Texas Star is not hard to shoot ;)

[sm]

The kiddos from *this size* to a *bit bigger* watched a video of the Texas Star being shot.
They watched it again. Watched it slowed down.

Kiddos turn heads to us adults and have this look of "Wow!" Then they got this puzzlement, wonder, awe and ...

Nah, you kiddos can do that I said.

Now I have not only kiddos looking bumfuzzled, also the adults and the dawg in the room.

Kiddos are shooting .22 rifles, most are single shot .22 rifles.

~~

So first off a plywood is set up with a Texas Star drawn on it. I use my hands and go thru the motions of shooting like the video at the points of the star.

I am using clay targets on hung on cup hooks. This is too much fun...

A wire version is being fabricated in the meantime. Nothing fancy, not permanent, just scraps of metal and PVC being made into a Texas Star. It has been years since I did this. I knew the kids, and adults were going to have fun. Once they got past giving me that " there is no way the kiddos can do this" look. Yes this thing will move...

Me and the kiddos had a private chat. Eyes lit up, and promises of keeping all we chatted about staying secret.

You can do anything you chose to do.
"Can't" died - remember?
Just two of the lessons we have shared.

Now we have different levels of skills, with the different sizes and ages of Kiddos. No problem.

We get a plan, and all agree and each kid practices shooting their target at their agreed upon point of the Star. Only that point, this is following rules, being a team player, all serious (serious fun) but being responsible too.


Now the moms and some adults were let in on all this, for Safety reasons and the way we do a Buddy System, each kid has an adult when they shoot.

Still, some we basically had to run off adults during some practice. Which is normal for me to do, and to keep my "he is up to something with the kiddos again" status current.

Self esteem is great for kids, so we shoot at the closest distance according to the youngest and newest shooter. Kiddos support and encourage each other.

So we work on timing. Yes you know by now where all this is going. Still , the Texas Star is a challenge, just we have a different challenge using it.

Aw man, seeing these kids work as team was rewarding. At the signal each kid shooting their target and making effective hits.

Folks, this is too awesome and too fun to see clays break at the same time.
Talk about focus and teamwork!

Hey I was a littler kid once, I liked to have fun and get rewarded for doing safe, and fun stuff. So this Grandpa of the group, not allowed to really know what we were up to, but assisted in making this metal and PVC star says..."if them kiddos beat this Texas Star, fast food of their choice on me".

Oh yeah, that will get kiddos to focus all right.

So the big day comes and the kids have the normal butterflie in tummies. So we shoot the Plywood with clays a few times. Butterflies are gone and Grandpa already knows he is going to be picking up the tab at Taco Bell. Kids already, in confident voices informed them " Yeah, when we do this thing, we all voted and want to go to Taco Bell".

*Someone* has shared there is a fine line in being confident and cocky...*ahem*

First time, the kiddos even shot at this new movable Texas Star - they nailed it.

It is not cheating if it works - called ingenuity.

This temorary Star did not last long, as we knew and chatted about. We used it with handguns and shotguns too.

I am suggesting, for a real fun reactive target, get a Sheet of Plywood, put a Texas Star on it, and hang clay targets off hooks. This is great practice for handgunners too.

Heck we had too much fun shooting .22 handguns with this.

Even just shooting clay targets in any fashion hung on Plywood, and even Coat Hangers are fun...

Texas Star is not hard to shoot


Steve

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Got a picture of the Texas Star? I could not follow from your description how you constructed it.

 

[Father Knows Best]

Texas Stars are indeed a lot of fun. I see them quite often in cowboy shooting.

A Texas Star (also called a "Death Star") is typically a rotating target that holds five steel plates on arms extending from hub. The plates are held onto the arms by spring-loaded clips, so when they are struck by a bullet they fall off the arm. The Star is usually shot with it stationary at the start. As soon as one plate is knocked off, however, the star becomes unbalanced and starts to rotate. If you're smart, you shoot the top center plate first, because it won't really unbalance the target and cause much movement. When you shoot the second plate off, however, the star is going to start turning -- there's no way around it. That's where the challenge comes in, because the 3rd, 4th and 5th plates are now swinging back and forth, and every hit changes the dynamics of the motion.

The Star can be really intimidating to first-timers, but I agree with sm that it isn't really that hard if you're smart about it and keep your cool. Start with the top target and then a 2nd quickly. Once the motion starts, pick a target high on left and right and wait for the star to pause as it reverses direction. Pick off the target right at the moment it pauses, then move to the other side and do the same thing. By now you have only one target left, and it's on the bottom moving back and forth like a pendulum. Pick it off at the extreme left or right of the arc as it changes direction.

That sequence is the one I use for shooting with a single action centerfire revolver, anyway. If you're really fast, you can pick off all five targets before the star is able to build up any real speed. I'm not quite that fast, but I've seen others who are.

 

[Sistema1927]

The real Texas Star is not too difficult to shoot IF you get to choose in which order you shoot the targets. However most clubs mandate an order, and make it darned hard by making you shoot the lower targets first. This can really get the thing spinning. If you are just fooling around and not on the timer you can wait for the oscillations to subside, but when shooting on the clock you need to weigh the five second penalty for a miss against the time it takes to let the thing slow down a bit.

A very ingenious, and wickedly diabolical, target.

 

[Father Knows Best]

Good point, Sistema. If you have a choice, shoot the top target first. Sometimes you don't have that choice, in which case your best option is to pick your shooting order for the first three targets ahead of time and try to get them before the star picks up any speed.

As for weighing the penalty, I'm a firm believer in the old adage that you can't miss fast enough to win. Waiting for the star to pause seems like it's taking an eternity while you're on the clock, but in reality it is typically less than a second. I'll take that over a 5 second miss any day of the week.

 

[Tim Burke]

There are several strategies to shooting the Texas Star. One I've seen used is to shoot the top right target, which will start the target spinning counter clockwise. As each plate moves to the top right position you shoot it. As long as you don't miss, this is pretty quick, and doesn't require much in the way of gun movement. The star will pick up some speed, though, so a miss can really hurt your time. I usually alternate left and right from the top down.

 

[ramis]

picture

Texas star





ramis

 

[sm]

ramis,

Thank you for a picture!

Ours was purple and yellow - it is a kid's thing ya know?

Remember, I was doing this with kids. Also we have new shooters, and not quite to this level yet. Still, my belief is "seeing" something and getting into one's brain. Same reason I had these folks, that have never dove hunted before, just watch doves/ birds in flight, and use a wooden dowel/ broom stick "shotgun" to imitate shooting a bird in flight to get into brain, speed and angles and all before we hunted.

Star. We used clay targets. Reactive, and NO richochet at the closer distance we shot from.

Plywood, with a Star, using clay targets at the points is great practice, heck I had too much fun shooting these with a .22 pistol - we all did.

See-Saw is a simple target I have used with kids forever ( okay I admit, I like to shoot it too).

Just a wooden dowel ,or PVC pipe with holes drilled to hold light chain, with hooks on the end to hold clays. I may just put one on each end to balance, or up to three on each end.

See- Saw is going to move, after first shot. If the kids are bigger and are using a magazine in a bolt gun, running the bolt and aquiring the next target is good practice and fun.

I had the mom's do this with .22 handguns...well they were mom's starting out, they seemed to get smaller and younger with each shot.

The kids learned a lot, they can do anything they put their mind to. They watch how other people do stuff [strategy and tactics] and learn there is sometimes more than one way to do something. The are thinking, asking questions, and though funny to hear them, still great to hear them figuring out amongst themselves how to do something.

Heck, just clays in a row, and letting them break them is a favorite. Some kids go to a store, run to chips, dips, toys, and other sections. These kids run to where a box of clays are sold and the ammo.

After the clays and ammo "now what did we come in for?"

Oh...I knew what they did, but did not let on. They got a pc of metal, spray painted it orange. It did not break when I shot it. I had one more target to shoot and could not break it. All the kids broke their targets and I lost.

Kids kept snickers down, but passed onto me some great shooting tips on why I kept missing. That pc of metal painted orange will show up again. The little brats have hid it back, and I know it will appear again.

At least when I "lost" I got to join in eating the cheese dip and chips I had to pony up.

 

[SDC]

Here's a Youtube video of a fellow shooting several Texas Stars during IPSC/ USPSA matches; the first ones are at around 1:05.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOTAlKUONts

 

[Wakal]

The guy in the picture is Terry Ashton, inventor and seller of the "Real" Texas Stars. Terry has a gentleman's agreement with Mike Gibson of MGM Targets; Mike makes a rather nice varient Texas Star (all rifle quality steel ).

I recommend both to anyone interested in shooting something different



Alex