your favorite reactive target?
- Thread starter edgeofhell
- Start date
My favorite target is unopened pop(in the can). This one group had bought a TON of shasta a few years before this(yes, years), and they found it spoiled! So they were goin to throw it out and we said we'd take it. Best fun there ever was, they would explode when you hit them with a gush of colored liquid... Didn't last long and pop is kinda expensive to buy just to shoot.. 
novus collectus
Moderator
When I first saw TFL as a result of a google search I saw this very thread mention Tannerite. Now I have a case and all I have to do is to leave the state to use it. Hope this thread is still going after I blow some up.
How about taking red paintballs, honeycomb shaped cardboard with backboard, and a paper target with Bin laden on it. Tape the paintballs in the holes of the honeycomb, cover it with the osama bin laden target, and tilt 30 degrees so that the "blood" flows out the bullet hole and down his face. Got the idea two days ago and I am itching to see if it works.
And then I'm gonna tape a 1/2 pound of Tannerite to Bin Laden's face on the target and videotape him go BOOM and then I'm gonna send it to Al Jazeera.
How about taking red paintballs, honeycomb shaped cardboard with backboard, and a paper target with Bin laden on it. Tape the paintballs in the holes of the honeycomb, cover it with the osama bin laden target, and tilt 30 degrees so that the "blood" flows out the bullet hole and down his face. Got the idea two days ago and I am itching to see if it works.
And then I'm gonna tape a 1/2 pound of Tannerite to Bin Laden's face on the target and videotape him go BOOM and then I'm gonna send it to Al Jazeera.
Bowling pins, spent shotgun casings, soda cans, clay pidgeons. Cheap (pidgeons), usually found at ranges (pidgeons, spent shotty casings, bowling pins-some ranges), or brought with you (pidgeons, soda, bowling pins). Stuff that blows up isn't up my ally, since I have nowhere safe to do so. Sorry about the repost, I was trying to add a thought, and it doubled my post.
They're getting harder to find in "the digital age" but...
35mm film canisters are pretty nice to shoot too. One of the nicer aspects is that you can fill em with water or flour at home and not have to worry about it leaking all over the place as you drive to the range. They do get a bit hard to see at long ranges though... perhaps a bit of orange spray paint would do the job...
35mm film canisters are pretty nice to shoot too. One of the nicer aspects is that you can fill em with water or flour at home and not have to worry about it leaking all over the place as you drive to the range. They do get a bit hard to see at long ranges though... perhaps a bit of orange spray paint would do the job...
Years ago, my friend and I were gunshop hopping, and he found a new Marlin 1895 .45-70 that he couldn't leave without. So, we picked up a few boxes of ammo and went out to the plains to try it out. From a safe distance (or so we thought), we started shooting at concrete blocks left out there from an old building. Most of them just fell over when hit by that big thumper, so we made several trips downrange to stand them back up. I took one shot at a block which had been hit several times, and it exploded like someone tossed a hand grenade at it! We were shooting from about 50 yards away and we both were hit by concrete pieces, along with his truck.
So, the old, solid concrete blocks are fun targets with a powerful rifle, but only at a distance of 100 yards or more. 50 yards is just too close, as we learned.
So, the old, solid concrete blocks are fun targets with a powerful rifle, but only at a distance of 100 yards or more. 50 yards is just too close, as we learned.
too many choices!?
New member
Different containers filled with water and frozen....
Soda bottles and the like are great with froZen water in them. They jump and slide!
Soda bottles and the like are great with froZen water in them. They jump and slide!
Double Naught Spy
New member
http://www.evanstarget.com/pages/5/index.htm
My favorite reactive target is a Shaffer Shifter made by the folks in the link above. I have a couple of different sizes with different thicknesses to use based on the gun and caliber being shot.
The target is hung by a chain from a tree limb or cross bar. Mine are hung from about 15 feet up. To start, you simple start the target swinging, step back to an appropriate distance, and then shoot. As bullets impact, the swing will change in speed and direction. Since the target swings free, it continually changes position along 3 dimensions, mostly in distance from the shooter and laterally. However, because it swings at the end of a chain, it continually is changing elevation as well. While in motion, it will spin after being hit. Since it has target planes on both an X and Y axis, it is three dimensional. So, the spinning of the target does not preclude shooting at the target and the shooter does not have to shoot form a particular direction relative to the target. So the shooter can work on shooting on the move without losing a target face as can happen with simple flat targets when the shooter moves too far laterally.
As with the Temple Texas incident and the North Hollywood Bank robbers, shooters often talk about the difficulties in making head shot on moving targets. No doubt there is some very real concern in that regard. Those moving targets (heads) are apt to move in any axis and few folks have a way to shoot targets that would be comparably difficult short of simunition training. The shifter target is a pretty darned good training substitute.
One thing that I have found in introducing folks to the shifter targets for the first time is how difficult the targets seem to be to shoot by the new shooter, even if the shooter is experienced. This aspect indicated to me that concerns over shooting small moving targets (such as heads) is really very difficult for somebody who hasn't had to deal with that sort of moving target, such as folks who do a lot of typical IDPA, IPSC, or even 3 gun shooting. The frustration on the face of a shooter becomes readily apparent by the end of the first magazine. One friend in particular who could easily shoot inside a 6" circle of a stationary target at 10 yards blew threw 40 rounds of .45 acp with only 4 hits on the 6" shifter. After a quick break and reload, the notion of dealing with a small target in motion sunk in and he wsa able to hit about7 or 8 out of every 10 at 10 yards.
We also tried carbines at 25 yards. With an AR15, he did much better with his first couple of mags than he did with a pistol. By the fifth or sixth mag, he was doing extremely well. So I changed him over to a Beretta Storm carbine in 9mm and he immediately started missing most shots. What was the difference? Not the gun, but bullet velocity. At 25 yards with a .223, if your sights are properly on target and you are aimed anywhere other than the rear edge of the target, then the slug was able to travel the 25 yards and impact the target without the need for leading the target. With the 9mm round, it became necessary to am a couple of inches ahead of the center of the target so as to compensate for target motion and the much slower velocity of the 9mm round. Once he discovered the need for leading the target, his hit rate rose dramatically.
In timing the full lateral swing of the target from one side to the next, the target was traveling between 4 and 8 mph. It was closer to 8 mph when the target swung perpendicular to the shooter. When the aspect of the swing to the shooter changed, such as swing at an angle .45 degrees from perpendicular, the lateral speed from left to right was slower from the shooter's perspective, but the distance from the shooter was changing.
The shifter target is a nifty target to have for fun plinking and for defense shooting drills. The one limiting aspect is the need for having a location and materials from which to hang the target. I used trees in two different ways. The first was to simply hang the target from a high limb about 10 feet from the tree. The second was to string a chain between two trees that didn't have limbs suitable for hanging. So, the target was hung by a single chain attached to the chain strung between the trees.
My favorite reactive target is a Shaffer Shifter made by the folks in the link above. I have a couple of different sizes with different thicknesses to use based on the gun and caliber being shot.
The target is hung by a chain from a tree limb or cross bar. Mine are hung from about 15 feet up. To start, you simple start the target swinging, step back to an appropriate distance, and then shoot. As bullets impact, the swing will change in speed and direction. Since the target swings free, it continually changes position along 3 dimensions, mostly in distance from the shooter and laterally. However, because it swings at the end of a chain, it continually is changing elevation as well. While in motion, it will spin after being hit. Since it has target planes on both an X and Y axis, it is three dimensional. So, the spinning of the target does not preclude shooting at the target and the shooter does not have to shoot form a particular direction relative to the target. So the shooter can work on shooting on the move without losing a target face as can happen with simple flat targets when the shooter moves too far laterally.
As with the Temple Texas incident and the North Hollywood Bank robbers, shooters often talk about the difficulties in making head shot on moving targets. No doubt there is some very real concern in that regard. Those moving targets (heads) are apt to move in any axis and few folks have a way to shoot targets that would be comparably difficult short of simunition training. The shifter target is a pretty darned good training substitute.
One thing that I have found in introducing folks to the shifter targets for the first time is how difficult the targets seem to be to shoot by the new shooter, even if the shooter is experienced. This aspect indicated to me that concerns over shooting small moving targets (such as heads) is really very difficult for somebody who hasn't had to deal with that sort of moving target, such as folks who do a lot of typical IDPA, IPSC, or even 3 gun shooting. The frustration on the face of a shooter becomes readily apparent by the end of the first magazine. One friend in particular who could easily shoot inside a 6" circle of a stationary target at 10 yards blew threw 40 rounds of .45 acp with only 4 hits on the 6" shifter. After a quick break and reload, the notion of dealing with a small target in motion sunk in and he wsa able to hit about7 or 8 out of every 10 at 10 yards.
We also tried carbines at 25 yards. With an AR15, he did much better with his first couple of mags than he did with a pistol. By the fifth or sixth mag, he was doing extremely well. So I changed him over to a Beretta Storm carbine in 9mm and he immediately started missing most shots. What was the difference? Not the gun, but bullet velocity. At 25 yards with a .223, if your sights are properly on target and you are aimed anywhere other than the rear edge of the target, then the slug was able to travel the 25 yards and impact the target without the need for leading the target. With the 9mm round, it became necessary to am a couple of inches ahead of the center of the target so as to compensate for target motion and the much slower velocity of the 9mm round. Once he discovered the need for leading the target, his hit rate rose dramatically.
In timing the full lateral swing of the target from one side to the next, the target was traveling between 4 and 8 mph. It was closer to 8 mph when the target swung perpendicular to the shooter. When the aspect of the swing to the shooter changed, such as swing at an angle .45 degrees from perpendicular, the lateral speed from left to right was slower from the shooter's perspective, but the distance from the shooter was changing.
The shifter target is a nifty target to have for fun plinking and for defense shooting drills. The one limiting aspect is the need for having a location and materials from which to hang the target. I used trees in two different ways. The first was to simply hang the target from a high limb about 10 feet from the tree. The second was to string a chain between two trees that didn't have limbs suitable for hanging. So, the target was hung by a single chain attached to the chain strung between the trees.
Re-active head shot
Get a good supply of balloons.
Get a shoe box (or similiar size).
Stand box on end so lid faces away from you.
Cut a hole from the top end down large enough for a piece of string only.
Inflate balloon, tie string to it, place in box with string pushed through hole.
Tie the hole to your favorite target stand.
Tape target over the shoe box with the head where the balloon is.
Shoot target in the right spot, balloon pops, target falls to the ground.
Try with larger boxes, and go for heart lung shots.
Try different sized balloons. As long as they are bigger than the hole.
Try hostage targets.
Try animals.
Almost endless fun.
Get a good supply of balloons.
Get a shoe box (or similiar size).
Stand box on end so lid faces away from you.
Cut a hole from the top end down large enough for a piece of string only.
Inflate balloon, tie string to it, place in box with string pushed through hole.
Tie the hole to your favorite target stand.
Tape target over the shoe box with the head where the balloon is.
Shoot target in the right spot, balloon pops, target falls to the ground.
Try with larger boxes, and go for heart lung shots.
Try different sized balloons. As long as they are bigger than the hole.
Try hostage targets.
Try animals.
Almost endless fun.
That yellow powder really is impressive when you hit the thing. Back in my grandma's farm we had an old barn that was just abandoned. It was full of bats, and they just hung there upside down during the daytime. Perfect reactive target. They fall when you hit them. And if you hit a bunch, it would result in a massive flight of bats - during the sunlight hours.
Rats were also a common pest, and since they were the size of cats: Perfect reactive target. They hide, so stalking them was much fun. And they do pose a threat - rabies when they bite, so there is a small element of danger. Plus they ate the crop - rice and corn, so you are doing something good for the farmers.
I heard that cans of Spam make a big spat when hit. Have not tried this yet. Nice idea with the shoe boxes and balloons.
Rats were also a common pest, and since they were the size of cats: Perfect reactive target. They hide, so stalking them was much fun. And they do pose a threat - rabies when they bite, so there is a small element of danger. Plus they ate the crop - rice and corn, so you are doing something good for the farmers.
I heard that cans of Spam make a big spat when hit. Have not tried this yet. Nice idea with the shoe boxes and balloons.
Randy in Arizona
New member
About 25 years ago I went to a shoot in Arizona that had 70% Dynamite as targets. Two sticks held together with silver duct tape. Good aiming point, rather obvious when you connected!