Need a way to practice quietly

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On Saturday morning I took my Armisport P53 Enfield musket and my Parker and Hale P61 Enfield musketoon to a range I normally don't have access too but a friend of mine is a member and former president of this club so I was there with him. I shot so horribly I was embarrassed. I haven't been getting the kind of practice I used to get. I can't shoot at home anymore because the in laws next door have a lap dog that will wet itself if it hears the gunshots. I don't want to torcher the poor thing or cause them to have to clean up the mess. I used to shoot out here all the time posted about it some then they went an got that dog.... Yes I could go to a range but they cost money and I work a lot of overtime. I was thinking maybe about an airgun for after work daily practice to get back to where I used to be. Any thoughts or suggestions more than welcome.
 
Do you own your place? If so, shoot all you want. The dog will get used to it after a couple sessions. Sounds harsh, but I've never let anyone stop me from doing something I enjoy on land I pay taxes on. If it's the in-laws land, then may I suggest a single shot 22 rifle and some CCI quiet22 ammo. Makes very little noise, and shouldn't excite Fido in the least.

Mac
 
Do you own your place? If so, shoot all you want. The dog will get used to it after a couple sessions. Sounds harsh, but I've never let anyone stop me from doing something I enjoy on land I pay taxes on. If it's the in-laws land, then may I suggest a single shot 22 rifle and some CCI quiet22 ammo. Makes very little noise, and shouldn't excite Fido in the least.

Mac
Yes the Mrs and I own the place I just hate to be a bad neighbor and the .22 jogs my memory perfectly to make a lightbulb go off. The wife has a .22 single shot she inherited she never shoots and I've got a box of .22 shorts... Duh... man idk what I was thinking 😂
 
Ummmm, first, to hell with the dog.
Call the in-laws to give them a heads up before you start shooting. They can find a way to keep from getting pee on them.
No way in hell am I going to base my life around a neighbors dog that came along after I owned my property.
But yes, a 22 with quiets might help train fido to accept gunfire.
 
I have a good neighbor 1/4 mile to the north and atv , sxs loud half the night neighbors 1/4 to the south. Sunday mornings the good one goes to town and the loud up half the night ones get disturbed at 8 am. Very nice in the hot summertime when the hay is in.
 
My current arrangement remains a bit experimental, but I've been fooling around with laser/IR based training stuff since Daisy came out with their buggy Quick Skill system the 1980s.

LaserPractice.jpg

The setup above uses a firing pin activated cartridge that momentarily projects a visible red dot, plus an electronic target to register hits. I prefer the visible laser over versions that project an IR dot, since the latter are more difficult to zero. With the visible dot you don't necessarily need a reactive target, as long as you're close enough to see it.

The current version of these laser cartridges go for around $20, and if you want a reactive target add another $20-25.


Quick single snap shots with a hammer-fired auto pistol may have some training relevance, but otherwise this has been more of a toy for me.

I have a .38 Super barrel for my Handi Rifle that can use a 9x19 cartridge, but I've found the intensity of these cartridges is too short-ranged (around 12-15 ft.) for useful rifle practice with my reactive targets.

There are other variations on this basic theme that work with smart phones, which may offer more desirable features. Personally I like dumb phones. Also if you have cats and they happen to spot the momentary dot, things can get interesting.

There are full-blown laser rifle/target systems available for setting up a biathlon course in areas where live ammo poses unacceptable risks or where governments hate on firearms. With much larger power supplies built in, they are useable to 50 meters. They also cost like the dickens -- here are some setups of this sort:


 
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Even when I had my range setup behind my shop I respect my neighbors. Even though my house has been here for decades without neighbors. Being a good neighbor is a courtesy to others out of respect. I started shooting BB guns as a kid, in my mid 70's and still do. Things have improved from 1950s till now. The newer version of the old BB guns are available but the new products are awesome. Can get expensive but one of my rifles puts a 22 caliber pellet through a 5/4 deck board that was holding the target. At same distance a 22 CB cap running 700 fps stops in board. Suppressors for air guns are not under same laws as cartridge guns. At house in city the air guns are quite and I practice. When home in country I shoot regular cartridge guns. My favorite air guns for playing are co2 usually. Plenty of ways to shoot and in-laws dog can hold it's water. I can tell you from experience a unhappy mother in law is not a good thing. When mother in law is unhappy that makes wife unhappy. One unhappy woman is not good, 2 and life is really???????? Choose wisely young man.
 
You could mention to the inlaws that you want to start shooting on your place again, and perhaps they could work out a way to get the dog used to the noise, or at the minimum, allow a phone call to put the dog on the cable/in the crate with puppy pads when you're going to be shooting.
 
On Saturday morning I took my Armisport P53 Enfield musket and my Parker and Hale P61 Enfield musketoon to a range I normally don't have access too but a friend of mine is a member and former president of this club so I was there with him. I shot so horribly I was embarrassed. I haven't been getting the kind of practice I used to get. I can't shoot at home anymore because the in laws next door have a lap dog that will wet itself if it hears the gunshots. I don't want to torcher the poor thing or cause them to have to clean up the mess. I used to shoot out here all the time posted about it some then they went an got that dog.... Yes I could go to a range but they cost money and I work a lot of overtime. I was thinking maybe about an airgun for after work daily practice to get back to where I used to be. Any thoughts or suggestions more than welcome.
Tell the in laws when you are going to shoot so they can put the pee machine outside.
 
I bought a Gamo Whisper specifically for winter months when I didn't want to do the 16 mile drive to the gun club to shoot. I can sit inside my attached garage and setup targets in my backyard to practice shooting every day if I want to. I actually have learned to love shooting my pellet rifle, and even take it to the gun club on occasion to play with shooting longer distances than I do at home. It's a great training setup, and I got it shipped to me during the pandemic for a whopping $118 with a 4x scope, and free delivery.
 
Tell the in laws when you are going to shoot so they can put the pee machine outside.
Oh believe me that would be great but it's a Shi Tsu they baby the damn thing it's not allowed outside off leash. Even though we own our place they did live there before we moved in I just don't want to start a feud. I get along with these people the FIL and I squirrel hunt together. I'm just gonna stick to rimfire for at home practice for now. One day I'm gonna build some kinda shed with a sound dampening fence attached to stand in and shoot out of an opening this will eliminate noise. I'll use clear plastic roofing material to let light in and hook up an exhaust fan. Long as my muzzle is inside the building the sound should not carry far
 
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Simple. Only shoot during thunderstorms and on Independence Day.
Now that's a great idea too! They dope the dog up on valium they got from the vet every independence day since all the residents of the other side of the holler shoot off all the fireworks that aren't legally sold here 😂
 
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Super Colibri .22 Rimfire from Aguila are what I use to dispatch marauding rabbits using a Rem 581. They’re not much louder than a .177 pellet gun (maybe less).

Stay safe.
My neighbor at my previous house used to do that: shoot shorts out of an old bolt rifle. He kept goats, geese, and chickens, and had issues with predators, even though his animals were penned up at night. Every so often at night, if my TV wasn't up too loud, I'd hear a little "Pop!" Another varmint bites the dust ...

We were all clustered around the end of a dead-end road and everybody knew everybody, so nobody minded.
 
You could mention to the inlaws that you want to start shooting on your place again, and perhaps they could work out a way to get the dog used to the noise, or at the minimum, allow a phone call to put the dog on the cable/in the crate with puppy pads when you're going to be shooting.
In the past they have offered to take the dogs to the park for a while so I could shoot. However the only times I've tried to take them up on the offer I was refused. I forgot to mention it's mainly just my black powder long guns that are the problem. I can shoot rimfire or some of my handguns without complaint. It's that deep boom of .58 caliber muskets that carries up to their place about 60 yards away. It's also sound bouncing off the holler to my left acting like an amphitheatre to their place on my right.
 
Even when I had my range setup behind my shop I respect my neighbors. Even though my house has been here for decades without neighbors. Being a good neighbor is a courtesy to others out of respect. I started shooting BB guns as a kid, in my mid 70's and still do. Things have improved from 1950s till now. The newer version of the old BB guns are available but the new products are awesome. Can get expensive but one of my rifles puts a 22 caliber pellet through a 5/4 deck board that was holding the target. At same distance a 22 CB cap running 700 fps stops in board. Suppressors for air guns are not under same laws as cartridge guns. At house in city the air guns are quite and I practice. When home in country I shoot regular cartridge guns. My favorite air guns for playing are co2 usually. Plenty of ways to shoot and in-laws dog can hold it's water. I can tell you from experience a unhappy mother in law is not a good thing. When mother in law is unhappy that makes wife unhappy. One unhappy woman is not good, 2 and life is really???????? Choose wisely young man.
Exactly! The Mrs ain't crazy about the sound of the muzzleloaders herself. If the pocket rat is in the house I can get away with shooting .45 ACP or anything rimfire. Just as long as they have their windows shut and TV on.
 
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