a permanent target stand. Don't want it destroyed or stolen, and I really don't want my spot to become public use.)

Old shotgun shells can be a lot of fun with a .22.

And finally, load up some .22 shotshells and go wasp or hornet hunting! More challenging than you think to catch 'em on the wing. I'm still waiting to get one intact enough to take one of those cool big game photos with my rifle to post in the hunting section!

 

[bigfatdave]

expanding insulation foam

Some jerk did that at my range, it crusted the backstop and target stand.
NOT a cool move, unless you clean it up.

longdayjake, do you get ricochets off of the ground doing that? I've shot at a number of jugs on the ground, and when I miss low, sometimes I see a pancake of lead tumbling back upwards after the ground hit - no idea how fast it is moving or how dangerous it would be if it were to hit something, but some of them from a .357 cleared the backstop mound at least.

 

[Apple a Day]

Pears. Three old pear trees in the back yard with a lot more pears than we ever use for culinary purposes. They splatter pretty well.

 

[eight433]

Some jerk did that at my range, it crusted the backstop and target stand.
NOT a cool move, unless you clean it up.

worth noting that I did this in my back yard. Waited for it to dry and hit it with the lawn mower, then raked it up.

 

[bigfatdave]

Well that's all cool. I found the sculptures it made interesting, right until I cut my thumb on the jagged can the asshats left crusted to the backstop. I keep an old set of demolition gloves in the range box now for stuff like that and the propane cylinders I'm always finding out there.
I always try to leave my club's outdoor range better than I found it, but sometimes I'm amazed at the crap people think it would be fun to shoot and leave.

On topic:
I remembered another fun thing to shoot
Gatorade bottles sometimes become rockets when hit with HP bullets. Take a look at the star shape the bottle makes on the bottom, it blows downwards into a nozzle shape and the water exits rapidly enough to launch it 10-15 feet.
It is totally worth saving the bottles for the next time you need to test some defense ammo.

 

[TX1911fan]

Shaving cream looks great when hit with bird shot. It's like fireworks.

 

[InkEd]

I saw a propane tank get shot on tv. Looked too dangerous for me but extremely cool none the less. So far this thread has been great. Let's keep the suggestions coming, it's nice to have some fun threads on here.

I have a some more to add:
light bulbs (pain to pick up)
old road signs that have been knocked down and left on the side of the road. (Please don't shoot ones still by the road! And be careful of richocets.)

- InkEd

P.S. One time as teen I got to shoot an old desktop computer and monitor. Kinda one up'ed the guys from Office Space.

 

[Puddin99]

Eggs
Potatoes
Pumpkins
Watermelons
Charcoal briquets
Apples
Pears

I like to keep them bio-based.

 

[Myles]

Favorite backyard plinking targets:

Fired shotgun shells, set upright on a railroad tie. Very challenging, but fun.
Bowling pins
Old fruits and vegetables
Target clays

I, too, have done an old, clogged can of Great Stuff. Great Big Mess to clean up. It was way up in the trees, even.

 

[kanook]

Ritz crackers. Their orange, explode on impact, don't have to clean up, but most importantly if you get hungry you can eat your target.

PS don't shoot the cracker that a friend is trying to eat.

 

[Pileatus]

I like aiming at rotten tomatoes...the small ones (cherry tomatoes and such) can give you a fairly challenging target size, and you know immediately if you've hit it! Hollow point bullets make the explosion even more satisfying.

Cans of supermarket-brand cola make fun targets too...shake 'em up good, and you get Vesuvius when the bullet hits. We (my shooting buddies and myself) also set up one can behind another can, with the objective of hitting the rearward can. Once we've hit enough of them from 50 feet, we go back to 100 yards, 200 yards if someone's feeling ballsy, and bring out the rifle scopes. It's harder than you think from back there, especially with .22 rifles.

 

[TJ AK-74]

I haven't tried this yet, but I heard this from a guy that I bought some ammo from. He said not to try it He went shooting with his friend, and they had some exploding targets that are about 2x2 inches and half inch thick with some adhesive on the back. They put one on a full can of starting fluid! and he said it looked something like this :

 

[shotgunjoel]

pumpkins every nov 1st we have "the great pumpkin hunt" always a blast.

Ah yes, go to the grocery stores in a few weeks and they will almost give you pumpkins. Also, expired tins of canned ham. Helps to have a friend at the supermarket. They are fun. Also the coyotes will help you clean up.

 

[azyogi]

A tablespooon of dust, or corn starch in a small balloon. If you don't over-inflate them they generally stay in one peice, making clean-up simple. I tie mine to a 1/4" dowel 2' long, or a cracked carbon arrow. Feathers tied to a string can be fun, again easy to clean up after. My granddad used to shoot thrown necco wafers with my red ryder, I can't match that, but again as someone said before they're biodegradeable. Frozen fruit allways seems to come apart better than fresh, guess it's more brittle. Have shot a few ice sculptures that's real easy to clean up, especially here in the desert. When shooting at something frangible [ice, frozen fruit, etc.] don't get too close as those peices can go in any dirrection, including strait back at you, besides longer range shots are more instructive.