your favorite reactive target?

Years ago, I worked at a welding shop and did a lot of structural steel. I would use the drops from the I-beams (some heavy for rifles, some lighter for handguns). I would cut some angle iron about 18-24" and use them for the base. I would just stand the angle iron up and angle it forward a few inches at the top, just so the back of it is just at the top of the angle iron base. That would push the bullets downward when they hit.

I would not recommend shooting at these targets any closer than 50 yards because, just like any steel target, handgun or weak rifle rounds, will ricochet.
 
Tannerite. You'll definitely know when you've scored a hit...unless you're so deaf you wouldn't notice something like a stick of dynamite going off downrange. Seriously, if you like big booms, try some tannerite, but do it from a safe distance and follow the directions. Its powerful stuff and can be very dangerous if you're not careful. I made the mistake of setting a charge much too close to a bowling pin and the blast sent the pin flying about 70 yards.

Helium balloons. Get a cheap tank of helium, some balloons, and some string from a party supply store. Fill the balloons, tie one end of the string to the balloon and the other to a rock or piece of wood. On a good windy day you'll have nice bobbing reactive targets.
 
SSSSHHHHHHH, here's a cool trick for yer friends.

take couple of buffered asprin tablets and put them in the freezer for a few hours. make an excuse to go back into the house and grab them.

tell yer unsuspecting shootin' pals that you'll toss up an asprin and break it with one shot from yer .22 pistol or whatever.

touch it to yer yer tongue fer "good luck" (you must do this) and toss it in the air and shoot.

the concussion of the muzzle will bust the asprin!

very funny!

you can also light a "strike anywhere" match with a .22 at about 15yds with practice. the trick is to first wipe any lube off of the .22 round, and you must have something behind the match, such as a shoot-n-see to reference yer shot. place a round just over the match and it will light.

another is to place an old axe out at 15-20yds, blade toward you. then place a clay target on both sides of the axe about 4 inches back and tight against the axe head . take a .22 and place the pin/crosshairs right between the clays. you will split the bullet and bust the two clays.

i must have too much time on my hands!
 
I use an 8" round 3" thick piece of steel hung from a stand I made. We set this out 5 to 600 yards which is the limit at our range. You shoot, then a second or so later your here the clang.
Spry paint all your hits prior to each trip to the range. Then you'll be able to see how good of a long range shooter you really are.
I've had a couple of friends hit it every shot. The vast majority of so called shooters brag about how great of a long range shooter they are. They always end up being o-fer as many shots as they tried or possibly have one hit.
As the great Stone Shooter once said,"If there's lead in the air, there's hope".
 
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the neighbors cats !! ! if you hit em in the back legs theyll jump around alot so you can practice for follow up shots on moving targets... hehe no im joking... i like milk jugs full of water... color in a small bullseye on the side with a marker works good.... cans of cheap soda are great as well like the "sams club" soda from walmart if you dont mind spending $3.00 or so for a case of them their great... shake em up and set em out and they explode when you hit em =) good fun... also clay pigeons are good... but if you compare the cost of them to a case of 24 cans of cheap soda versus 20 pigeons the price isnt too different... i think the cans are more fun =) i just use clay pigeons for skeet shooting... if only they would make a hand held launcher for soda cans :p :D
 
WalMart sells small disks, about two inches in diameter, as airgun targets. They look kind of like minis, and the kit I was looking at had two stakes that held a disk, and a dispenser thing that would drop feed six to shoot at. You shoot one, and the others drop down. Like I said, they are intended for airguns, but I'm sure a .22 will work as long as you don't hit the holder. I plan on trying it this weekend, I'll post a report afterwards.
 
When I lived in Oklahoma it was prairie dogs with a .270, the ranchers would even pay for my ammo.
Now I live in Kalifornia so PETA wouldn't approve. So its fallen oranges strewn about the range from 50 to 100 yards or so with a .243. Its fun to see how quick you can bead in and move own. Making Minutemade all the way.
Nerf footballs are good to, moving target after the first shoot, they don't last too long though.
 
If you really want to see some exploding oranges, or anything else for that matter, with your .243, try some Federal Premium 60gr Sierra Hollow Points. They are explosive when they hit something. It sounded like I was hitting woodchucks with a baseball bat when I hit them with it.
 
hehe thats tempting Cowled_Wolf... if you can get me some pics of what you have in mind i may consider it... explain to me what youve got in mind... and how it works.
 
I like charcoal briquets - your hands get dirty in placing them, but they're very cheap and (relatively) environmental friendly. Challenge to hit also. Potatoes 2nd place. Clay pigeons 3rd (they're not just for shotguns anymore!)

Oh yeah, any and all small or medium or large bottles or jugs, filled with water - including milk jugs - but unlike the others listed above, you have to clean these up afterward - not a big deal.
 
DarkKnight... Basically, I run a spudgun off my air compressor. It could easily be adapted to a bicycle pump, however. The other option would be classic hairspray combustion ones. I don't have any pics yet, but I'd be glad to answer any questions you've got if you want to build one for yourself. All it takes is a trip to any major hardware store.

As a side thought... You could even rig up a small foot or stock switch easily... Instead of yelling 'pull', you could just step or press a switch on your gun like one of them tac-lights!

Total construction costs: $15 to $100.
Total construction time: 20 minutes to 5 hours.
Time spent waiting for glue to dry: Priceless.

Edit: You're probably best off building one for yourself since shipping a large, odd-shaped object is kinda akward at best.
 
One of my favorites is a coffe can full of burning gasoline. The gas makes a small fire while burning in the can but when a rifle round hits the can and vaporizes the gasoline it is most impressive! I also like the BBQ propane tanks, but for maximum fun crack the valve and light the stream of propane. Then stand back (at least 30 feet!) and blast away. The first time I did it I was 20 feet away and the fireball was too close for comfort.
 
Those free AOL disks you get in the mail, or pick up at the checkout at Walmart. Try to hit the hole in the middle, or just bust them up. They can also be hung from branches.
Old paint cans full of old paint can be fun too. I hit one at 75 yards with a Mosin Nagant once. The lid flew 20 feet in the air.
 
Not sure about everyone else, but I'm really liking this thread. Getting some wicked ideas. :) Going to try the asprin thing with some friends and see if I can get some money riding on it. Gotta practice first, though. Thought about buying some Tannerite and burying it under two inches of dirt THEN shooting it. Spray paint cans are fun. Another good "reactive" target is a candle on a windless day. Get within 15 feet of either side of it with a .357Mag and it goes out. My dad said that when he and his friends were in the Army National Guard, trees were fun. They shot M14s and used a pencil to punch their targets. If you can find a hill you can get on with a tree at the bottom (can't remember what type of tree, so I can't tell you), gumballs are fun. So are pine cones, for that matter. :D
 
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