Plinking target

[DIYEngineer235]

Feeling bored and wondering if anybody had some interesting plinking targets they'd like to share.

I have your visit tin cans (cat food) some of the yellow silhouette, and I use my empty CO2 cartridges. I just paint them and stick them in a special stand I 3D print.

I admit, I can and do print off paper targets too, but there's just something more visceral when you hear that PING and see your target go flying!

I only wish there was a greater variety of silhouette besides the ones I already have. I'd really like to have an old fashioned shooting gallery setup. Clay pipe, duck and light bulb silhouettes would be awesome for that! 

 

[rob_g]

These are a couple of Know Your Limits targets I've made lately. The silhouettes are 1/20 scale. Laser cutting is pretty simple.

 

[TMH]

In the plinking targets I've used the most 'visceral' when hit are Charms Mini-Pops. They make almost the identical sound of when a pellet hits a ground squirrel smack in the head. And an added benefit (of the Mini-Pops, not the ground squirrels) is that if the wind is blowing towards you, you get the sweet smell of the sugar which you just powdered.

Cocktail picks are another favorite of our group, as well as frilly toothpicks, colored match sticks, coffee stir sticks and sandwich picks. Cheap to purchase in quantity. I now use pellet tin protection foam out on the target array to hold the targets (who cares if it gets shot up?). Whether Mini-Pops (with which I have hooked many previously non-airgun shooters), once you knock the head off the target, you have to then cut the stick down before you can move onto your next full target.

Here was part of the target array at today's St Patty's Day shoot in my back yard:

We are limited in my back yard to 25 yards for this type of target (can shoot to 52 yards, but only paper at that distance), so these have gotten a little too large. Out at the Cowboy range we can set these up at 40 yards, or out to 60+ yards if the creek isn't running. Some of these targets (like the coffee stir sticks and sandwich picks) are more challenging when we turn them side-on.

So our next step has been dressmaker's pins @ 25 yards. These can be a fun challenge. We first set up a simple array, thinking that not too many would be hit and need to be replaced:

But our shooters were taking them out too fast, so one of them developed the now infamous 'pin wheel' target for our group:

At the end of a shooting session with the group, I end up with this on my magnet:

And see the little silver, coiled wire place card holders in one of my target bins:

Those are great for holding playing card targets. Get them here at Amazon (where I get most of my cocktail picks too): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N1I1JMX

Paintball targets are a lot of visceral fun as well - you can make 'paintball art'. The .50 cal and .42 cal are tougher to hit at distances, but the standard .68 cals make a much bigger splat.

I try to mix it up pretty well for the shooters in our local group as I've been the one who hooked them on airguns, and I try to keep their interest up. And you can only shoot at pins for so long before your eyes get tired and you 'need' to pop a paintball or Charms Pop.

 

[biohazardman]

TMH has quite the collection for sure and good stuff it is.

But there are lot's of fun things to shoot in the world. Just in case sticks, bugs and rocks are not enough here are a few things that I have been shooting for decades.

 

[davelarson]

Ha! TMH definitely has the interesting target area covered lol. That would be a great time shooting with friends at that range. I like to shoot steel targets for the reactive effect and the whack. This is my mini “bedroom wall” buzz box pellet trap lol. When you hit the tiny spinner it buzzes madly… a sound that can be heard from any room in the house, it’s my “happy wife” target lol.

I had to mount it to a piece of steel sheet so as to not put anymore holes in the wall from errant shots. The little .177 pellets are so susceptible to the wind as you know! I’m able to get 10 meters from the recliner .

My favorite target is a six spinner bell target combination. And Bigrague came up with an addition to the spinners and the bell, I’m going to add on a card holder so you can try cutting cards too. I like to see how many times I can run the target without a miss, getting the last two spinners is hard and so is the smallest hole in the bell target. I call it the swearing hole lol.
And the smallest spinner cuts pellets in half when you hit it squarely.

I made this one for good old Joe because he’s done so many nice things for people over the years and I just love his reviews.

 

[woogie_man]

Target forge has some great targets. Use many of them



Othe than that it is just things that I find around the house that are fun to shoot

 

[Kola]

‘Magazine fed’ bottle top target from offcuts.

Holds 15 bottle tops which drop down as you shoot them out.

Magnet at the bottom keeps them in place.

Just hangs off my paper target stand which means it can have a bit of movement for extra challenge,

 

[crowski]

I love shooting spinners. You can make any size. I have approximately 200. 25-35 yds. away. Last forever. Can hang from tree or plant in ground. 

 Crow 

 

[Henzo]

I have experimented with different spinners and plates and targets over the years. I have settled on these because they are inexpensive
and easily replaced. I can leave these out in the woods and they don't walk like other targets because they are not monitarily valuable.

For close targets 30 yards or so, I use white cardboard with the 3/4 dots from the Dollar General. This makes a terrific "Shoot'n See" target.

For distant targets around 60 yards. I make "Shoot'n See" targets by using florscent colored posterboard, and scotch tape from the Dollar General
and flat black spray paint from Lowes, because Lowes sells it for like $2 a can. I usually make the target from the poster board then cut it into two.

This makes a nice size for distant targets. I love the immediate feedback and enjoy not having to use a spotting scope.


The spoon spinners are fantastic!

The spoons are from, you guessed it, the Dollar store. I sand them down so the paint sticks and doesn't fly off when hit. I paint the front a nice

bright color and the back, a flat black. This keeps them out of sight. I'm careful of not nailing them too tight into the trees because if an animal

or person runs by or falls into it, I don't want there to be a hazard. I'm also careful to retrieve the nails once I am finished because, as you know, a hidden nail will absolutely destroy a chainsaw blade if the tree needs to be felled in the future.

I shoot the spoons with a 900 fps springer in .177. This seems a perfect match. The spinner goes around about 10 times, gets a small dent but never
get destroyed. Once in a while, when hit just right, they spin so fast they hum. Gratifying.

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[iAMzehTOASTY1]

In the plinking targets I've used the most 'visceral' when hit are Charms Mini-Pops. They make almost the identical sound of when a pellet hits a ground squirrel smack in the head. And an added benefit (of the Mini-Pops, not the ground squirrels) is that if the wind is blowing towards you, you get the sweet smell of the sugar which you just powdered.

Cocktail picks are another favorite of our group, as well as frilly toothpicks, colored match sticks, coffee stir sticks and sandwich picks. Cheap to purchase in quantity. I now use pellet tin protection foam out on the target array to hold the targets (who cares if it gets shot up?). Whether Mini-Pops (with which I have hooked many previously non-airgun shooters), once you knock the head off the target, you have to then cut the stick down before you can move onto your next full target.

Here was part of the target array at today's St Patty's Day shoot in my back yard:

View attachment 198759

We are limited in my back yard to 25 yards for this type of target (can shoot to 52 yards, but only paper at that distance), so these have gotten a little too large. Out at the Cowboy range we can set these up at 40 yards, or out to 60+ yards if the creek isn't running. Some of these targets (like the coffee stir sticks and sandwich picks) are more challenging when we turn them side-on.

So our next step has been dressmaker's pins @ 25 yards. These can be a fun challenge. We first set up a simple array, thinking that not too many would be hit and need to be replaced:

View attachment 198761

But our shooters were taking them out too fast, so one of them developed the now infamous 'pin wheel' target for our group:

View attachment 198770

At the end of a shooting session with the group, I end up with this on my magnet:

View attachment 198779

And see the little silver, coiled wire place card holders in one of my target bins:

View attachment 198783

Those are great for holding playing card targets. Get them here at Amazon (where I get most of my cocktail picks too): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N1I1JMX

Paintball targets are a lot of visceral fun as well - you can make 'paintball art'. The .50 cal and .42 cal are tougher to hit at distances, but the standard .68 cals make a much bigger splat.

I try to mix it up pretty well for the shooters in our local group as I've been the one who hooked them on airguns, and I try to keep their interest up. And you can only shoot at pins for so long before your eyes get tired and you 'need' to pop a paintball or Charms Pop.

View attachment 198792

Awesome setup!

 

[crowski]

Have to give update pics, spent time on range end of summer. This is today.
My buddy who made my spinners just got a new C&C machine and has to practice. Asked if I wanted any more spinners. Didn’t want to disappoint him. Animals and soldiers, we’’ll.see. Crow

 

[JimD]

I like these ideas. Need to order some paint ball ammo for targets. My way of making a "know your limits" was different from these examples and possibly easier. I bought washers from Home Depot from 2 inches to 3/4 inch diameter. I stacked 2-4 to get to a reasonable thickness. I welded them together and to 1/4 inch steel rod - from Lowes, they were cheaper. I bent the rod around 3/4 black iron pipe to create a loose fit on 3/4 conduit. My airguns only go up to 40 ft lbs but they haven't damaged them yet. My 1/2 spinner is a 5/16 nut and my 1/4 is just the steel rod. I weld the holes on the washers and nut closed.

 

[Septicdeath]

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