Reactive target. A bad idea.

[BBQJOE]

I cleaned out some drawers, and removed something that I don't even have a player for anymore.
VCR tapes.
I set a few up at my south 40 dirt berm range.
I hit the first one square in the full reel.
It was quite spectacular.

My range now has VCR tape blowing all over it, and hanging in the trees. :banghead:

 

[hso]

Junk isn't suitable for targets. Electronics related junk especially. Spread the word to your friends as well so they won't make the same mistake.

Try ice instead. Frozen in "Dixie" paper cups and toted to the range in a cooler, they'll slip out of the cups so you can reuse them and makes for spectacular reactive targets.

 

[BBQJOE]

This is Arizona man.
Ice is a coveted commodity.

 

[wgaynor]

I'm going to try the ice idea. I try to teach one new person to shoot each year, and I find that reactive targets seems to appeal to everyone. I used eggs last year when taking my boss shooting. With our 10/22's, it was a challenge at 50 yards (sanding/unsupported) and fun.

 

[Hardtarget]

I've also shot ice. Very good choice...nothing to clean up!

Mark

 

[leadcounsel]

Electronics contain nothing biodegradable.

Plastics, mercury, and other hazardous trash. Not wise.

 

[limpingbear]

Try golfballs with a .22 loads of fun and can go a long ways when hit well. Does not work so well with a 44.....oops

 

[Eb1]

We shoot fruit and let the dear and animals eat it. Don't have to pick anything up.

 

[CZguy]

I used eggs last year when taking my boss shooting. With our 10/22's, it was a challenge at 50 yards (sanding/unsupported) and fun.

Next time try hard boiled eggs. The explode, and the small critters seem to enjoy cleaning up.

 

[Ignition Override]

For good visual feedback, just a regular concrete block from 100 yards. Take a new can of orange paint from Lowes etc.
Place the "insurgent" block on the front slope of a steep pile of dirt.

After you have a few more chunks, spray a large spot on each side.
For guns with muzzle rise (we only use iron sights) a friend with the binoculars can tell you whether you missed and which "o'clock" for the impacts which send up No concrete dust.

 

[WardenWolf]

I shot a hard drive with a Mosin Nagant once. One of the shots hit square on the screw for the drive's read / write arm. The drive disassembled itself in a very spectacular fashion, with the heavy metal base shattering in 3 pieces and parts scattering over 10 feet. I recovered all of it, but it was a mess.

 

[MagnumWill]

I also agree on the fruit, grab a few bags of oranges and potatoes and you're good to go

 

[morcey2]

Totally off topic, sorta...

In my early career as a Software Engineer, we had a cabinet-full of 1/2" mag tape that was totally obsolete and useless since we got rid of the only system that used it. One of our sales guys was big on practical jokes and had earned the privilege of being on the receiving end of ... something. One of the other engineers made a rig with a drill and some other stuff to strip the tape off the reels. We literally filled his office with unrolled tape. I think we used 30-ish reels and it took us most of 2 days to do it. He was not a happy camper.

On an on-topic note, we have people taking TVs, all sorts of electronics, washers, dryers, old computer monitors, and lots of other stuff that wasn't intended as targets to some of the more popular shooting areas around here. One of the local forums setup up a service project to clean up one area last year. They hauled out several pickup loads of garbage. A month later, you couldn't really tell that anything had been done.

Matt

 

[Pilot]

I use plastic water or soda bottles filled with water. The are fun to shoot and easy to pick up afterwards.

 

[J-Bar]

Saltines or Cheezits, depending on how well you shoot. Birds love 'em.

 

[x_wrench]

yes, i have taken a few things out shooting, that i wish i hadn't afterwards. dollar store cookies are great to shoot. all kinds of things will be happy you brought them. and if you really want something challenging, sugar cubes!

 

[Chevelle SS]

I shot a printer and lap top once and still regret it

 

[PRM]

Try ice instead. Frozen in "Dixie" paper cups and toted to the range in a cooler, they'll slip out of the cups so you can reuse them and makes for spectacular reactive targets.

Now that's a novel Idea, I've got to try.

 

[Justin]

My range now has VCR tape blowing all over it, and hanging in the trees.

At least it's not glass.

Cleaning that up on a shooting range is the worst.

As far as reactive targets go, the best thing to do is to not be cheap, and buy a couple of AR-500 poppers. MGM makes some great targets that will stand up to most rounds. They cost more, but for an individual shooter, they'll last forever, as long as you don't shoot them with steel core.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/693568/mgm-colt-speed-plate-auto-popper-target-steel

If you don't have any money, but want targets that will last a good long while and don't leave a terrible or toxic mess, bowling pins are great. I bought a bunch years ago at a warehouse sale, and they lasted a good long while. I'm told you can sometimes buy old ones from bowling alleys.

There are also some fun new reactive targets on the market that are made of self-sealing plastics, and look to be fun:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/73...l-reactive-target-self-healing-polymer-orange


I'm not really a big fan of using cheap food as a reactive target, but not for any good reason other than that I'm a self-serious grump.

 

[HOOfan_1]

My range is paper targets only....kind of sucks.....what I wouldn't give for some land to hunt and shoot on

 

[CZguy]

I'm not really a big fan of using cheap food as a reactive target, but not for any good reason other than that I'm a self-serious grump.

You know, it takes a really big self-serious grump, to admit that.

 

[tactikel]

We shoot charcoal briquettes, cheap, can puff when hit, and biodegradable.

 

[Scooter22]

"We shoot fruit and let the dear and animals eat it. Don't have to pick anything up."

Yup, same here. Theres always some fruit or veggies getting soft in one of the refrigerators. We just cleaned the main one out and got asst stuff to bring up this week. The range deer love it. You can see them sniffing in the trees on either side of the range when we shoot apples. They come out after the shooting stops.

 

[OH_Spartan]

I don't like shooting food. I just feels it is disrespectful to the farmer that grew it. That said one of our chickens laid an egg in the weeds and we didn't know how old it was. So it went to the shooting stand. The 9 mm must have hit it perfect because it exploded and sparkled as it coated the weeds behind it. I like milk jugs full of water, water balloons, etc.

 

[Fast Frank]

Yeah, I agree that shooting junk of any description is bad, and electronic stuff is even worse.

It seems that a goodly portion of the people in the world take it personal when somebody leaves a pile of trash sitting in an otherwise pretty landscape.

When said pile of trash is riddled with bullet holes, then "The Gun Nuts" instantly get the blame... Even if said trash was already there when the shooters showed up. We certainly don't need to be creating any more enemies.

Electronic stuff tends to break up into teeny little pieces when shot, and are almost impossible to completely clean up. The non- biodegradable nature of the scattered chunks creates what basically amounts to a forever mess.

Having said all that...

There's very few things in this world more frustrating than a computer that won't act right.

I have to admit that I have in fact taken a 12 gauge to a computer before and don't regret doing it one little bit. (Buckshot is AWESOME!)

Yes- it took way too long to clean up a mess I made in just a few seconds.

No- I probably didn't get each and every little bit and I didn't crawl around on my hands and knees looking for every little shard. There were bits and pieces blown a considerable distance in all directions.

I probably won't shoot another one, but teaching that computer to never lock up on me again sure seemed like the thing to do at the time.