Redneck reactive drills.

Seems every video on youtube involving shooting a pistol involves steel reactive targets at 5 or 7 yards, along with a heavy metal music score.

I don't have any metal reactive targets, but figured I should still practice multiple targets at 7 yards.

Then I remembered all the fun I used to have in my younger days shooting at soda cans. So I saved up some empties and headed to the range. I clearly need more practice, and you can hit them and not knock them down when the bullet goes right through, but, I forgot how fun it was to make the cans dance.

Hoping the ammo drought ends soon since I need to do this much more often.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on5Opguh7NE

Ha!

I don't shoot steel closer than 10 yards, any closer and there is a greater risk of getting fragged. If you ever have to remove a fragment from your hide you will understand.

We shoot a lot of shotgun shells and shotgun wads @ 50ft. Very entertaining!!!

If you want a good accuracy drill, and you have a place where you won't get ricochets shooting at the ground, use a ruined shot shell, or a bottle cap. Start within a couple of yard, and bounce that sucker out to where you can't hit it (or hit close enough to still move it) anymore. Do not use the sights. Point and shoot.

Bill

Try a golf ball. But if you hit it square it can disapear so you better have a few. Really fun with a 22.

Lot's of games to play to improve shooting skills...all of them more fun than shooting bullseyes.

Back up to 10 yards where you are a little safer & add a timer to really put the pressure on...if that's not enough..."save a hostage"...

https://i.imgur.com/X18LNmD.jpg

Double tap the perp in the midsection and then one to the noggin...

https://i.imgur.com/C2xKxtw.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/tASS8VJ.jpg

Careful though..."You can go from a Hero to a Zero in just one little shot!"

https://i.imgur.com/QZrWf2Z.jpg

7 yards is a good defensive training range if you have a safe background. Try adding movement and vary the distances by several yards. The biggest plus is remembering that the average time spent watching a Youtube video is 3 1/2 minutes no matter how long it drags on past that.

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Originally Posted by MT Gianni

7 yards is a good defensive training range if you have a safe background. Try adding movement and vary the distances by several yards. The biggest plus is remembering that the average time spent watching a Youtube video is 3 1/2 minutes no matter how long it drags on past that.

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That's a pretty good idea.
Make it a realistic self defense shoot...place a 55 gal. barrel behind & to one side by a couple or three yards...start your shots in front and continue as you are backing to cover.
Bet'cha that'll be a good challenge.

Would filling the soda cans with faucet water improve their reactivity? If they are filled with liquid, they would be more likely to be thrown around when hit. It would make more mess, but it's better than leaving them with all of their tasty soda still inside...

I was just going to add that we used to fill cans with dirt, gravel or sand.

Have you tried unopened soda's? They're a hoot! Just don't let the wife catch you

I like to Hang the cans from various lengths of twine, from a branch or a simple frame driven into the ground. I use old soup cans, they dont get shredded as fast. And their weight keep them swining longer. I like to hang ground pounder targets too.

By hanging them they dont need reset, but the more hits makes them harder to get.

As kids we grew potatoes, and some always got buggy. So we took a 2x2 stick and filled 2 sides with 2 or 3" finnish nails partially driven and stuck the potatoes on the nails. Solid hits they exploded, just off center would take chunks off. Sometimes we would drive the 2x2 in the ground, or lay it across buckets ect.

Different days were different games, such as more points to remove the whole spud in 1 shot, or 1 point per times you could hit the spud and it stay on the nail. Oh and dont hit the other guys spud... we had a blast, and new targets started growing on the range...they grew better there than in the garden...

If you really want to have some fun, set up a few aerosol paint cans. The ones that have set too long and the paint refuses to come out. They will put on quite a show, but don't get too close. You might get painted.

I am another that likes full soda cans. Water filled works too. I set them at 300 or 400yd for rifle shooting. Fun to see them explode. For closer ranges I get the chinese food type sauce containers (1000 or so in a bag). Fill with water and put on the berm at 100 or 200yd for cast bullet shooting with the rifle.

Same targets work for pistols at shorter ranges. But, I have several plastic hanging disks for that kind of stuff.

Went to the range today and shot some more cans. Filled them with water this time, and brought the 10mm. I shot a few with a 9mm and they blew up a little, leaving a golfball sized hole in them.

Then I tried the 10mm using mild plinking ammo and was amazed at the difference...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z9zbH_P4p8

For fun reactive targets that can absorb a lot of hits, try old baseballs. If you ever coached your kids in Little League, you may have a bucket of old baseballs that are all beat up sitting in the garage.
I took a bunch of those to the range and tossed them on the sand in front of the berm. They will absorb a ton of hits from a .22 or low velocity handguns and will bounce, jump, and spin when hit. When you start hitting baseballs with 5.56 or .308 they tend to disintegrate.

Coleman cylinders on a string at 25 yards make a great offhand pistol target at 25 yards.

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Originally Posted by Minerat

Try a golf ball. But if you hit it square it can disapear so you better have a few. Really fun with a 22.

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I'll second golf balls.... Chase them all over the pistol bays and are a real challenge at 300yds with the long guns. Hit in the dirt underneath and launch into low earth orbit.