A Day To Fire A Shot

[JimT]

Everyone needs a day to go shoot something. A tin can. A paper target. A plastic bottle of water. Someone gave us some kind of sparkling water in pop cans. I took the grandsons and using the .22 air rifle, we shook up the cans and then shot them. They gave very satisfying explosions!

Go shoot something! Something fun.

If you don't live where you can, at least think about moving to where you can!

I know ... I know ... responsibilities ... family ... but you can work something out at least once in awhile.

Make a day to go fire a shot. A fun shot.

[Drawdown]

I do this a lot from after deer season thru June. Last thing I need to do with either my 30-30's is shoot groups from a rest! But I start scouting-roaming woods by December, and continue until the heat of summer=rattlesnakes! Ill take a rifle, do lotta walking with a light backpack loaded with little grub & drinks. Most always take a couple of 12" cardboard disc, with a 6" white center. Somewhere often, I'll lean the disc's against a tree, take longer hunting type shots. Sitting, standing leaning against a tree or lay down, or offhand. Just a shot or two, often across back of a hollow in open woods, etc! Best practice and confidence for myself with that days rifle! But often, I take a milkjug or two on my 4w, set them close to 4w somewhere for a safe fun shot on my way back. Im usually shooting these at 60-100yds, tired & breathing hard. Sometimes I take a Boltaction 270Win or 30-06, but I usually have the scope removed by QD Rings, take same type shots with iron sights! Those when I make a really good shot, I bring jug back, cut out the major center area, right down the date and circumstances, hang em in my man room. Keepsakes for reminders of a good day, and good results! I know where im gonna deer hunt this fall, by what ive scouted the prior winter-spring! Enjoy all this more than the actual hunting!
Most the coyotes ive killed, is this time of year, and have called several in with turkey calls. Yotes on the hunt in spring after the turkeys! I do a lotta sitting n watching when leaves are still off, woods open!

[Ray]

Way, way back in the day, a famous gunwriter (the subject was suppressed ruger self-loading pistols) instructed that the best reactive targets were pingpong balls. Then about 15 years later.....in the same glossy periodical, a former texican high-sheriff wrote that common compressed charcoal briquettes were the bees knees.

I'm of the opinion that both suggestions most probably netted many more near misses than square hits.

[Ysabel Kid]

Great advice, Jim. I'm afraid after how the last two days of work have been, I would have been too tempted to shoot somebody!

[AJMD429]

.
Having no neighbors close by to complain other than my daughter, who likes to shoot too, I set up a gong near where I park in the driveway so that I can develop the habit every day of shooting one shot at that gong from my carry pistol upon arriving home. I suppose I could do it when I leave in the morning for work but that might be a little disturbing, even to my daughter. She might assume something was going on that shouldn't be.

It seems simple, but it is VERY different to draw and shoot when you've got your winter coat on and a computer bag slung over one shoulder and your coffee mug in one hand, versus just doing the Weaver stance at the range. I recommend practicing the way you might be when out-and-about, even if you just have a bag of groceries in one hand.

(If I'm in a risky place like one of my old offices, I'll get the gun in-hand, with finger behind the trigger - one reason I like the DA/SA pistols - and have it under whatever I'm carrying, or sometimes just in-hand but close to the body, when heading to a questionable parking-lot. It is also good to remember that unlike in the movies, in the real world, there isn't any 'scary music' just before you get jumped, so you have to be at least somewhat ready even when you are NOT in a 'risky place'.)

[marlinman93]

The gun club I belong to wont allow any foreign materials or objects to be used as targets, even if you clean up afterwards. It's paper targets only here. I still enjoy punching holes in tiny groups though, and use all the various ranges at one time or another.

[Griff]

The gun club I belong to wont allow any foreign materials or objects to be used as targets, even if you clean up afterwards. It's paper targets only here. I still enjoy punching holes in tiny groups though, and use all the various ranges at one time or another.

Ours also. I can remember visiting a couple of non-supervised public shooting areas in southern California... what slobs the public tends to be.

[marlinman93]

The gun club I belong to wont allow any foreign materials or objects to be used as targets, even if you clean up afterwards. It's paper targets only here. I still enjoy punching holes in tiny groups though, and use all the various ranges at one time or another.

Ours also. I can remember visiting a couple of non-supervised public shooting areas in southern California... what slobs the public tends to be.

Yes, there's a good reason not to allow anything but paper targets. Our beautiful range might look like a trash dump site.
I work at the club every Tuesday and even with strict rules we still spend a lot of time repairing damage.

[GunnyMack]

Im gonna fire a few tomorrow, pheasants and chukar for Sage to find and my Parker 20ga to seal the deal!

[JimT]

Where I shoot we are allowed to shoot clay pigeons on the bank .. behind the target stands. Nothing else. I find that for my grandsons, they put up with me pressing them about shooting targets and doing well for the fun of shooting clay pigeons afterwards. I sorta feel the same way myself.

[BobM]

The gun club is less than 15 minutes from home. Weather permitting I try to go weekly even just for a short session. I did make it out late this afternoon and shot my carry guns

[JimT]

The gun club is less than 15 minutes from home. Weather permitting I try to go weekly even just for a short session. I did make it out late this afternoon and shot my carry guns

Excellent! I got out myself for an hour this morning.

[Lastmohecken]

I am very blessed to have my farm where I can shoot anytime and can find about any distance I want to shoot. I have a gong up at about 80 yards from my yard fence, but I can still back up from there.

I have no excuse, to not have built a good shooting bench many years ago, and I think I am going to, this year. In the past, I always just throwed some sandbags on the hood of my old jeep and later on my side by side, or pickup tool box, etc. I have various target holders scattered around that I can place wherever I need. But I just made a handy target holder out of a large stump. I had this big oak tree that died out in my field, so I cut it down for firewood, and left the stump about 3ft tall or so. I then took my chainsaw and cut a vertical slot in the top of the stump about 4 inches deep. I have a lot of cardboard IPSC targets, so I just grab a cardboard target and stick one end in the slot. The stump hold the target for me. This gives me a 50 plus yard target from one of gates, where I can take a rest as needed. I just installed a Skinner barrel mount peep sight on my old pre-64 30/30 yesterday and sighted it in for about an inch high at 50 yards. I need to sight it in farther but that was a quick zero, and worked just fine.