Author Topic: Tired of Shooting at Paper!  (Read 1507 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline gungoboom

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (2)
  • Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48
  • Gender: Male
Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« on: June 06, 2010, 08:35:03 AM »
I hope this is the right forum.  My question is where can I shoot without having to go to the local indoor range and shoot paper?  I am not a hunter but love to shoot anything and everything.  I live in southeastern Virginia and want a place to go plinking.  The most common answer is to ask someone who has a farm if you can use there property.  As I am relatively new to the area, I do not know anyone with farmland.  Can you go to the various Wildlife Management Areas and pick a chunk of this land to shoot on?
We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists. - Patrick Henry

Offline Foggy

  • Trade Count: (40)
  • A Real Regular
  • ****
  • Posts: 749
  • Gender: Male
  • If you die first we're going to split up your gear
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2010, 08:59:01 AM »
Find a local gun club with a range  the Department of natural resouces has a few ranges around  the Isaac Walton Leauge is another . No one I know will let you balst anything you want  not safe or good PR
Foggy
Walk softly carry a big stick and never walk away  T.R.

Offline jlchucker

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • A Real Regular
  • ****
  • Posts: 613
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #2 on: June 07, 2010, 04:11:02 AM »
What do you consider to be "anything and everything"?  Most property owners that I know aren't too fond of broken glass, shot-up tin cans, or other rubbish on their land. I agree with Foggy.  Gun owners and shooters, especially these days, have a PR responsibility.

Offline gungoboom

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (2)
  • Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #3 on: June 07, 2010, 06:51:18 AM »
I am sorry.  I should be more clear. 

First and foremost I want to pattern my shotgun which many ranges do not allow because of the shot spread.  Secondly I am not looking for WWIII, I would just like to find a little piece of the woods with a safe barrier so that I may plink.  I am very safe with every firearm and would take every precaution to shoot in a safe surroundings.  I may want to shoot at cans and such, however, as I do with camping, I would pack out any and all targets I brought in.

Thoughts?
We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists. - Patrick Henry

Offline jamaldog87

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1465
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #4 on: June 07, 2010, 12:49:28 PM »
I am sorry.  I should be more clear. 

First and foremost I want to pattern my shotgun which many ranges do not allow because of the shot spread.  Secondly I am not looking for WWIII, I would just like to find a little piece of the woods with a safe barrier so that I may plink.  I am very safe with every firearm and would take every precaution to shoot in a safe surroundings.  I may want to shoot at cans and such, however, as I do with camping, I would pack out any and all targets I brought in.

Thoughts?

well most outdoor ranges you can pattern a shotgun and do plinking. at least the ones here in my area you can. the Wyoming Antelope Club gun range is were one could do that.
Most Interesting Man in the World: I Don’t Always Watch Shows for Little Girls, but when I Do, I prefer My Little pony . stay magic my friends

Offline Rex in OTZ

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • A Real Regular
  • ****
  • Posts: 986
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2010, 11:50:44 AM »
I feel for you!
As a collage student we used to use the hall way in our appartment for a shooting range, couple yellow pages and some CB cap .22's we never missed at those close ranges and the noise wasnt bad if you used a long barreld 1950's era .22.
In door air rifle shooting is great as well, just crack a window open and run a fan if your worried about lead vapor.
You dont need wide open spaces to go shooting, when I lived in the city my friends used to go rat hunting with flashlights and air rifles in the industrial district at night. dodging the cops was 50% the fun.
back yard target shooting buy some them plastic animals and see if you can hit a 2" tall lion at 15' with your air rifle.
By some petstore mice & turn em loose in your living room and use your air gun you will learn to hit running targets fast.
BB abd CB .22's or air rifle in the back yard and shoot wafers off string, I found a 1980's era issue of American Rifleman that describes building a shooting box to help muffle gun shots in your back yard so as not to disturb your neighbors.
Air rifle is definately the way to go. if you have neighbors that plain dont understand and complain all the time  if cannot see you or hear you they can't complain so erect some tarp coverd panels to block sight of the fun if they dont choose to partake in the fun, we used old office divider basses and some 1/2" conduit scavanged from a construction site dumpster and blue tarp and mechanics wire.  
at 40yards Ive shot a chargeing bear target pulled by reved ATV in 3rd gear, nothing like shooting a moving target thats comeing at you at a fast rate!
I dont let my location deter me, I have a rubberband gun in my office, air rifle in my bed room, blow dart gun in the kitchen, sling shot in the garage, even a table top ropeing dummy so My family can team rope those table top steers, in the 1800's Folbert indoor firearms (parlor guns) were all the rage in Europe.

Offline RaySendero

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1064
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #6 on: June 22, 2010, 12:50:15 PM »
I hope this is the right forum.  My question is where can I shoot without having to go to the local indoor range and shoot paper?  I am not a hunter but love to shoot anything and everything.  I live in southeastern Virginia and want a place to go plinking.  The most common answer is to ask someone who has a farm if you can use there property.  As I am relatively new to the area, I do not know anyone with farmland.  Can you go to the various Wildlife Management Areas and pick a chunk of this land to shoot on?

Get you a bag of charcoal brickets - When hit,  They will explode into a vapor of black dust and don't leave any type of clean-up problem.
    Ray

Offline gungoboom

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (2)
  • Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #7 on: June 22, 2010, 01:36:31 PM »
I feel for you!
As a collage student we used to use the hall way in our appartment for a shooting range, couple yellow pages and some CB cap .22's we never missed at those close ranges and the noise wasnt bad if you used a long barreld 1950's era .22.
In door air rifle shooting is great as well, just crack a window open and run a fan if your worried about lead vapor.
You dont need wide open spaces to go shooting, when I lived in the city my friends used to go rat hunting with flashlights and air rifles in the industrial district at night. dodging the cops was 50% the fun.
back yard target shooting buy some them plastic animals and see if you can hit a 2" tall lion at 15' with your air rifle.
By some petstore mice & turn em loose in your living room and use your air gun you will learn to hit running targets fast.
BB abd CB .22's or air rifle in the back yard and shoot wafers off string, I found a 1980's era issue of American Rifleman that describes building a shooting box to help muffle gun shots in your back yard so as not to disturb your neighbors.
Air rifle is definately the way to go. if you have neighbors that plain dont understand and complain all the time  if cannot see you or hear you they can't complain so erect some tarp coverd panels to block sight of the fun if they dont choose to partake in the fun, we used old office divider basses and some 1/2" conduit scavanged from a construction site dumpster and blue tarp and mechanics wire.  
at 40yards Ive shot a chargeing bear target pulled by reved ATV in 3rd gear, nothing like shooting a moving target thats comeing at you at a fast rate!
I dont let my location deter me, I have a rubberband gun in my office, air rifle in my bed room, blow dart gun in the kitchen, sling shot in the garage, even a table top ropeing dummy so My family can team rope those table top steers, in the 1800's Folbert indoor firearms (parlor guns) were all the rage in Europe.

Everything you've mentioned sounds interesting.  Buuuuttttttt...I have done the pellet, BB, rubberband, and all that stuff.  That entertains me for a while but I just simply want a piece of rural land where I can set up some targets to shoot at with rimfire and centerfire handguns.  I see pictures of guys on this website shooting everything from 22 pistols to black powder cannons, out in the desert, on the plains and elsewhere.  I think I may be able to plink on someones farm in the near future which be a nice change.  Thanks for the feedback.
We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists. - Patrick Henry

Offline gungoboom

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (2)
  • Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #8 on: June 22, 2010, 01:37:22 PM »
Get you a bag of charcoal brickets - When hit,  They will explode into a vapor of black dust and don't leave any type of clean-up problem.
[/quote]

Now that sounds like a smashing idea.  Thank you.
We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists. - Patrick Henry

Offline jamaldog87

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1465
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #9 on: June 23, 2010, 05:53:00 AM »
I have a HK USP CO2 airgun. it feels the same as the real USP and it has a 22 round mag. it will shoot as fast as i can pull the trigger(DA only gun). it much fun and cans and there like. I shoot it inside all the time and use a old airsoft target for a target.

finding rural land where you  can set up some targets to shoot at with rimfire and centerfire handguns is very hard in most places. I live here in tarpon springs FL and i have to play "hide the gun" when i go to the woods to shoot my airguns.  I have on idea why if i am in  a sand pit (with tall tree everywhere) and there are no homes for 2 miles why people will call the cops on you(it's happen but in st.pete were i used to live) >:(  It just the times.  there area i go to there shot gun shells out there and a shot up 55gal oil drum.
Most Interesting Man in the World: I Don’t Always Watch Shows for Little Girls, but when I Do, I prefer My Little pony . stay magic my friends

Offline gungoboom

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (2)
  • Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #10 on: June 23, 2010, 07:29:47 AM »
I have a HK USP CO2 airgun. it feels the same as the real USP and it has a 22 round mag. it will shoot as fast as i can pull the trigger(DA only gun). it much fun and cans and there like. I shoot it inside all the time and use a old airsoft target for a target.

finding rural land where you  can set up some targets to shoot at with rimfire and centerfire handguns is very hard in most places. I live here in tarpon springs FL and i have to play "hide the gun" when i go to the woods to shoot my airguns.  I have on idea why if i am in  a sand pit (with tall tree everywhere) and there are no homes for 2 miles why people will call the cops on you(it's happen but in st.pete were i used to live) >:(  It just the times.  there area i go to there shot gun shells out there and a shot up 55gal oil drum.

I actually grew up in Queens, NY (NYC) where a BB gun was about all I could shoot.  Although as I got older I did have a NYC Pistol Permit which is not easy to get.  That however relegated me to shooting at mostly dingy indoor ranges, unless I went to Long Island to an outdoor facility.  I picked up Skeet Shooting and went out to Long Island more frequently to dust clay pigeons. 

That said, my family comes from Kansas and Oklahoma where I could find a pasture and blast away when I wanted to have some fun.  Now that I am no longer in the city and have heard many stories where people plink at a safe location in the woods, I want to enjoy a firearm the way it should be enjoyed.  That is why I am joining SASS to shoot at steel plates that talk back unlike paper.

That's my story and I'm stick'n to it.  Thanks for everyone's feedback.
We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists. - Patrick Henry

Offline Land_Owner

  • Global Moderator
  • Moderators
  • Trade Count: (31)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4524
    • Permission Granted - Land Owner
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #11 on: June 23, 2010, 08:21:44 AM »
Sounds like you need to invest in your own rural land.

Offline gungoboom

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (2)
  • Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #12 on: June 23, 2010, 10:25:08 AM »
Sounds like you need to invest in your own rural land.

WOW! - I gave you a good opening didn't I?
We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists. - Patrick Henry

Offline Hairtrigger

  • Trade Count: (10)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2010
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #13 on: June 23, 2010, 10:27:39 AM »
more fun than paper..eggs, those exploding targets or tannerite, bowling pins, shaving cream cans


the land thing I am not gonna be any help with

Offline Rex in OTZ

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • A Real Regular
  • ****
  • Posts: 986
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #14 on: June 23, 2010, 04:31:54 PM »
Problem with land in settled areas they still have taxes, then some have covenantces restricting land use and what may or may not be allowed, the lead cleanup issue is a biggie, lead now is getting more and more restricted some the new cars have non-lead and low lead wheel weights.

Ever try to get wheel weights from a tire shop or gas station?

Some day lead will be regulated like over the counter perscription drugs and asbestos.

RCRA, HAZWOPER, and SuperFund all come to mind.

Offline jamaldog87

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1465
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #15 on: June 25, 2010, 05:39:18 AM »
That said, my family comes from Kansas and Oklahoma where I could find a pasture and blast away when I wanted to have some fun.  Now that I am no longer in the city and have heard many stories where people plink at a safe location in the woods, I want to enjoy a firearm the way it should be enjoyed.  That is why I am joining SASS to shoot at steel plates that talk back unlike paper.

That's my story and I'm stick'n to it.  Thanks for everyone's feedback.
[/quote]

If the people are cool in your area you can let loose in the woods. When i was yonger and i like in Pineallas park which is right in the middle of 2 big citys. People used to do a lot of shooting(sounded like WW3 somedays) by the old rail road yard and there was no problems.  It just many areas you can shoot but people will call the cops even if you are in a very farm area.
Most Interesting Man in the World: I Don’t Always Watch Shows for Little Girls, but when I Do, I prefer My Little pony . stay magic my friends

Offline jamaldog87

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1465
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #16 on: June 25, 2010, 05:51:13 AM »
In predator extreme magazine they had a story about how when hunting how you have to be careful if you get near any homes or with in range were someone could hear the gun shots. the story the guys friend was hunting when someone called the cops and a driver saw him going into the woods with camo,gun and other hunting gear. When the cops came they did not beleave he was hunting(he show them his game and there stuff) and the friend did not really want to go hunting all that week.

there too many people that fear anyone you not like them or when they see guns they go all " he will kill us all".
Most Interesting Man in the World: I Don’t Always Watch Shows for Little Girls, but when I Do, I prefer My Little pony . stay magic my friends

Offline gungoboom

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (2)
  • Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #17 on: June 25, 2010, 06:24:30 AM »
I hear ya
We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists. - Patrick Henry

Offline Rock Home Isle

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • A Real Regular
  • ****
  • Posts: 902
  • This is Rock Home Isle
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #18 on: June 25, 2010, 02:09:02 PM »
I had this guy that wanted me to show him how to shoot his handgun. So I took him to my private range for a day of shooting. He couldn't believe that we could just go out go shooting...he really thought that we had to contact authorities to let them know that we were going to go shooting.
“Lost?? Hmmm... been fearsome confused for a month or two, but I ain't never been lost!”
Henry Frap the "Mountain Men"

“Ain't this somethin'? I told my pap and mam I was going to be a mountain man; acted like they was gut-shot. Mother Gue said to me; ‘Make your life go here, son. Here's where the people is. Them mountains is for Indians and wild men.’  "Mother Gue", I says "the Rocky Mountains is the marrow of the world," and by God, I was right. Keep your nose in the wind and your eye along the skyline.”
Del Gue in "Jeremiah Johnson"

Offline gungoboom

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (2)
  • Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #19 on: June 25, 2010, 05:01:55 PM »
I had this guy that wanted me to show him how to shoot his handgun. So I took him to my private range for a day of shooting. He couldn't believe that we could just go out go shooting...he really thought that we had to contact authorities to let them know that we were going to go shooting.

Now that's funny!!!!  Good story
We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists. - Patrick Henry

Offline boondocker

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Avid Poster
  • **
  • Posts: 108
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #20 on: August 09, 2010, 05:02:22 AM »
I like that I can plink in my back yard. I mostly shoot at the club I am treaserer for 460 members. We have BP shoots with woods walks and 23 steel
hangers. The range is paper only as we have to have a discipline with a shooting line. Sanctioned shoots we have reactive targets witch is fun.
The Game commission ranges around here have holes in everything , signs, garbage cans and crap lying everywhere. The few ruin it for many! >:(

Offline Dixie Dude

  • Trade Count: (6)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4129
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tired of Shooting at Paper!
« Reply #21 on: August 09, 2010, 05:36:22 AM »
If you can find a shotgun club, you can shoot skeet, sporting clays, trap, and 5 stand.  Skeet is the same distance 20 yards, but various angles.  Trap is and can be longer, depending on the type trap.  Most clubs have a pattern board for you to shoot paper to see how your gun patterns.  I had an IC factory choke on one of my shotguns that made a donut.  If I shot at a bird dead on, I could have missed.  My favorite chokes are Brileys.  Anyways, for rifle and pistol, most state game management areas have a shooting range that is open year round for a little fee.  But, most rifle/pistol ranges do not allow shotguns or trap machines due to cleaning up the broken birds.  Shotgun ranges do, but cost more to shoot.