Fun targets to shoot at

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Fun targets to shoot at

Posted: 4/24/2002 2:17:48 PM EDT

Ok I am taking a group of new shooters for a day of blasting. I need some ideas of fun reactive targets. Thanx

Posted: 4/24/2002 2:21:30 PM EDT

[#1]

1 gallon milk jugs filled with water are real good! Also, clay pigeons are good as well!

Posted: 4/24/2002 2:25:31 PM EDT

[#2]

So far I planned on a couple cases of pigeons and a steel gong out past a houdred yards. I know a 308 will blow apart gallon jugs but will 223?

Posted: 4/24/2002 5:57:21 PM EDT

[#3]

How about the ballistic gelatin stuff?

Recipe:

You will need 100% pure gelatine, distilled water, a large pan, a whisk, a strainer, a thermometer, paper towels, molds, space in the fridge and a heat source.

You can estimate how much gel you will need to fill your molds by filling them with water. It takes roughly 1 pound of gelatine powder per gallon

Heat the water to 150 degrees, remove from heat. SLOWLY whisk in a 10% ratio (by weight) of gelatine powder. The pan needs to be large enough to contain the foam that will form.

Put a paper towel in the strainer and filter the gelatine through into your mold(s)

Place the molds into the fridge and allow to chill completely to 35 - 40 degrees. (24-30 hours)

Posted: 4/24/2002 6:01:40 PM EDT

[#4]

.223 will blow liquid filled gallon jugs apart as well as gallon jugs filled with Jell-O.

Other fun targets include:
Eggs
Melons
Apples
Clays
Balloons

Posted: 4/24/2002 6:06:04 PM EDT

[#5]

I think old hard drives are fun to shoot at, usually shoot them at the pistol range with my .357, haven't done any with the AR15 yet (at bushmaster for repair)

Posted: 4/24/2002 6:08:00 PM EDT

[#6]

Buy a case of the cheepest no name soda you can find. Just shake and shoot. They blow realy well.

........edited to add

Make sure ya pick up the trash

Posted: 4/24/2002 6:09:55 PM EDT

[#7]

Oranges are fun to shoot.

Posted: 4/24/2002 6:12:33 PM EDT

[#8]

Those small propane tanks used for camping lanterns.

Stand back though.

Posted: 4/24/2002 6:31:36 PM EDT

[#9]

Try a head of lettuce on a stick.
Explosive reaction to anything from a .22 stinger to a 44 mag and everything in between. Bio friendly as well.

Posted: 4/24/2002 6:34:02 PM EDT

[#10]

Melons

Posted: 4/24/2002 6:50:54 PM EDT

[#11]

No contest! The most fun targets I've ever shot at were Tannerite exploding targets. Almost too much fun! Like potato chips...you can never have just one, and they are always gone too fast (but the smile on your face will last long after you run out of targets).

www.skylightexplosives.com/she_exploding_targets.html

Just make sure to use them in a remote location. They are LOUD, so you don't want to upset the neighbors. Enjoy!

Posted: 4/24/2002 6:59:02 PM EDT

[#12]

I never have used them but how about charcoal briquetts?

You can also use planters cheese balls with a toothpick pushed through them to hold them on to a predrilled/nail hole 2X4.

Posted: 4/24/2002 7:11:22 PM EDT

[#13]

expired canned goods. just look out for the cans that have swelled Fantom

Posted: 4/24/2002 7:26:01 PM EDT

[#14]

I have found that laundry detergent bottles are good to shoot. Fill them up with water to help hold them steady. They are tough and don't tear like milk jugs so they keep taking rounds.

Posted: 4/24/2002 7:33:51 PM EDT

[#15]

Mirror is fun to shoot at. Its fun specially if its glittering light into your scope and you get really pissed off. Bowling pin is fun too. Once I shot a bowling pin and it flew up into the air like 4 feet and fell to the ground. Metal target is good. You hear plinking noise each time you hit it. I also use Shoot-N-C on my target so I can see where I'm hitting. Smaller the target, better it is for bragging and compliments ;)

Posted: 4/24/2002 8:13:21 PM EDT

[#16]

I like to shoot at an old rim... I like hearing when I hit my target..

Posted: 4/24/2002 8:15:27 PM EDT

[#17]

2L pop bottles with water are also good

I hit one with my bushmaster and it fell over (no fun) the next shot hit the bottom and something about the angle and the amount of water left in it sent the bottle flying straight up about 15-20 feet
I've only seen a pop bottle do that once, and the other bottles I shot that day didn't fly at all

Posted: 4/24/2002 8:25:01 PM EDT

[#18]

Small rocks are always fun to shoot. 4"-5" in diameter, when set on top of a skid or other perch, hit with a .223 at 100 meters, makes a nice crack sound and a big puff of dust rises up.

Posted: 4/24/2002 8:44:48 PM EDT

[#19]

We hauled an old white dryer out to the range and that was fun as you could see where you hit easily and also you cold see the damage it did going in one side and out the other. We also did things like setting apples on top of it and with FMJ I put a .223 right through the middle perfect hole at 50m and then i also blew up several with HP rounds and we then placed a 2 watermelons ontop of and 1 inside of the dryer. We shot the 2 on top 1 from the side and one from the end and then quartered them to look at the damage done on the inside and the same with the one inside the dryer. Also we shoot alot of 20oz and 1ltr and 2ltr and 3lt and gallon bottles filled with water or you can add regular jello mix and make a cheap easy gelatin type effect. Also take little 3inch water balloon and blow them up to about 2 inches or so and staple them to your target at varying ranges.

Posted: 4/24/2002 8:58:18 PM EDT

[#20]

empty beer kegs work good for distance shots,you can hear them also...just don't empty em before you go shooting.

Posted: 4/24/2002 9:18:37 PM EDT

[#21]

BEER KEGS those suckers are worth money. I just bought a slab of aluminum today. It is about an inch think, but I think 223 and 308 will still go through it. It should still make a good thud. Keep the ideas coming. Thanx

Posted: 4/24/2002 9:22:19 PM EDT

[#22]

I like cans

AfghanCANS, MexiCANS, WhitetrashCANS, Talk about exploding targets

And the smile on your face is there long after you run out of targets. Plus I love the ARs for this type of shooting, those peskie blaster are hard to hit on a dead run, hence the reason WHY we need 50 round mags

but they give my 200 pound rot, the worst shits [>(]

So the next time you see a guy that has a sign that says "I'll work for food" tell him to jump in back of the truck I have a job for you

Just funning, I not a racist

Posted: 4/24/2002 9:36:00 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:

So the next time you see a guy that has a sign that says "I'll work for food" tell him to jump in back of the truck I have a job for you

bwahahahaahahahaha!!!!
now THAT'S funny.

Posted: 4/24/2002 9:36:50 PM EDT

[#24]

I'll add one that hasn't been mentioned yet and is really cheap! Buy some of those little tiny "Dixie" cups and fill them with sand. Great for .22 plinking. When you hit them they blow up and you see a cloud of dirt "sand" as the result of hitting your target. It's a cheap reactive target. Probably be best to set them up on something like a fence or stand.

John

Posted: 4/25/2002 3:27:48 AM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
I like to shoot at an old rim... I like hearing when I hit my target..

Last fall DonR, ETH, Jarhead_22, Mojo and some other Texas scoundrels had an informal shoot at Regi's place. On the hill behind his home Regi has some kind of truck rim. Every time you hit it there's a noticeable bright flash, a puff of white smoke and of course a noise. Don't know what the rim is made of, maybe a magnesium alloy. Anyway it's now my favorite target at Regi's. Well second behind any reasonable deer that happen to walk by.

Posted: 4/25/2002 7:11:33 AM EDT

[#26]

try a balloon filled with acetylene shoot with a tracer round

Posted: 4/25/2002 8:53:33 AM EDT

[#27]

I bought some fun targets for a youth safety talk:

1) Can of tomato soup... BAD IDEA. I shot it with my 9mm from about 15 feet and ended-up getting tomato soup all over me! The kids laughed, it was pretty funny.

2) Cantelope... Best explosion, blew into pieces when hit with 7.62x39.

3) Eggplant... Dullsville, just got a hole through it with 7.62x39.

4) Red Delicious Apple... a little north of dullsville, hole drilled into one side, bigger hole out the back with 5.56x45.

Our all time favorite: Cheap soda in cans, shook-up on a warm day. Cherry soda looks best. Only trouble with them is picking up the shards afterwards (sometimes that's all that's left!)

Posted: 4/25/2002 9:04:42 AM EDT

[#28]

The big salt blocks are fun! Plenty of visual effects and they last for several shots.

Shok

Posted: 4/25/2002 9:19:19 AM EDT

[#29]

Whatever you shoot, make sure its picked up, which is why a mirror is a horrible idea! Imagine carrying your dog home because of someone's jackass idea.

Go for cheap fruit - grapes, oranges, lemons, apples... I also like the detergent bottle idea, you'd get a bunch of rounds into it, cheap soda cans are fun as well as clays (same cleanup problem). Have fun, but keep it CLEAN!

Posted: 4/25/2002 9:23:44 AM EDT

[#30]

"Strike anywhere" Farmer's matches lined up in a row.
See who can light the match with the bullet, start out close so you feel comfortable and then increase the distance

Next time someone asks you how good of a marksman you are, tell 'em you can light a match at 50yds!

Posted: 4/25/2002 11:37:10 AM EDT

[#31]

If you have the freezer space make some ice blocks. Nothing to pick up when you are done and very reactive when hit.

Posted: 4/25/2002 2:18:39 PM EDT

[#32]

I never done this before, but I'm willing to betthe Al-Queda members down in Cuba and Central Asia would be pretty fun to shoot at.

Posted: 4/25/2002 3:30:34 PM EDT

[#33]

Milk jugs with water is a good stand-by. Also small 20 OZ plastic soda bottles filled with water and frozen add a little different twist....The ice shatters look pretty cool. Also, like someone else suggested, a case of cheap soda in cans and shook up really good is really cool. Just remember to pick up and have fun!!

Posted: 4/25/2002 5:13:51 PM EDT

[#34]

Bowling pins are fun, especially if you draw faces on the heads. Make them look different, and when the shooter is ready to shoot, call out a facial feature (beard, mustache, glasses) to identify the target and see how fast they pick it out. Numbers work well. Only count head shots as hits.

Posted: 4/25/2002 6:33:46 PM EDT

[#35]

I bet AOL & MSN CD's would be kinda cool to shoot if you hang them from a string. Probably get some nifty reflective visuals as they spin. I dunno, maybe they would just shatter.

Maybe you can go to the local pub and steal... err... see if they have an old chalk cone around. I'm guessing that would be a little reactive ;)

Posted: 4/25/2002 6:38:32 PM EDT

[#36]

www.skylightexplosives.com/she_exploding_targets.html

Posted: 4/25/2002 7:00:40 PM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:
try a balloon filled with acetylene shoot with a tracer round

If you can get ahold of hydrogen (and are crazy enough to try filling baloons with it)it works great too.

Posted: 4/25/2002 7:26:07 PM EDT

[#38]

Of all the various type of fruit tried, by far the best is a PINEAPPLE. It is so dense and pulpy that it will explode and rain little bits of pineapple everywhere for about 5-6 seconds (when hit with a rifle).

-Troy

P.S., make sure your targets are either biodegradable (fruit, ice, etc.) or you haul them out with you. NO GLASS!

Posted: 4/25/2002 7:36:35 PM EDT

[#39]

AOL cds make great targets at 100 yards. You can hit them multiple times and they don't shatter, they just break off piece by piece. Just run by your local computer store and grab 10 -20 and that will last an afternoon.

Posted: 4/25/2002 8:41:07 PM EDT

[#40]

Quoted:
Whatever you shoot, make sure its picked up,

what he said.
nothing pisses me off than irresponsible shooters, all we need is for some jackass to give shooters a bad image by littering.

Posted: 4/25/2002 9:22:07 PM EDT

[#41]

I really like the clay pigeons because they are cheap and with as much rain as we get out here in seattle they breakdown faster.

Posted: 4/25/2002 11:02:29 PM EDT

[#42]

Cheap cookies, or even better, home bakes gone bad. They blow apart on impact from anything and the birds do all your picking up.

Posted: 4/25/2002 11:25:28 PM EDT

[#43]

Try:
1.) Milk gallon filled with water
2.) A small propane tank with a cheap lighter burning in front of it. <- Don't be stupid with this one, do at least 100yds away.
3.) Snapple bottles filled with water go BOOM.
4.) Compressed foam sealant (the kind for putting up insulation in your house)
5.) Steel plates.

Yup. That's all I can think of at the moment.

Posted: 4/25/2002 11:28:41 PM EDT

[#44]

face cards, chunks of wood, the little plastic things from a brick of blazer .22, coins, and cheap soda cans.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Fun targets to shoot at

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