No target shooting anymore?

I shoot paper if I'm tuning or if I change scopes on a gun.
I have a couple of spinners and two Crosman resettable squirrel targets that I enjoy shooting.
When I master the shots on them at whatever distance they're at, I move them around and when I mow, whichever comes first.
And once I can reliably hit a target I try to make offhand shots.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vana2
Agree with the OP.

Being a plinker at heart I find the punching paper gets boring and I end up shooting at the push-pins holding the target.

Yup, smearing some honey or other bait on the backstop to attract flies and wasps does increase the entertainment value when shooting from the bench and rest. 😁

Target shooting is great for tuning, testing and developing consistent form but fixed ranges and static targets leave a lot to be desired. Yeah, shooting a perfect score or a number consecutive great groups is challenging but IMHO, it's too predictable.

I shoot a variety of airguns at small reactive targets at random distances. Spinners are great, shooting Honeycomb cereal suspended on a string to move around in the breeze is excellent practice - sometimes I try Froot Loops or Cherrios for an extra challenge. The bonus of using cereal for targets is that they explode nicely when hit and the critters clean up the mess... sparrows, grackles and starlings potentially becoming targets themselves.

I enjoy taking a light cocking break-barrel (like my FWB 124 or HW30) for a walkabout, snipping targets of opportunity. It's a pleasant way to get fresh air and exercise.

"Can Races", where you have to shoot a can to roll it through an obstacle course is fun as well!

Nope, been shooting for close to 60 years, practicing is never a chore.

Cheers!
 
Hello everyone,

Well I started shooting paper targets in my teens to improve my accuracy for powder burner competition. I turned 83 this month and still enjoy shooting paper targets almost every day but using mostly PCP's now. Cannot imagine ever getting bored while keeping my shooting skill :D

ThomasT
Holy hell!!!! 83!! How are you able to see the targets Thomas!!





I kid of course
 
  • Haha
Reactions: ThomasT
I came to a point where I want to shoot, take the air rifle, shoot one or two 5 shot groups at different distances which is always about the same good group, pack up a go put away the rifle. I am getting bored with target shooting. If it is not hunting, which I don't get regular opportunity to do, the rifle is not getting much use anymore. I tested most pellets available to me, I have the DOPE on all I shot so there is no challenge anymore. Luckily I did not buy more new rifles as I can see people are getting bored with shooting the same rifle, buy another just to go through that prosses again.

How often do you get to that state of mind? Is that when you start looking for a new rifle to buy?
Been at that stage for well over a decade, check my zero once in awhile and that's it, once I figure what pellet I want to shoot from a gun it's all about hunting,......never been into target shooting anyway but for testing purposes ( how often can you over and over watch the pellets hit the same area ? )
 
I also use groups to screen pellets but I find 30 yard challenge targets to be more challenging and a better way to make a final decision on a projectile. I also find it does not get boring like shooting groups. It takes a good gun, projectile, and perhaps most importantly shooter. Much easier to shoot five good shots than it is to shoot 20.

I like to use my "know your limits" target to practice off hand shooting. I also have a squirrel reactive target I use for that. I have some spinners on the post that supports my pellet trap I use to do a quick check on zero or "waste" the first shot. Knocking the last bits of paint off them is more of a challenge.
 
I sight in and try different pellets sometimes, but generally stay with the most accurate one I've found thats the most cost effective too. Most of my guns have a few pellets that will shoot same POI at my hunting distance.

Then I basically shoot pest birds and squirrels, and check zero almost every weekend. Run a mag from each gun and top them back off.

I don't really plink, and I never just sit and waste pellets since they all go in the same hole :cool:.
 
Hello @woogie_man

OH! am I supposed to actually see the targets ?

ThomasT
83 months! That's impressive! That's nearly seven years! No, I didn't really mis-understand your post, and I hope I'm doing half as well at your age. Thanks for the inspiration.

I like shooting of all types. If paper seems boring, steel / reactive targets are the answer. I that seems boring, you're not doing it right... Competition, in my experience, removes the boredom from any kind of shooting.

GsT
 
  • Love
Reactions: ThomasT
I use to shoot targets a lot when I first started, spent many a winter eve shooting 10yds indoor, but the reality is paper punching for me is gun tuning,,, now lets go do something with that tool, besides tune it, I pest around my home, primary as my use,,, 2nd use is plinking for fun,,, 3rd use is just keeping the tune and test it with paper targets
like a knife hobby,,, where all you do is sharpen the knife, but never go use it,,, for them , the thrill is just having the sharpest knife to shave their arm hairs with
,,,end of their story,,, what target did you shoot today? :sleep:
 
  • Like
Reactions: rcs9250
I pull out targets, actually just 1/2” diameter adhesive dots, and stick them on a piece of cardboard and sight my rifles in at 10 yards to 50 yards in 5 yard increments. Once I have solid dope for those distances I put all my dope on a 3”x5” index card and then laminate it.

Once sighting is done I use the KYL target at 40 to 50 yards. I set up 12ga shotshell hulls at 50 yards on the 2x4 target frame and pick them off. I also set up 9mm, 38SPL and 45ACP brass on the 2x4 too. I also have a couple sets of quite small metallic silouhette animals that I plink at too. But hunting is my primary pastime for small game and invasive birds. Trying to get permission on a dairy farm for pesting.
 
Yok need to
I came to a point where I want to shoot, take the air rifle, shoot one or two 5 shot groups at different distances which is always about the same good group, pack up a go put away the rifle. I am getting bored with target shooting. If it is not hunting, which I don't get regular opportunity to do, the rifle is not getting much use anymore. I tested most pellets available to me, I have the DOPE on all I shot so there is no challenge anymore. Luckily I did not buy more new rifles as I can see people are getting bored with shooting the same rifle, buy another just to go through that prosses again.

How often do you get to that state of mind? Is that when you start looking for a new rifle to buy?
Look for a new challenge not new rifles. Shoot some competition the boredom will go away.
 
Born a hunter. I would hunt house flies if that were all that was left. Shooting paper is a necessity that is kept to a minimum for me.
I have been an archer for over 50 years. When I was younger and compound bows were a very new thing (yeah that was a long time ago) we all shot recurve and long bows. Our favorite form of practice was called roving archery.
Simple activity all you needed was a bunch of arrows and your bow. Pine cones, twigs, clumps of grass, dirt clods and an occasional beer can were all the targets we needed. Back then nobody used sights and range finders were unheard of.
These days when I am short on time or just don’t want to drive to one of my pesting locations I grab one of my air guns and go do some roving air gunning. Air gun, 18 cf bottle, tin of projectiles and away I go. The range finder is not allowed to attend. I use my parallax adjuster and have at all the various inanimate targets that pique my interest. It is very easy to lose a day to this. If you are a hunter and not a bench shooter it is some of the best practice you will get.
Two advantages to this form of air gunning. One, you get a lot of great exercise. Two, there is no need to walk up to the target and check your hits, just move on to the next one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hold_Over