I tried something fun this weekend,,,

A

aarondhgraham

New member
I went to my local range and met a fellow shooter who had a thing he called a dueling tree.

This was the most fun I have had on the range in quite some time.

This pole had six ping-pong sized metal disks,,,
three on either side of the pole.

Hit a disk and it swings back and away from the firing position,,,
Whoever hits their three first wins the duel.

I know reactive targets are not a new thing,,,
But they were for me until yesterday.

We blasted that thing for over an hour with our .22's,,,
Didn't wear on that thing at all.

I did a Google search for "dueling tree" and found several manufacturers,,,
Punching holes in paper is good practice but not too much in the way of fun and giggles.

I know what my next purchase is going to be,,,
Anyone else think these are more fun than bubble-gum?
 
Texas star?,,, I don't wanna shoot a Ranger,,,,,

What's a Texas Star Mr Azred?

The fun thing about this was the side by side shooting,,,
A true duel where no one has to bleed.

Since I googled the dueling tree I found literally hundreds of different types and configurations of spinners, locking, and resettable targets.

There is one I'm definitely getting for my .22 shooting,,,
a 6" & 4" & 2" set of disks that just spin when hit.

It looks like it'll be too much fun,,,
Paper is now so boring.
 
So that's a Texas Star,,,

I like the way it becomes a moving target after the first plate is hit.

The thing that was so fun about the dueling tree,,,
Is that it was side-by-side shooting,,,
"Dueling" so to speak.

I suppose one could do the same thing with a box of shotgun clays,,,
But they are a bit small for beginners with a handgun.

I take a lot of newbies to the range with an assortment of .22 handguns,,,
They all enjoy learning about shooting but paper bores them,,,
So, I'm ordering a dueling tree this afternoon.

The plates on the one I ordered are 6",,,
Even newbies will get some hits.

I wonder why the people at my SASS outfit don't do this,,,
It seems like a perfect way to settle arguments,,,
I'll bring mine to the next get-together.
 
Steel plates are fun. I think alot of us have become so concerned with either practicing on paper for self defense or shooting perfect MOA shots for hunting that we have forgetten how much fun it can be to just plink shoot at stuff.

Old signs, bottles, cans, badly chipped dinner plates, light bulbs and alot of other "junk" make really fun targets.
 
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You are so right EdInk,,,

It's Spring,,,
Time to have some fun,,,
Let's fill those beer cans with colored water,,,
And create some rainbow havoc at the outdoor range.

To heck with all the stuffiness,,,
Grab them .22s and some water balloons,,,
Let's hear it for the Bang-Splat of sheer enjoyment.

Can't do the lightbulbs or old china though,,,
My range club president gets snarly about broken shards.
 
If it is small club made up mostly of friends then maybe you guys can all chip in and buy a cheap clunker car and park it on the range. Talk about a fun time! It only needs to run enough to get to the range. Unless you happen to know a guy with a tow truck or big enough trailer.:D
 
My twin girls have a dueling tree. Lots of fun to watch them shooting it. Really brings out the competitor in them. If one of them is getting close to losing, then I have seen them shoot the other side targets back to their sisters side. These things are loads of fun. They make them for all calibers. $30.00-100.00 price range.
Ralph
 
I wonder why the people at my SASS outfit don't do this,,,
It seems like a perfect way to settle arguments,,,
I'll bring mine to the next get-together.
Click to expand...

SASS shooters like BIG ,CLOSE & NON moving targets :p
 
The first time I ever saw a dueling tree was back in 1985. I went to a local shooting pit (Old gravel quarry) and a guy asked me if I wanted to duel. I was kinda worried and said "No, I just wanted to do some shooting." I think he realized I took him to mean "Shoot at each other" and he laughed and explained the dueling tree.

I had more fun that day than I had had in a long time. Always said I was gonna get one, but the Texas Star looks like fun also. Maybe I'll work on Auntie Buck to see if she'll buy them for me on her B-day. :D

I used to go to a lot of auctions and those lots that sold for $1.00 for everything left on the table were always good deals. We would pick through the boxes and the dishes we did not want would end up on the range.

We took saw horses and mounted two boards on them to form a slit so the plates would stand upright. One year we blasted so many dishes that instead of cleaning the mess up, I just bought another load of gravel and buried them.
 
Right you are Hoss Fly,,,

But they also have a saying,,,
"There's no target too big or too close to miss."

I am a SASS member but to tell the truth,,,
I'm not having as much fun as I did in past years.

The stage designs are created to encourage speed and fewer misses,,,
It's becoming a speed shoot event instead of an accuracy thing.

The general train of thought is,,,
Make the stage difficult enough to generate a few misses,,,
And no one will want to compete in them because everyone wants to hit.

My thinking is that if no one ever misses,,,
It has become a speed shooting contest and that ain't cowboy.

I go to all the local events,,,
But I find myself shooting less and less.
 
But they also have a saying,,,
"There's no target too big or too close to miss."

I am a SASS member but to tell the truth,,,
I'm not having as much fun as I did in past years.

The stage designs are created to encourage speed and fewer misses,,,
It's becoming a speed shoot event instead of an accuracy thing.

The general train of thought is,,,
Make the stage difficult enough to generate a few misses,,,
And no one will want to compete in them because everyone wants to hit.

My thinking is that if no one ever misses,,,
It has become a speed shooting contest and that ain't cowboy.

I go to all the local events,,,
But I find myself shooting less and less.
Click to expand...

Totally agree aarondhgraham :cool:
Been a member for 7+yrs now (63711) but quite shooting some yrs back -
You dont happen to know the Tonic Kid up there do you :confused:
 
An old bedsheet or plastic tarp makes glass clean-up alot easier. Maybe you could talk the club president into letting shoot glass if you put down a cover. It really is a ton of fun.

Seriously, inquire about the junker car. You will have fun ALL summer if you only use .22 ammo. If you start using centerfire (and you'll HAVE to at least once) then not quiet as long. Older models made of heavier metals tend to take better punishment than newer ones on the firing range.

Another source of targets are old cardboard cut-outs and mannequins. The grocery stores will often give you old cardboard display (just ask the general
manager to call you when the promo is done) for free. Clothing stores will replace mannequins when they remodel or get damaged too.

If you get a car to shoot, try and get a dummy/scarecrow to put inside. This will extend the life of the target. The windows, lights and mirrors are always shot first. If you put a target inside the car it will help keep people from just blasting the door panels. And don't expect the tires to last either. Like I said, the biggest and cheapest junk heap you can find is the best one.

Sacks of flour or putting flour into other things like ziploc bags is alot of fun too.
 
Another fun item/shoot

Try a bowling pin shoot, blast them off the table, this is where you will see the difference in pistol calibers and maybe even win some points from the
9mm crowd, I own some also, but have the most fun with 45ACP's. Don't want a caliber topic going but if you see the difference that I'm talking about you will totally understand my point. Pepper poppers, falling steel plates, are all fun, and they don't leave a mess you may have to clean up.

Enjoy safely !

Duane USN/Ret.
 
Hello Hoss Fly and EdInk and dcody40,,,

Nope,,,
Tonic Kid isn't among my acquaintances.

We had a meeting last night and I casually mentioned an old car as a target,,,
Seems the city we lease the land from has restrictions on just that,,,
They disallowed any "Vehicles, Appliances, or Mannequins" as targets.

There are two bowling alleys in my town,,,
A couple of times a year we buy up their old pins,,,
My Model 629 is very impressive against those cool targets.

Yep, the 9mm guys can't argue against the 45 cal folk in that instance,,,
The visual evidence is too overwhelming to deny.

It proves that old saying:
"All other factors being equal,,, Bigger bullets are generally better."

It's just been a long winter,,,
I'm getting a bad case of cabin fever,,,
I want to go out and have some FUN with my guns.

My club is filled with very nice people,,,
But at times they tend to be somewhat stuffy.

Last year I suggested a "Rimfire Plinking Day" just for fun and giggles,,,
I envisioned setting up awnings and grills and suchlike,,,
Lots of water-filled tin cans and plastic jugs,,,
And nothing but .22 rimfire guns.

The overwhelming reaction to the suggestion was,,,
"Why? What would be the purpose?

I just lowered my head and shut up.

My dueling tree should be here next week.
 
Last year I suggested a "Rimfire Plinking Day" just for fun and giggles,,,
I envisioned setting up awnings and grills and suchlike,,,
Lots of water-filled tin cans and plastic jugs,,,
And nothing but .22 rimfire guns.
Click to expand...

I've heard the same from several clubs about the 22 thing- I've always thought it'd be a great ideal:cool:
 
almost wrecked my Ruger Gov. Target Model one summer

several years ago now, my buddys & I made a dualing tree it had 8 spinners, the post stood vertical, & there were "humps" on the post on the back side, made so the spinners went to one side or the other... one Saturday several of us did alot of shooting we would load up 4 magazines for our Ruger autos, & shoot till there was nothing left loaded... the winner had the least spinners on his side after the last shot was fired... I think I actually shot almost 3 bricks of 22 ammo up in just that day...

I should have cleaned my gun at noon, as by the end of the day, my hits were really "going away"... found out that my barrel was very bady leaded, when I stuck my bore brush 1/2 way down the barrel the next day during cleaning... I soaked everythng down with penitrating oil, & let it sit for a week... it was still stuck, but I pounded it out, along with almost a bullets worth of accumulated lead out of the barrel...

it's really fun to do, & cheap considering how many shot can be fired... I should build another one for my new range...
 
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I should have cleaned my gun at noon, as by the end of the day, my hits were really "going away"... found out that my barrel was very bady leaded, when I stuck my bore brush 1/2 way down the barrel the next day during cleaning... I soaked everythng down with penitrating oil, & let it sit for a week... it was still stuck, but I pounded it out, along with almost a bullets worth of accumulated lead out of the barrel...
Click to expand...

That's funny!
 
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