Reactive targets

[abunaitoo]

Anyone have any idea on a matirial for swinging targets????
Has to be non-metal. Except for tin cans.
Must move when hit.
Can not have parts flying off.
Range would be 50yds and 100yds.

So far I've tried :
Cut out car tire.
Tin cans.
Plastic sign board.

Cans work good, but with high power sometimes they don't move when hit.

[Tom W.]

Cats?????
Never mind, I didn't see the part about must not have parts flying off....

Apples and potatoes do a good job, and eco friendly, too!

[pdawg_shooter]

In windy western Kansas, I have a lot of handgun fun with balloons. Turn them loose and let them get 25yds or so out before shooting. In a 20 or 30mph wind and bouncing across rough ground it can be real sporting!

[Trey45]

Drill a hole through used up golf balls and run para cord through it. Then hang them up and various heights off the ground. You can do the same thing with tennis balls. Spray paint comes in handy for these small targets, brite orange and red works really well.

[DLCTEX]

Tie the baloons on a short length of string, then tie that to a stick. in a mild wind there is enough challange for me at 25 yds. with a pistol. Or the longer ranges with a rifle.

[DragoonDrake]

pinpong balls suspended by a shop vac. I did not do this, but did shoot at them when I did archery. This could be just as much fun with a pistol and rifle.
Adam

[JDFuchs]

parts will fly off, but Ive always loved Ice blocks. It is far far more Eco friendly then vegetables which can last out there for months. They just don't last all that long. I want to do some experimentation with Pykrete this summer.

[1Shirt]

Plastic jugs of half gal to full gal size of the heavier weight plastic work well at all ranges for me. The white ones that bleach comes in are what I prefer.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[Old Ironsights]

Why must it be non metal?

I would have suggested Tires, but you did that. Maybe find some old tractor tires?

The problem with anything that can be penetrated is that if it is heavy enough to not be blown about it's often too heavy to move when a bullet passes through it.

A good quality Armorplate Swinger/Gong will NOT allow riccochets and will handle dang-near anything thrown at it. Mine will handle any non-ap/non FMJ Spire up to 3000fps at point of impact.

These guys make good stuff for good prices. http://metaltargets.com/

[AZ-Stew]

Try these: http://www.newboldtargets.com/shooting-range-pages/hangtuff-targets-for-ranges.htm

They're less expensive through Dillon Precision. When you consider the time you've spent trying to find something "cheap", these aren't very expensive.

They're made from a rubbery plastic material and will take hundreds of hits. The holes self-heal, so to speak, after the bullet passes through.

Regards,

Stew

[chickenstripe]

I stop by my local bowling alley and get old "worn out" bowling pins. They usually last for about 50-60rds of pistol ammo, and 20-30rds of rifle.

And you can usually get them for free. :drinks:

The plastic sheath keeps all of the hardwood inside, and makes them self healing to an extent.

[Old Ironsights]

You sill have Bowling alleys? I thought they were banned along with B/W-Analog TV...

(But I do agree. You can even tie them around the neck & hang them with 550 cord )

[mtnman31]

I am a big fan of ice as well. Fill a couple 2 liter soda bottles with water (and sometimes food coloring) and put em in the freezer the night before I go out. I still have to police up the bullet riddled bottles when I am done but the ice is always nice to see flying.

I use a couple of the newbold targets as well. I have a couple different sizes and they are great for pistol targets. They last a long time (I don't use full wad cutters on them) and are not too expensive. My only complaint is sometimes it is tough to see the larger ones move when I use the .22. And no, I never miss so they aren't moving because I am missing[smilie=1:

[tommag]

Neco wafers (candy, about 3/4") work nice if you want a small target. Cut a shallow groove in a 2x4 to set them in. Not swinging, but they break up nicely when they are hit.

[briang]

If you have a Trap/skeet/clay range nearby you may be able to walk the range (when no one is there) and pick up the larger pieces of broken clay. Some times even whole clays, I've gone shooting they day after a club shoot and come home with more clays than I left with.

[1Shirt]

I used Neco wafers as a kid with a bb gun at maybe 15 ft, and then later with a scoped 22 up to 25 yds. Good for teaching kids.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[madcaster]

Neco wafers (candy, about 3/4") work nice if you want a small target. Cut a shallow groove in a 2x4 to set them in. Not swinging, but they break up nicely when they are hit.

Dang!You stole my thunder-I wuz about to suggest that as well![smilie=1::)Good thinking!

[corvette8n]

charcoal briquettes

[diehard]

+1 on the bowling pins! Fun to rack 'em and whack'em. I have a few I drilled at the top to allow a piece of rebar to fit through ( you can use any metal rod), which I then bent into a frame that can easily be pounded into into the ground. When hit, the pins swing like a pendulum. Fun stuff.

I found I can shoot most calibers dozens and dozens and dozens of times. .460 Weatherby, and 12 gauge slugs usually end the fun with one shot!:-D

[Crash_Corrigan]

Bowling pins. Drill a hole in the top of the neck downwards and screw in a eyebolt. Tie with wire to a horizontal piece of 2 x 4 or whatever and have at it.

Seven in a row with a .45 1911 on seven different pins and get them all swinging with one magazine. That is a good reactive target. Use LRN and they will last for many shooting sessions. The SWC chop 'em up too fast.

[The Double D]

Becareful with low velocity rounds and rubber Tires at short range. At 25 yards, a 38 cal wadcutter will leave a bruise on your thigh larger than a silver dollar that takes 4 to 6 weeks to go away..you may not ask.

[OldBob]

Yep another vote for bowling pins, we drill them and stick in an eyebolt, hang them with a chain "quicklink" . Its interesting to see the effect that different calibers have on them, some high speed stuff passes through blowing chunks out the back, a 45-70 really rocks them, often tearing them off the hanger. Christmas tree balls on a string are fun too, the wind will move them easily , only good for one hit though. I haven't tried it, but I think a high density polymer like they make cutting boards from would work well, it is "self healing" and should last quite a while.

[briang]

The centers of some bowling balls will last quite a while, there's one that's been laying out at 200 yards at my range for over a month. It's got more holes and pockmarks than the dictionary has words, but it's still mostly intact. And it'll spin and roll all over after a good hit. It's made out of some kind of hard foam, looks like the foam a nerf ball in made out of but hard and heavy.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Steel plates hung by chain , last a long time......T-1 plate if you can find some. East to paint, no mess to pick up.

[JIMinPHX]

Golf balls really take off flying when you hit them...even with a .22RF.

[stubshaft]

Nerf balls! Hang them by a string and if they are too light just soak them with water.

[armyrat1970]

Never tried it but after reading about the tennis balls I bet tennis balls filled with some paint injected with a syringe would make a nice splash when hit. Have used gallon jugs filled with water and they blow up pretty well with a 357Mag.

[mroliver77]

We have a creek running through the farm. Marshmallows floating downstream are a riot to shoot at with .22. Good practice for offhand. Everything else I shoot at is steel or alive.
Jay

[Farmall 1066]

Balloons filled with about 1tbsp of flour, then inflated. Makes "smoke" when hit.
A nerf footabll will soak up lots of punishment.

[Bladebu1]

for a 22 lr rifle use Paint balls sitting on top of golf tee's
that can be fun with a pice of whit board behind them

[abunaitoo]

Need to be non-metal. Range will not allow metal at 50yds for anything but .22. Except for tin cans.
Cannot break apart. Cannot make rubbish.
Needs to be at least 8" diameter. Using to practise snap shooting.

Tried a cut out tire hanging from a chain. Bullets went through it and it hardly moved. So far cans seem to work the best. Just that once shot up, need to get another can. Big cans not that easy to find.

[jhalcott]

Forgive me , BUT I have visions of Abunaitoo shooting at 50 GALLON plastic containers!

[briang]

I think you'll need to get something like this, only bigger.
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=553970

ETA Or maybe plastic cutting broads.