Target Ideas?

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RogerWYO

36 Cal.
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We are starting up our monthly BP shoot this Sunday for the season. We have the normal bison steel cutouts, hanging gongs and paper targets. I was asked to bring targets for a dozen or so shooters but being fairly new to this I have no clue what to take. Need some help from you folks finding something fun to shoot, paper or otherwise. Range from 10 to 200 yards.
 
Many moons ago when we had a club in Austin Texas, we would shoot charcoal briquettes and balloons and we had a stake shoot where we'd stick 2x4s in the ground and form teams and the first team to cut thru the 2x4 won.

We had a "mountainman duel" where we had two silhouette targets, we'd stand about 20 paces away with our backs to the targets. On the count of 10, you turn and fire. If there were no kill shots, then we went at it with rubber tomahawks with red chalk on the edges to mark the hits. If you ended up with a red mark on your forehead you pretty much lost. The red chalk would mark any wounds or death. It was really a lot of fun but you had to be careful not to really hurt anyone.

With the charcoal and balloons, you started about 25 yards and then kept moving them farther away, if you missed one, then you were out. Hitting a balloon at 100yards with a little wind blowing can be challenging.

There was also splitting the ball on the axe head and splitting the playing cards.

Everything was shot offhand.

Hope this gives you a few ideas.
 
For new guys, why not the "ugly face" targets they sell. (terrorists?) thugs. Shoot N See.
I do not know the actual name but I have seen the at gun shops.

I never liked novelty shoots.
 
A couple ideas for close up shots. Hang something by a string. Idea is to cut the string. Also hang a 2x2 or whatever size piece of wood you want from a string, idea is to cut the wood in two. This can be done with a partner and since it takes a few shots, speed in loading is a factor. Generally someone gets in a hurry and forgets to load powder.
 
There is a web site called targetz.com that allows you to download and print several choices. Other options are; drill a 1" hole in a 1x5 board and cover the back side with masking tape, shoot through the hole without hitting the sides of the hole, shooting the flame out of a candle without hitting the candle and charcoal briquettes or eggs hung by a string in the shade........robin :hmm:
 
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For longer distances I have a plywood deer with a circle cutout where the heart would be...a clay pigeon slips in from behind. you have to shoot the clay bird without hitting the deer.


A running deer target is also fun....we had one that ran on train tracks and one that was suspended from a cable and powered by a bicycle
 
On our woods walk we sometimes shoot potatoes hung from strings or carrots. Very challenging at 25-30 yards off-hand. We also shoot necco wafers or ritz crackers. Tongue depressors make great targets stuck in a log or sometimes we shoot loli-pops. The guys like to bust things or hear a clang when they shoot. Lots of fun, and the targets are bio-degradable.
 
I like the biodegradable part....I hate guys that leave trash on the range. I don't even like plastic wads. Every time I walk back and forth to the target I gather a hand full of trash... :shake:
 
Cut Throat cards;
It's kind of an elimination shoot.
Give each shooter 4 cards,,
1 guy gets all the 2's another gets all the 3's, another all the 4's,,, etc.
Staple all the cards face up on a back board at 20-25yrds;
Everybody gets two shots;
Go down and remove all cards that are shot.
When all 4 cards of a shooter are off the board, that shooter is out.
Repeat, everybody gets two shot's.
Remove all shot cards.
Continue until there's only one card and one winner.
You can run it two ways; Blind, each shooters card numbers are secret, names kept on a sheet that only you see.
Or, make the sign up sheet public so everyone knows who has what number, it can get dirty as people gang up on one guy or another.

Get a 16-20" piece of card board, cut a nice 4" circle in it,, mount it on a stake suitable for pounding in the ground. Pound that stake in the ground so the 4" circle is 30-32" off the ground at 10yrds,, now at 50 or 100yrds put a target at the same height that can be seen through that 4" hole.
The idea is they have to crouch down and shoot the target through that 4" circle.

Turtle shoot;
Mount a 2x4 horizontally around 25yrds (wide part flat) shoulder high. Lay a clay pigeon flat on top of the 2x4.
Have'm knock the flat clay pigeon off the 2x4 without hitting the wood, if you hit the wood your out.

Are they doing a candle shoot?
 
If ya have a Dollar store close by, they have great things to shoot at. Depending on the holiday that is close, you can find some really fun things....wit Easter coming up, go get a bunch of plastic eggs, fill with water, put at string in them and hang under your target butts....there are a lot of great decorations that can be used, especially around Xmas time....you can also get some peeps and string them up....and the best part about it, is your only spending a few dollars at most!
 
Just about anything that will hang from a string will make a good target. I like flour filled balloons,water filled balloons, suckers, wooden matches stuck in a board, popcicle sticks, crossed strings, golf balls on Ts(see how far you can drive them ), The list goes on and on. :idunno:
 
Wow, some really great ideas. I'm sure I will use at least one or two on the upcoming shoot. Also, all the great ideas has triggered my own imagination and I'll be watching for more ideas. Thanks guys
 
Donny said:
For new guys, why not the "ugly face" targets they sell. (terrorists?) thugs. Shoot N See.
I do not know the actual name but I have seen the at gun shops.

I never liked novelty shoots.


Personally, I have issues with shooting at targets with pictures of people on them. I am conditioned to never point a gun at people unless there is a serious reason to do so. I just runs against my grain. A club I used to belong to often had centerfold pictures from Playboy magazine. That struck me as very distasteful :barf: and I would never shoot them.
BTW, novelty targets and shoots are fun and good practice.
 
Rifleman 1776 said:
Personally, I have issues with shooting at targets with pictures of people on them. I am conditioned to never point a gun at people unless there is a serious reason to do so. I just runs against my grain.

Agreed!......... :applause:
 
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