111 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
111 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
Okay, how about some meat-and-potatos shooting topics, to supplement the
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political jabber (my fault). What are some unique ideas for plinking
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targets? Some of my favorites are:
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Rotten fruits and veggies: Because my wife shops on sale, we often end up
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with "buy one get one free" 10 lb bags of potatos, which sprout or go bad
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before we use them up. (Despite my obvious Irish heritage, or perhaps
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because of it, I'm not overly fond of potatos.) Similarly, when they are
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in season, we often end up with half-full bags of apples or oranges going
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bad before they can be dried or otherwise used. They tend to make good
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targets, however. Simply lug to your favorite shooting location (mine, on
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the farm, is a branch that has a nice straight piece for about forty
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meters). Pitch the rotting fruit out, reduce it to particles, and let the
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rodents clean up the mess. No walking back and forth, setting up targets
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or whatnot; just pitch a few of your favorite (or least favorite...I have
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taken aim at rotten broccoli) plantlife toward the target area. A good
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workout for both the marksmanship and pitching skills. Crumple up the
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empty bag and go home.
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I've used hedgeapple (Missouri Orange) also, which keeps the mesquitos
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away and makes a nice, grapefruit-sized, day-glo green target, but the
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cows usually get to them first. I've also been known, when desperate, to
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buy fresh cheap apples or potatos and shoot them up, but I prefer the
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rotten types because both it weighs less on my pocketbook (well, in my
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imagination...I've convinced myself that by shooting rotten vegitables,
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I'm saving money...go figure) and because the rotten kind tend to explode
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in smaller chunks, where as fresh veggies tend to split rather than
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vaporize.
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Balloons: Others seem to like these (filled with a little flour) and they
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are a challenging target, but they are a pain in the ass to blow up, and
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then you have to replace them every time you nail one. I prefer these for
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use with the Wrist Rocket.
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Cans: Cans are, of course, the perennial favorite of plinkers. Even a bag
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full of the f-i-l's used beer cans doesn't weight too much, and they are
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good for several shots. More fun is to fill them with water, set them out
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at 50-75-100 yards and shoot them with hollowpoints or Stingers. You
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might only nail one every other magazine (depending on range and ammo
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selection) but they are impressive. Most fun is to buy a case of the
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ultra-cheapo stuff from Aldi's and shoot at the pressurized cans from a
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distance of no less than 50 meters. Again, no guarentees of a one-shot,
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one-kill (at least, not with *my* 10/22, which is doing good to keep a 1"
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group at 25 yards) but it keeps the kill ratio down (thus holding down
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expenses) and makes an exceptional performance when hit. I don't imagine
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soda is particularly good for the surrouding plantlife, but in moderation
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I've seen no adverse affects. Usually I sit these up on a stump or cut
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log, or occasionally "saloon style", a 2x4 sitting between logs with the
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cans on a row. We've had informal competitions doing this, with big point
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loss for shooting the 2x4 and knocking off the cans.
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Wood blocks: a while back the f-i-l got a bunch of mill ends from the
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local mill to burn in the cast iron stove. Of course, they burn quick and
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without much heat (being yellow pine) so with permission, I made off with
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a bunch of 2x4 ends, which are fun for shooting. I've noticed other
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shooters using this type of target, too.
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For an improvised target stand, I'll take a (collapsed) cardboard box and
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some of those cheap pastie target stickers. When done, simply find
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a clearing and burn the box, targets, and all. (Not the gun, of course,
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and I always keep an eye on the fire until it burns down, then stomp it
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and cover it with dirt.)
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Bottles: Glass is a big no-no, of course, but one and two litre plastic
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bottles make good long-range targets for handgun or rifle.
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Tobacco and Coffee cans: I've never used these for a firearm, figuring
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them to be too valueable for that, but when I was a kid my dad and I used
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to use a tobacco can as a BB trap (leave the lid on and shoot through the
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top). This worked extremely well, even with our one-pump target guns.
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Things not to use: paint cans, glass bottles or windows (of course),
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aerosol cans, wrecked cars, dried hardwood, and gas cannisters.
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The last bears mention; a "safety expert" that spoke to my freshman
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chemisty class told an amusing, if stupid, anecdote about he and a friend
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took some unmarked gas cannisters out into a field and shot at them with a
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"high- powered rifle". The first one released a stream of chlorine gas.
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The second one exploded with a loud "Boom", and according to this "safety
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expert" he actually say a piece of shrapnel speed by him. (Yeah, sounds
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like BS to me too, but there you have it.) The third (do you get the idea
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that these folks were playing with something less than a full magazine?)
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went ballistic, flying up into the air, spinning around, bouncing against
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the ground a couple of times, and then striking the police car which came
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to investigate the green gas and explosion that was coming from the field.
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Needless to say, that was the end of his little "experiment". He paid
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damages, were fined for "disturbing the peace" and "reckless
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endangerment", and then, of course, went on to become an OSHA certified
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"safety expert". I don't know why I feel so scared...
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These are, of course, pretty common types of plinking targets? What do
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others like to use? Besides cats, I mean. (-:
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-------------------------Don't Tread On Me!----------------------------
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Shane C. Henry | Rule #76 of the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition:
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1022 Morrell St. | "Every once in a while, declare peace. It
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Rolla, MO 65401 | confuses the hell out of your enemies."
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shenry@.umr.edu | -Quark
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Sign reported by Clifford F. Thies in Rocky Mountain National Park:
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"Please do not feed the squirrels. If you feed the squirrels, they'll become
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overweight, and prone to disease. Their population will grow, and they'll lose
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their ability to forage for food on their own. They will expect you to feed
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them and will attack you if you don't. They'll become like little welfare
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recipients, and you wouldn't want to do this to them."
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