Good Ideas For Homemade Targets, Tell Us Some Of Your Favorites And Ideas

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towerclimber37

New member
man.my next trip to the range is going to be FUN!! thanks guys!..

usually, I'll dip into the pantry, and find all the cans of stuff that no one will ever eat (those canned beats that have dust on em from 1936)..and take them to the range..not only do they splode, but if its soup then you get a weird gory splatter too! It keeps it fun for the kids and me!
 
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Maser

New member
You guys know how to make coke bottle bombs? Those are awsome for airgun or rimfire shooting. Not so good for centerfire guns because the muzzle report is louder than the exploding bottle. Another good twist on the coke bottle bomb design is the drano bombs. The the cool thing with that is if you put a lit candle next to it and then shoot the bottle and it explodes, the hydrogen gas that builds up inside the bottle explodes with a good fireball.

Now here is my personal favorite. Be sure to do this in a wide open area where there's nothing flammable nearby. All you need is a large garbare bag. The biggest you can find. And a oxygen and acetelyn tank. Fill the bag with the oxy-acetelyn mix until it looks like a huge balloon. Then get back at least 100 yards (depending on the size of the bag you use). Shoot the bag with a tracer bullet and then check your pants! :D The concussion sound is tremendous and the heatwave it makes is very impressive.

Other than those fun devices, I like to shoot my brother's and my old toys and stuffed animals. No, i'm not mean, I don't do it without his consent. He used to be really into that Pokemon stuff and had Pikachu doll. My shotgun made mincemeat of it. :D Action figures work good too. Especially the kind with removable limbs. You nail the feet down to a piece of wood and with your rifle you can shoot off indvidual limbs. Water balloons are cool to especially on a hot day. Have a friend throw it in the air and shoot it with a shotgun. It then rains down on you for a quick cooling.


Just experiment with whatever you got laying around the house. And use good judgement especially if you try the first 2 devices I mentioned in this post. Shoot safe and have fun!


*Note to moderators*
If you feel the first two things I mentioned is too dangerous then please edit it out or PM me and i'll edit it myself.
 
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dixierifleman

Moderator
yea, i would have mentioned the drano one, but figured it get deleted. so i went with the bakin soda/vinegar one. not flammable, but pretty loud. also, the oxy/acy one... use a garbage bag, then tie a looonnnggg string to it, make a little fire, back up, pull it over the fire and booom. takes away the expense of tracers. also i heard if you shoot it with shotgun itll go off. but never tried it. oxy/acy is too expensive to experiment on.
 
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DesertShooter

New member
Over-ripe watermelons! Other over-ripe fruits, out-of-date eggs. If you're in a "wilderness" area, no clean-up necessary, and the crawly critters will love you!

Helium-filled balloons for shotgun. Put a small amount of powder (talcum or ?) in the balloon before you inflate for a smoke effect.

Movie posters and/or full-sized printed cardboard cut-outs. Sometimes, the movie theatres will GIVE you their old posters or the cut-outs of actors. I got several full-sized "Crocodile Dundee" cut-outs with Dundee holding a Foster's beer, from a local liquor store. (Funny story: Before shooting Dundee, two of my buddies stood beside the cut-out for a photo. It looked like Dundee was a REAL person in the photo, and someone who wasn't there at the time asked, "How did you get him to go out shooting with you?")

Cardboard boxes or paper bags filled with shredded paper. Blast them enough, and it turns to confetti.

Mild steel plate suspended between trees. I have one that I've used for 10+ years, since it's only for .22's. "GONG!" Just bang out the dents and give it a fresh coat of paint after it has been "splattered" sufficiently.

Cheap 4x4 R/C vehicle. No, not the vehicle! Tie a long piece of string on the rear, then add an empty soda can on the other end. Moving target! When the soda can is full of holes, drive the vehicle back to you for a fresh target. This can also be used with helium-filled balloons that are tethered to the 4x4 vehicle. Just be sure to not hit the tow vehicle!

Rope and pulley: You need a high side and a low side. Attach a fairly long (3') piece of wood onto the pulley, then attach either wood or cardboard targets to the other end of the wood.
On the high end, put an "eye" screw in, thread some string through it, then tie it to the pulley. The string should be long enough to allow the moving target to reach the low end AND to where your shooting position is. Pull the string so that the pulley/target goes to the high end, then let go of the string and allow gravity to send it to the low end. Pull the string to re-set the pulley/target at the high end again. Great for handgun shooting at moving targets, but be sure to have plenty of "safe" shooting space!
 
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rwilson452

New member
Balloons and such

Using corn starch in a ballon works as well. and it's biodegradable. whereas talic is just ground up rock. I do believe its cheaper too.


Helium-filled balloons for shotgun. Put a small amount of powder (talcum or ?) in the balloon before you inflate for a smoke effect.
 
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FirstFreedom

Moderator
1. I save ALL apple juice bottles (large ones) and fill them with water. They serve 3 purposes: (A) Put as many will fit on top of each gun safe, to slow a fire down a bit. (B) Take to range and make explode with high-power rifles. Require cleanup of course, though. (C) Use for cutting in half in one swipe with sword.

2. Buy the cheapest possible, generic, charcoal briquet bags - take to the range and place on top of target stands. Drawback is hands get dirty.

3. Potatoes are cheap, very explosive, last longer than most veggies/fruits, and don't get you dirty like the charcoal.

4. I have a commercially-bought "T" target on which I hang balloons with standard office clips - doesn't NOT work when windy, though.

5. Commercially bought Dueling Trees just rock - they bring competition to any range trip if your buddy(ies) are with you.

6. For something really cheap and good - maybe the best overall cheap reactive target system, for rifles & pistols, is the "Easy Roost" clay pigeon roost things - they are just steel sticks with a holder for a claybird - easy:

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/cata...arClassCode=5&hvarSubCode=8&hvarTarget=browse
 
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stuckon308

New member
I've got a funny story about the oxy-acetelyn mix that Maser was talking about. I used to be a firefighter. One day my crew (4 of us guys) were just sitting in the shop being bored. One of the crazier guys I've known filled a rubber glove with the mix and blew it up. Ok so no big deal. It was loud but not too bad. So the other two guys and I are talking and not paying attention to the fourth. Without warning we pretty much go deaf. You know when you shoot a handgun too close to a wall without hearing protection? You could actually feel the concussion. Well needless to say we were all pissed off because we couldnt hear anything for about a minute. Turns out he filled a garbage bag and lit it up. It was the first time I'd seen him scared. Yeah...... he got in some serious crap for that.
 
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Caeser23

New member
I just brought home 3 mannikins(sp?) from work, go to clothing stores and ask if they have any to throw away, seems like we're always throwing them away b/c people like tend to drop them from time to time or a part of the body falls off moving it throughout the store and gets damaged.believe it or not they have to be together as a set, arms and legs with certain bodys. I promise to take video and post it up.
 
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Scooter72

New member
I have shreaded a couple microwaves.
I shot up a car door with the window up.
I have splintered 2x4's into a milion pieces.
I have exploded cans of shaving cream. That was fun.
I shot a couple computer moniters.
I shot a couple computer towers.
I shot a couple computer mouses.
I shot milk jugs, water bottles, pop cans, paint cans.
I shot bricks.
I shot metal those plates that cover electrical boxes.
I shot a electric fan
I have shot golfballs. That was fun. Stand in one place and shoot it. Where ever it lands shoot it again. Then shoot it again. Keep going untill you miss. My best was 6 hits in a row.

I shot a bowling ball and had a piece of it come flying back at me so fast I never even seen it coming and hear a loud thud against my truck I was standing in front of. Thank God it didn't hit me in the face. ;)
 
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riverkeeper

New member
Great Sledge-O-Matic ideas here.

I cut scrap 2x8s or 10s or plywood into 16inch lengths ... hang them for reactive and multiple targets.
 
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Varmint Eviscerator

New member
dumb dumb lolly pops-really explode when hit! Try to shoot them off the stick, also, staples in stick form are rewarding as well.
By the way,any candy will work very well-tootsie rolls become like glass in the cold. If you are good, shoot .22 duds(live but FAILED TO FIRE) they WILL fire when you hit em at 50-100yrds, nice pooof sounds, no shrapnel or anything because the powder cant build up PSI!
-VE
 
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rxraptor02

New member
The only really fun thing I have shot at was already mentioned.

The dollar stores are fun to shop at for targets.

You can get 22oz cans of shaving cream.

They explode with the cream covering everything like snow.
 
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Guy B. Meredith

New member
Tried oranges the first time I took my daughter to the action pistol range. Duds. Bullets puncture holes and everything smells like orange juice, but they don't even move.

My favorite was my daughter's pager. Some people at the range or who learned about it acted like I'd shot the Bible. I now have two cell phones that will be making the trip. I hate "in" gadgets: Bluetooth thingees, cell phones, Blackberrys are all my list of desirable targets.
 
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