fun targets for range

[montveil]

I'm teaching some teenagers marksmanship and would like to find various fun targets I could make.
Gongs, things that go bang,clang, fall down,  uses for clay pigeons, etc. You get the idea.

if anyone has any suggestions they would be appreciated. I have a welder and woodworking tools

[nilescoyote]

Well its not steel but eggs work great and there bio degradable. As for steel, dueling posts are fun. I have one that the plates are around 3-4 inches, and another set of swingers that are 3 inch squares. both are great for long range practice with rifles or closer for handguns...

[Oldtimer]

I have used things like water-filled balloons tied on strings, all connected by one long cord, so a pull on the long cord would get them all moving.  If the strings are different lengths or the ballonon are filled with different amounts of water, they move at different rates.  I was able to teach a girl who was a friend of my daughters to hit moving targets in one session. She is now a police cadet and scores quite well on the range.  We have also used blown up balloons placed in a basket on a windy day, then tipped over.  This is an especially good activity if there is snow on the ground, as you can see where your bullet is hitting, and the balloons bounce, so you really have to concentrate.

[Kurt L]

I don't go to a range but: we target shoot at the woods from one of our deer blinds.
in the fall we like to use apples we pick up from peoples trees that give them to us to pick them up
we also use sugar beets then the deer eat them also so we have no clean up.

[Doug K.A.]

Well anything that explodes is fun. Apples, tomatos, oranges, pumpkins. Empty soda cans filled with water are also fun to shoot.

[jmichna]

Large pieces of chalk puff up some dust when hit. Golf balls are pretty good; they shoot off in unpredictable directions when hit.  As others mentioned... eggs, small water balloons, fruit... potatoes are good too.  Walnuts in the shell... fruit, veggies and nuts that the local critters can use once you are done with 'em.

[bscman]

Milk jugs full of ice (fill 'em with water and freeze 'em). They last a while and will catch 22lr bullets for quite a while.

Pop cans full of "spray foam insulation" are great as well. They last longer than popcans full of water...can be messy to clean up, though.

Spinner targets are cheap to buy---$20 or so at most sporting good stores.
You can make your own falling plates with some steel plate. I like to use an angle-iron base and attach it to a saw horse.

Clay pigeons on dirt banks work well. Reactive (you KNOW when you hit 'em), cheap, etc.

Empty shotgun hulls lined up on a board/stump/bank is always good (cheap, easy to find).

I know of a few people who hang golf balls and ping pong balls from trees (eye-bolts and fishing line)...though golf balls can cause some strange ricochets so be careful.

Paintballs are harder to hit, but quite reactive as well--and non toxic.

[Bubber]

Charcoal briquettes puff off very satisfyingly and no cleanup

[ironglow]

  When my grand kids want to shoot and I want biodegradable, so I can leave them in the woods..here's what I use..

   Necco wafers  ....bust nicely

  Animal crackers  ....add that "big game" pretending..

    My grandaughter enjoys especially, the Necco wafers..she likes the pastel colors..My 3 grandsons are grown now and are all good marksmen...the eldest being a Marine that always qualifies expert and was his unit's designated sniper for his two deployments to Iraq..so those targets pay...

[mcwoodduck]

I use baking potatoes.
When you hit them they explode in a white ball.  If you just chip off parts they still are targets.
They are bio degradable, cheap, and you can replenish targets by tossing out a few with out going down range.
They also do not leave a mess like the clay pigeons. You can also cut clothes hangers and stick the potatoes on them and into the ground.  the same small rods work for holding shotshells as your kids get better.  A 22Lr hollow point gives the most spectacular results when hit.
At my range we call the potatoes Simu squirrels.
I know it was not the answer you were looking for but hope it was helpful.

[montveil]

>>>As for steel, dueling posts are fun.<<<

I looked up the dueling posts and they look interesting.

How are they used? what games do you play with them

Thanks for the info

[mcwoodduck]

A dueling tree is used  to determine speed and accuracy.
half of the flags are placed on one side and half on the other.
A word is said and two people shoot the winner is the one who puts all the flags on the others side.
We do it from the draw with handguns.

[bscman]

Dueling tree's are more for handguns, but can be used with rifles.

Most are a simple post with three steel plates on each side. When hit, they fold back "out of sight."
The winner is the person who can put away all three steel plates on their side of the tree. Most of a seventh steel plate on top that will resent the target when hit....so you don't have to keep walking back to the target.

There are several "falling plate" and "spinner" type targets of similar fashion. Most mail-order sporting catalogs will have a few to choose from. Most larger sporting good stores have some as well.

[Victor3]

 I made a bell out of 1/2 of an old steel scuba tank (about any steel tank could be used). I welded a 1" rod into the hole where the valve went and fabricated a small tripod that it fits onto. Makes a nice sound. Just have to make sure nobody shooting with you decides to blast it with a 308 like happened to mine.

 Red bricks give off a nicely colored poof of dust when hit.

 If you use CO2 airguns, dead 12 gram bulbs make good reactive targets.

[Gdbyrd]

Personally, I buy little construction guys(Like the green army men, but these are bright yellow) and toss out handfuls and shoot them with pistols.  When they get hit, they are so light they usually get tossed back a good ways.  So you just kinda follow them and shoot them where they lay.  Recently I've been shooting golf tee's.  This is A LOT of fun, but also very challenging.  Go put 10-15 out about 10 or so yards away.  You have to split them in half to get it to count..if you shoot low and knock it out of the ground it doesn't count.

Only downside is a lot of pickup, but it's well worth it.

For rifles, I usually just punch paper.

[monkey]

Hey there,

I was sighting my rifle in at my in-law's property this weekend after putting a new scope on it and was looking around for things to shoot. He had pulled out a tomato plant and there were a few lying around the place. When you hit them they really go pop. I have also shot an orange and that was really cool to. Only thing is , although they are biodegradable they still make a mess if you shoot a few.

Something real cheap is just simple clumps of dirt, they come in all sizes and dont make a mess. if they are dry they explode in a puff of dust and if you start off with a big clump it breaks down into smaller ones that can be used as they start getting the hang of it. I tough my cousin on these out the back of his farm, and he loved it.

I have also taught a friend that bought a .22 with small palm sized water balloons. We blew them up and stapled the necks to a board and then shot at them.

Hope that helps - but really enjoyed the fruit - anything really juicy hydros and just explodes.

[Ladobe]

Way back when I was a scout master and prepping the scouts for Hunter's safety, I used Necco waffers and for the shoot offs aspirin tablets.   Highest score (or winner of a shoot off) got to shoot whatever hunting rifle I'd brought along on that outing - at a mellon sat out at 100-300 yards depending on rifle (50 yards for traditional muzzle loaders).   Seems like the lads tried the hardest to win with the rimfires the bigger the boomer I brought along for the winner to shoot.   (243 Win to 458 WM; 45 to 54 ML)

[Slowhanddd]

Here's something I made for paint balls.Golf tee are spaced about 2 1/2"apart.They made great targets for 17's and 22's.Slow