Favorite Reactive Target

[ShootnStr8]

Gang,

I was wondering what your favorite reactive target is when it comes to handgun shooting.  I was first thinking of things such as cans and jugs full of water.  But then I got thinking that groundhogs might be considered biodegradable, self-erecting targets that are certainly reactive. So I guess I will go with the groundhogs that I shoot with a Contender in a 7-30 Waters using a 100 grain Hornady.  So what are your favorites and what kind of handgun do you use?

Blessings!

ShootnStr8

[KN]

Flies or butterflies if they will land on your target. There seems to be a small window durring the year that they invade the local range.

[crawfish]

I have lots depending on what I'm shooting. Charcoal briquettes, ice cubes, balloons, 20oz soda bottles filled with water, dueling post (usually my youngest son and I), and the most reactive of all the Bullz-I exploding target. I have some left which can't be replaced because BATF has run the company out of business. :cry:

[Lloyd Smale]

deer :-D

[Savage]

Love shooting steel! From pepper poppers to plates, love the audible and visual feedback! Shoot um with everything from rimfire to centerfire.
Stay Safe,
Savage

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Hmm,  pop cans and milk jugs are nice and easy to pick up afterwards.

Hanging steel gongs and bells are nice 'cause you don't have to re-set them.  I like the audible feed-back but they have to be far enough away.  Too close and the ring is lost in the gun's report.

I've taking favor to cinderblocks though.  Someone left one at the range and I put it up at 100 yards.  Nice visual cloud of smoke when you hit it.  If you aren't overgunned you can get several hits before re-setting or shattering it.  However the debris can fly back a good 25 yards - so this is not something for close-up fun.

Eggs are fun, apples too.

It kinda depends on the gun.   And egg shot with my .54 muzzle loader isn't much fun because it literally vanished without much trace.  Shoot and egg with a .22 HP and it's interesting.  Vise-versa with milk jugs.

[coltfan]

The problem with living in suburbia is that you have to go to the local gun clubs to shoot, and most clubs post a NRA paper target only rule. The club I have been considering re-joining, has a plinking range, but it’s only a 15 to 20 yard range. It’s OK for shooting 22’s, but I want to sharpen my long-range skills. I have always enjoyed groundhogs for that. In fact I prefer to use my deer hunting loads for this just so I can get accustomed to the trajectory and recoil of my hunting loads.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Uggh! Paper targets only?!

I understand the reasoning for cleaning up the range and all, but talk about discouraging people from enjoying the sport!

Sometimes I think ranges like that are the second worst thing to the shooting sports next to the bad press guns get.

I can honestly say I would not shoot if all I could do was shoot paper.

[msmith]

Paintballs with a .22 is kinda fun.

[Charlie Detroit]

Dragonflies, at close range, with the handgun loaded with shot. The most unpredictable target in the world...these guys can change direction on a dime and give a nickel back, they can suddenly stop in midair, and just as suddenly start up again. Drives ya nuts.

[Hcliff]

Iraqis, or  Osama Bin Lauden



Sorry could resist  

Hcliff

[Original Ken]

Our club also has a rule on NRA paper targets only on the indoor range.  The only exception is the outdoor range where we have a bowling pin area.  While they are fun to shoot they don't take the place of reactive targets.  I remember years ago (way to many years!!!) when my dad and I used to spend a Saturday afternnon sitting on top of a hill near a garbage dump waiting on the rats to come out.  Now those rats were reactive shooting!!!  Plink one and catch the others on the run.  I practice weekly on the range and it does get boring just shooting holes in paper.  Would much rather skip cans and shooting paintballs sounds fun.  Problem is that the places near where I live have all but disappeared and you just can't find the open territory to do those things in anymore.  Oh well, I guess that is the price we pay for urban development.  

[Questor]

I think today's politically correct answer would be "Iraqi soldiers".

[volshooter]

I use short pcs of PVC pipe (from jobsites) They bust like glass when hit. Don't use them if you have to clean up your shooting hole cause they shatter alot.
Rick

[MS Hitman]

five gallon buckets filed with diesel fuel and fertilizer.  just kidding

[Savage]

We know who you are!!

Just kidding!!

[Gatofeo]

Gentlemen:
Please don't shoot butterflies or dragonflies. They are extremely beneficial insects.
Butterflies help the pollination of some plants. Dragonflies eat thousands of mosquitoes.
But wasps and yellow jackets ... FAIR GAME!
Hate the stinging devils. When I lived in Seattle, I used to sit on my back deck and wait for a fat yellowjacket to land on a big blackberry leaf.
A good, yellow target against dark green just waiting to be plinked with a BB rifle.
I often missed, noted the hole on the leaf, and took Kentucky Windage to splat the yellow bugger. The impact of a BB next to them never seemed to bother the little stinging critter.
Those were great days: sit on deck, drink a cold brew, nibble on some chips and splat yellowjackets in the blackberry patch ... ahhhhhhhh

[williamlayton]

i am very fond of turtles, snakes,frogs,armidillos,nutra,floating sticks,rats,carp,possums, anything that floats down river :grin:
blessings

[Bob/FLA]

Try small baggies of flour tied on a string, about 1 tablespoon.  A direct hit is eventful!  It also swings in any wind and offers a challenging, inantimate object to sharpen our skills.  I would find it hard to explain to my young son why I was killing butterflies for my entertainment.