Pistol shoot ideas

[delberto2]

Happy New Year everyone. I'm in charge of putting on a pistol shoot for my club soon. I'm looking for some easy and fun ideas for the shoot. Anticipate between a dozen and 20 shooters. Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Clay pigeons on a board at 25 yards.

 

[hawkeye2]

Styro coffee cups at 25 yards. Fill with water and hang from a wire through the lid. Plastic water bottles filled. Water filled beverage cans.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Plastic water bottles filled. Water filled beverage cans

Don't use the Styrofoam...bad for the critters and the crap goes everywhere...but these ^^^ are good! Shake up a soda can...that's fun when it's hit....


AH you want something more "old time " looking rather than 21st century for targets?

Well there's always "steel" ringing targets, or.....

Mix water and whole wheat flour into a stiff dough, and roll it out. Use very large cookie cutters and cut out shapes. Poke the "cookies" with a fork to make a bunch of holes to let moisture out, and make at a 300 degrees until hard. Want colored targets, use food coloring. Make a small hole near the top for a nail to hang them. They will break when hit and they are biodegradable. Thus....

One shoot I read about the shooters had a "precision match" along with other firing stations. Each shot a single ball in the side match
. The target was a very nicely painted PA Dutch fractur type symbol on a nice thick piece of wood, with a bullseye added to it. Shooter who came closest to the center of the bullseye, not the center of the actual target surface, won the target. The space below the symbol one would write in the date, location, distance to the target, and name of the winner with a "paint pen" (check craft stores).

The Prize was The Target...suitable for display on the winner's wall. This was a prize in addition to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd place finishes in the overall shoot.

So conceivably, the guy with the worst score, could've walked away with the fracture prize if for that one shot he was "dead on". You need a judge with a spotting scope to watch each shooters' bullets hit (or miss). A tie?..have the fellows whose shots were too close to call "shoot off" at a steel plate, until all but one misses...

LD

 

[Kansas Jake]

Look at some of the targets Adui has posted in the Members Only postal shoot thread. He has posted a number of interesting paper targets there. They can be run off on a computer printer.

 

[J.M. Rodri]

Makes me think a postal pistol match may be a hoot.

 

[Grimord]

How about potatoes and carrots. We shoot these at our club. Biodegradable.

 

[hawkeye2]

We did onions once but it was truly an emotional trip, everyone was in tears over it.

 

[smo]

Freeze Pops

 

[Boom Stick]

Do a 50/50 Bullet Poker shoot (50% to the winner and 50% to the club for targets and equipment), or winner take all. $1 a shot for 5 shots, so $5 a hand. Shuffle a deck of cards and staple them face down on a backer (cardboard or plywood) have everyone draw a number from a hat to establish the shooting order.

As each person's number is called they step up on line at whatever the established distance is and take their shot and any card they hit they take down from the board and pocket it (cards are not shown until the last shooter has fired his last shot). The line goes round and round until everyone has fired 5 rounds total. There will be some that will hit 5 of 5 while most will hit less and thus have less cards. This is not an issue as it is Draw Poker with nothing wild.

As an example, we used to do this same game to raise money for our club targets and equipment for an IDPA club and everyone loved it. Believe it or not, twice, the pot was won by shooters that only had a two card hand, a pair of Aces, and a three card hand, three Duces.

The best part of the fun was joshing and poking fun at each other for a miss.

 

[rshveyda]

Playing cards, entire deck spread out and attached facing away on a large target. Each shooter gets 7 shots and the best 5 cards they hit are their hand. Best hand wins. This makes winning more random chance if the target is close enough it's easy to hit with all seven shots. Or you spread the card out and increase the distance to make it difficult to shoot a full hand of cards. Depends on whether you want the best shot or luckiest shot to win. And you can always use the leftover cards for shooting out the suits or splitting a card, etc.

EDIT: Yeah, what Boom Stick said, lol.

 

[Enfield58]

Try a dueling tree. A suggested distance would be a minimum of 25 yards when shooting at steel.

Have two competitors square off at a time. Each of them has only six shots to clear their side of the tree while the other shooter is doing the same.

Whoever wins that bout gets to compete against the winner of another bout until only two are left.

I would suggest that they not draw from the holster for safety. Some cap & ball shooters feel safer when loading only five rounds. If that is the case at your range and you have six plates on a dueling tree you will need to remove 2 to have four plates remaining.

Remember that in a dueling tree competition, you want to have an even number of plates on both sides of the tree. If everyone is shooting only five rounds, you need to have 4 plates total.

The other competition is called "know your limits."

Start off with either steel or paper targets. Six targets would be ideal. If you are using steel plates, start with a large plate to one side, then a smaller one next to it. Then a smaller plate next to that one. The idea is to have six steel plates in descending order of incrementally smaller plates. If you are only loading five rounds then have five plates.

The object if the game is to shoot at the largest plate first. If you get a hit, then shoot at the next smaller plate and so forth. Each hit is a point.

Now here is the twist and a major stress factor in the competition. If AND only if you get a hit, can you move on to the next smaller plate. Get a miss and you are done.

Each hit counts as a point for a possible total of six points. If you miss on the next smaller plate, ALL of your points are taken away.

For example, there are six plates of various sizes in descending order. You shoot at the first five plates and get all hits. If you decide to skip the last target because you don't feel confident enough to hit it, then you get to keep all five points.

On the other hand, if you feel sure of yourself, then shoot and miss the last plate, ALL five points are taken away from you.

Ideally you want to do this with steel plates. Paper targets could work but you are always replacing or patching up the targets. If you were going to use paper then try paper plates of descending order.

 

[Boom Stick]

Do a 50/50 Bullet Poker shoot (50% to the winner and 50% to the club for targets and equipment), or winner take all. $1 a shot for 5 shots, so $5 a hand. Shuffle a deck of cards and staple them face down on a backer (cardboard or plywood) have everyone draw a number from a hat to establish the shooting order.

As each person's number is called they step up on line at whatever the established distance is and take their shot and any card they hit they take down from the board and pocket it (cards are not shown until the last shooter has fired his last shot). The line goes round and round until everyone has fired 5 rounds total. There will be some that will hit 5 of 5 while most will hit less and thus have less cards. This is not an issue as it is Draw Poker with nothing wild.

As an example, we used to do this same game to raise money for our club targets and equipment for an IDPA club and everyone loved it. Believe it or not, twice, the pot was won by shooters that only had a two card hand, a pair of Aces, and a three card hand, three Duces.

The best part of the fun was joshing and poking fun at each other for a miss.

Couldn't figure out how to edit / did not see and edit button …..

First, I was thinking about the use of single shot, pre 1840s muzzle loading pistols which take longer to load and thus my comments about firing one round and going to the end of the line and reloading to be ready for your next shot by the time your number is called again. It would suck being at or near the end of the line and having to wait for each shooter to load and fire all 5 or 6 rounds before the next shooter / number is called.

Second, add some fun authenticity / ambience to the match by having someone sew up a leather pouch and having the shooters to pay for their shots with either 50 cent or one dollar coins that they add to the pouch. Winner gets the coins and the pouch and along with the bragging rights of winning, they can jingle their full coin pouch while dancing a jig. Can't think of anyone who can't find a use for another leather pouch.

 

[Boom Stick]

delberto2,

Just saw this on the Southern Vermont Primitive Biathlon website regarding their different shooting events and they have a different take on a poker shoot. I cut and pasted it below, but the just how they shoot the event is to set up a gong to shoot at with a shuffled deck of cards by the shooter. Every time a shooter rings the gong they draw a card for however many shots are allowed, ie. a 5 or seven card hand. I like this take on it as you can change up distances, especially with the size of the gong used, and you can reuse the same deck of cards over multiple events. Another plus is that you don't lose time having the shooters move up and down range to check for hits and to pull their hit card off the backer down range.


5 Card Shoot and Draw
This new “off the clock” shooting event combines both skill of a marksman and “Luck of The Draw” by allowing 5 shots to be taken at a specified gong target with each hit allowing the shooter to draw a card from the official SVTPB deck. Best 5card poker hand at the end of the event wins.

• Each competitor must provide a $5.00 donation fee for each individual hand or $10.00 for 3 hands.
• Once you are registered, the competitor can make his or her way to the top of “Top Knot Hill” where they will await their turn to shoot.
• Each competitor will be allowed a maximum of 5 shots per attempt.
• One card will be drawn for each hit.
• Misfires do not count as shots, however missing the gong does count as a shot and minimize the number of cards that can be drawn for that particular hand.
• Standard poker rules apply.
• No cards will be considered “Wild” however numerous cards within the deck will be randomly marked as specified prize winners thereby increasing the shooters chance to win some of the many donated prizes. The face value of the marked card will continue to count as the card value within your 5 card hand.
• Draw a joker and receive a “Free 5 Shot Hand” at no charge. The joker card itself will be of no other value thereby allowing the shooter to draw a replacement card.
• To keep it simple, all competitors regardless of age, gender, or muzzleloader type will compete against each other in this event.
• Poker hand values will be based upon the standard poker rules as seen on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_rankings
• In the case of a tie, next highest card in the hand determines the winner.

 

[Enfield58]

I decided to get a target to use for single-shot dueling pistol competition. Before I go any further, the videos below show unmentionable firearms. It's not my intent to promote these devices or violate the TOS. So apologies are given in advance.

The purpose of the videos is to show how the target reacts, functions and is reset. I could not find any videos using blackpowder firearms. So I am asking the reader to focus on how the target works.

This is what I envision: Instead of unmentionable firearms, the two contestants will use flintlock pistols and stand several feet apart facing the target. Their pistols will be in their hands at the "low ready" and pointed safely down range.

In a traditional duel the antagonists will step off ten paces each for a distance of 20 paces. They will be commanded to turn. All this is done in a real duel but not here as they are already facing the targets.

To add a little realism both antagonists will be asked if there is anyway that they can reconcile their differences. The Seconds, should be behind the antagonists with a box of kleenex for the loser. Soon-to-be-grieving "widows" may choose to weep at this point.

I forgot to mention that bets should have already been placed before the start of this serious affair. So if one of the duelers knows that there is a lot of money riding on him he may wish to look for a quick exit should he lose.

The target will be twenty yards downrange. At the command "READY" they may cock their pistols. The interval between commands should be given slowly. This is primarily for safety but that's also the way I saw it in the movies. So Hollywood can't be wrong.

Anyway they cock their pistols at the command of "READY" and set their triggers if not already accomplished. Please note that there are some target pistols with set triggers and rules can be modified as needed to permit or prohibit their use.

At the command "AIM" both shooters will point their pistols at the target. Remember that the command should not be given too quickly so both men can take careful aim.

At the command of "FIRE" the participants may discharge their pistols at the target at their leisure.

If neither person hits the target the weapons are reloaded and the process started again. Note how the rope resets the target in the video.

At this juncture, if one or both has lost his nerve for the contest, the seconds may act in their stead. On the other hand, the weeping widows may wish to try their skills if their husbands chicken out.

Have I left anything out? Do you think that could be a lot of fun with flintlock pistols?





This is where I purchased the target. If you are a veteran, you can call them for a discount code.

https://www.challengetargets.com/product/SS-QD-80043-H.html

 

[appalichian hunter]

card board full size shilloute with a fist size cut out of a heart placed on the target center mass,shooter back to target, pistol drawn un-cocked in a dueling hold, shooter takes 20 full steps or walks to a designated line turns fires say in 3 seconds, best shot wins, have the person running the challenge walk also with the shooter for safety reasons. tea bags, charcoal bircks marshmallows suspended, lolly pops stuck in a log perhaps a course where the shooter is required too use there off hand one hand hold, your iignation is the lmit.

 

[rodwha]

I recently saw a video where the guy and his wife had a shooting match using a moving boar target. That seems interesting assuming it’s safe for you to do.