Author Topic: What's your favorite way to practice shooting? (Read 7505 times))

stonykill · « **on:** February 17, 2014, 07:17:08 PM »

Mine is stump shooting. I have the attention span of a flea. So shooting paper bores me. I stump shoot the way I do with archery. Locate a target at an unknown distance and shoot it. Or shoot at it until I hit it. Random thing. Actual rotten stumps, fallen hickory nuts, a dead leaf, random tin cans I have set around etc. I know I'm lucky enough to live in the sticks and have the land to do this.

Today I shot at a frozen starling I killed 2 days ago and have been using as a decoy. Shot at it from all kinds of angles and distances. With 2 feet of snow on the ground my stump shooting is limited.

What is your favorite way?

pyroboy33 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 17, 2014, 07:35:14 PM »

Same here (kinda), I will go out to like 80-110 yards, chuck out a bunch of random fruit, small objects ect at random distances. Then set up in my typical hunting position (seated with simple shooting sticks) and use my lfr to range the targets, after that I will apply the appropriate holdover, dope for wind (if applicable) and let the rounds fly. It is really just a hunting simulation for me though as that is how most of my hunting is done....... practice how you play right

.

nced · « **Reply #2 on:** February 17, 2014, 07:39:41 PM »

Quote from: stonykill on February 17, 2014, 07:17:08 PM

Mine is stump shooting. I have the attention span of a flea. So shooting paper bores me. I stump shoot the way I do with archery. Locate a target at an unknown distance and shoot it. Or shoot at it until I hit it. Random thing. Actual rotten stumps, fallen hickory nuts, a dead leaf, random tin cans I have set around etc. I know I'm lucky enough to live in the sticks and have the land to do this.

Today I shot at a frozen starling I killed 2 days ago and have been using as a decoy. Shot at it from all kinds of angles and distances. With 2 feet of snow on the ground my stump shooting is limited.

What is your favorite way?

Home made paper targets upstairs at 18 yards and at my back yard practice range outdoors. Here's a pic of a target hanging in front of a Outers rimfire bullet trap with a couple shots at 18 yards........

Here's a pic of my 53 yard back yard practice range (most distance I can get between the logs and property lines).......
Entrance path to my back yard practice range........

Looking left from the entrance path........

Looking right from the entrance path.........

A couple years ago I had a "reptilian buddy" watch a whole shooting session from the top of the log back stop........

It didn't seem to be concerned about the shooting so I moved up for a close up...........

That year whenever I was practising at my lane the lizard would appear and watch the show. I think that the smack of the pellets on the logs and the flying wood particles were the attraction.

AK73 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 17, 2014, 07:42:11 PM »

I like spinners, but sadly my only one is the Crosman Zombie target.

WNCmotard · « **Reply #4 on:** February 17, 2014, 07:50:04 PM »

I'm lucky to have some property to play on also. I have various things, but lately I've been shooting more paper to try and hone my accuracy and work on my hold with the air rifles. I also have spinners, stumps, leaves, 20oz bottles thrown around here and there, and as soon as it warms up I'll go around and re-tie some random stuff hanging off fishing line from the trees. What I really need is a rangefinder.............and a chrony, and a shoebox compressor, and.......

Something a friend and I used to do with the 10/22's and Ruger MKII's was pour out some coca cola on the ground and let it sit for a few hours until there was a good swarm of flies and bees, and see who could bust 'em.

Chako · « **Reply #5 on:** February 17, 2014, 07:55:13 PM »

Quote from: WNCmotard on February 17, 2014, 07:50:04 PM

I'm lucky to have some property to play on also. I have various things, but lately I've been shooting more paper to try and hone my accuracy and work on my hold with the air rifles. I also have spinners, stumps, leaves, 20oz bottles thrown around here and there, and as soon as it warms up I'll go around and re-tie some random stuff hanging off fishing line from the trees. What I really need is a rangefinder.............and a chrony, and a shoebox compressor, and.......

Something a friend and I used to do with the 10/22's and Ruger MKII's was pour out some coca cola on the ground and let it sit for a few hours until there was a good swarm of flies and bees, and see who could bust 'em.

Yeah, i got a long list too,
how far of a shot on the bees?

WNCmotard · « **Reply #6 on:** February 17, 2014, 07:59:10 PM »

Quote from: Chakolicous on February 17, 2014, 07:55:13 PM

Quote from: WNCmotard on February 17, 2014, 07:50:04 PM
I'm lucky to have some property to play on also. I have various things, but lately I've been shooting more paper to try and hone my accuracy and work on my hold with the air rifles. I also have spinners, stumps, leaves, 20oz bottles thrown around here and there, and as soon as it warms up I'll go around and re-tie some random stuff hanging off fishing line from the trees. What I really need is a rangefinder.............and a chrony, and a shoebox compressor, and.......

Something a friend and I used to do with the 10/22's and Ruger MKII's was pour out some coca cola on the ground and let it sit for a few hours until there was a good swarm of flies and bees, and see who could bust 'em.
Yeah, i got a long list too,
how far of a shot on the bees?

Depends on how big a bee honestly. Bumbles you could get some pretty long shots with the rifles, probably 30 or 40yds, we never really measured. With the pistols it was close in work, maybe 10yds or so. You missed a lot, but it was still good fun.

Ginuwine · « **Reply #7 on:** February 17, 2014, 08:02:00 PM »

Sad to say I've only got 20 yards to play with in my backyard so I punch a lot of paper and have a quad spinner I just ordered to mess around with. I do some plinking shooting at tooth picks, thumb tacks, tic tac, anything small to keep my skills up. Figure at close range you should make you're targets small as possible to compensate for the lack of distance. Sure do wish I had some open space. Funny being up here in the High Desert there is a lot of space, its just a matter of finding out what and where is legal.

pyroboy33 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 17, 2014, 08:14:53 PM »

Quote from: Ginuwine on February 17, 2014, 08:02:00 PM

Sad to say I've only got 20 yards to play with in my backyard so I punch a lot of paper and have a quad spinner I just ordered to mess around with. I do some plinking shooting at tooth picks, thumb tacks, tic tac, anything small to keep my skills up. Figure at close range you should make you're targets small as possible to compensate for the lack of distance. Sure do wish I had some open space. Funny being up here in the High Desert there is a lot of space, its just a matter of finding out what and where is legal.

Where are you at in the high desert, I moved from Anza about 2 years ago.

nced · « **Reply #9 on:** February 17, 2014, 08:23:31 PM »

Quote from: WNCmotard on February 17, 2014, 07:50:04 PM

I'm lucky to have some property to play on also. I have various things, but lately I've been shooting more paper to try and hone my accuracy and work on my hold with the air rifles. I also have spinners, stumps, leaves, 20oz bottles thrown around here and there, and as soon as it warms up I'll go around and re-tie some random stuff hanging off fishing line from the trees. What I really need is a rangefinder.............and a chrony, and a shoebox compressor, and.......

Something a friend and I used to do with the 10/22's and Ruger MKII's was pour out some coca cola on the ground and let it sit for a few hours until there was a good swarm of flies and bees, and see who could bust 'em.

OOooooooo bug bustin! My absolute favorite when they land on my targets...........

WNCmotard · « **Reply #10 on:** February 17, 2014, 08:36:51 PM »

Ha ha, glad to see I'm not the only one. Nice shooting nced!

amb5500c · « **Reply #11 on:** February 17, 2014, 09:01:43 PM »

Squirrels and other edibles.
Richard

45Bravo · « **Reply #12 on:** February 17, 2014, 11:39:22 PM »

We play a game of follow the leader.
We set out random targets at random distances out to about 50 yards.
(Shotgun shells and ping pong balls are favorites)
I shoot one, when it lands you have to shoot it, then I shoot it, then you shoot it , until it is out of sight or range, then we start over again.

Sometimes we set out steel cased .40 or 9mm shells at unknown distances.
We call this shooting range trash..

I started shooting competitively in the mid 80's, and still shoot some matches.

I learned precision paper punching in Colorado Springs at the Olympic training center.
(Powder burners and air guns)
(They have a club you can join and shoot with some really great people, and it puts you in a place to compete against world class shooters, and learn from them.
They are always willing to help you become a better shooter.

I found I really didn't enjoy paper punching, I really like reactive targets more than chasing dots..

That also puts you in touch with world class gunsmiths (and airgun smiths) that do the true magic that you would have to shoot to fully appreciate..

But it does come at a cost, and in that level of competition, price is no object..

That being said, there were some great deals on used guns that the shooters had "outgrown" as they advanced in their expertise..

Airguns I shoot for fun and just to keep my eye and finger in sync.

ANYTIME you spend behind the trigger with ANY weapon is good for you, as long as you Learn something every time you go out..

avator · « **Reply #13 on:** February 18, 2014, 12:10:31 AM »

until this past Sunday, I shot at stationary targets that I placed and various distances. The farmer behind my house has about 10 to 15 acres of pasture with pine trees and stumps and just random natural items. It's on a downhill grade from my back porch. On some of the barbed wire fencing he has hung 1 gallon bleach jugs to alert four wheelers to the fence being there. So, now I have pine cones, jugs and stumps to shoot at up to 100+ yds away. I elevated 3 mil dots and hit one of the jugs 3 times in a row. you can barely hear the pellet hit them. it's dark now or I would post some pics... I'll do that this weekend. What really amazed me was how long after the shot it took to hear the pellet hit the jug and see it wobble. This is great practice for determining elevation on the fly. Betty Lou thinks I should ask the farmer's permission to shoot his jugs. he already said I could shoot the squirrels and other vermin, I highly doubt he would mind a few 1/8" holes in his jugs. I'm not so sure the pellets don't just bounce off at that distance.

45Bravo · « **Reply #14 on:** February 18, 2014, 01:02:34 AM »

If you are shooting your dragon, depending on the power you are using, you very may well be making holes at 100 yards..

I would investigate first to see what damage you are causing, then talk to the farmer.

Yes it is neat to be thinking "darn I missed" then see the target wiggle and hear a thunk.

At 900fps it is ~1/3 of a second, it seems like an eternity through the scope after the trigger breaks.

When the wind is kicking up my favorite target is a stainless steel gong
It is actually a stainless outlet cover and is 4 3/4 inches wide.
It swings nicely, makes a audible tink, and was cheap.

My 2289 puts some nice dents in it at 50 yards.

The back side

AudiS4 · « **Reply #15 on:** February 18, 2014, 09:38:30 AM »

I love shooting paintballs. Both in the snow, on the ground or in the lake. Just throw out a handful and start splashing. Good fun and hard to hit.

WNCmotard · « **Reply #16 on:** February 18, 2014, 10:31:12 AM »

At the end of the day, whatever type of shooting I'm doing that day is my favorite, because I'm actually getting to get out and shoot. And that's why I got into air rifles, because I can still shoot affordably, and work on the fundamentals of shooting for hours on end for a few bucks. Looks like it's going to hover around 60 degrees here through next weekend, headed to the hardware store on lunch break to see what I can dig up, I really like that electrical plate idea!

WNCmotard · « **Reply #17 on:** February 18, 2014, 10:31:36 AM »

Quote from: WNCmotard on February 18, 2014, 10:31:12 AM

At the end of the day, whatever type of shooting I'm doing that day is my favorite, because I'm actually getting to get outside and get in some trigger time. And that's why I got into air rifles, because I can still shoot affordably, and work on the fundamentals of shooting for hours on end for a few bucks. Looks like it's going to hover around 60 degrees here through next weekend, headed to the hardware store on lunch break to see what I can dig up, I really like that electrical plate idea!

WNCmotard · « **Reply #18 on:** February 18, 2014, 10:32:39 AM »

Quote from: WNCmotard on February 18, 2014, 10:31:36 AM

Quote from: WNCmotard on February 18, 2014, 10:31:12 AM
At the end of the day, whatever type of shooting I'm doing that day is my favorite, because I'm actually getting to get outside and get in some trigger time. And that's why I got into air rifles, because I can still shoot affordably, and work on the fundamentals of shooting for hours on end for a few bucks. Looks like it's going to hover around 60 degrees here through next weekend, headed to the hardware store on lunch break to see what I can dig up, I really like that electrical plate idea!

Apparently I can't delete my own posts, and all the buttons here are different from any forum I'm on elsewhere. Sorry about the mess.

palonej · « **Reply #19 on:** February 18, 2014, 12:34:30 PM »

BEES!!!
My nephew and I set up a couple of paper targets and pin apple halves to them!!
Two grown men giggling like loons!!!
This splat at 30 yards with HW 98!!
Challenging, and more importantly, FUN!!

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What's your favorite way to practice shooting?

Author Topic: What's your favorite way to practice shooting? (Read 7505 times))