Hi Jay. Sorry for continuing to pester you with silly questions...
I finally took my eleven-year-old shooting today. She got to fire my .22-converted Sig P220, a borrowed S&W .22 revolver, my 4" .38, a .38 snub-nose, and my Beretta 92 (which she called 'the flamethrower', after seeing what it looks like from the side). She had a wonderful time, as did I!
(I'm considering getting something more suitable for her small hands, e.g. a Sig Mosquito. She had difficulty pulling back the hammer on the revolvers, and her index finger wasn't strong enough for double-action. No worries; we'll see how she does in a year or so.)
Her shooting was good -- nine out of ten .22s on the paper at 25 yards, for example.
So... I need to find a place where I can take her plinking. I think she understands the importance (and dangers) of guns, but I want her to see what a 9mm can do to, say, a watermelon. (I also think she'll enjoy making fruits explode.) Any ideas?
First off, the only silly questions are "Should I sell my 1911 to buy a Hi-Point?" and "Is .22LR a good caliber for rabid grizzly?" ;)
Secondly, good on you for taking your daughter to the range! Instilling a love of the shooting sports in the next generation is one of the best ways to ensure that our 2A freedoms will continue to be supported. Not to mention that if you can get the kid interested in going to the range, it greatly increases the likelihood of more frequent range trips...
Finding a club that will let you shoot at reactive targets may be challenging, especially in the Boston area. I've shot cans and plastic bottles at Harvard Sportsmen's Club in Harvard, MA - that might be a hike for you, though. Fruit is good, as it is obviously biodegradable; however there is the possibility that something might sprout next spring! :)
Here's something to think about, though. I grabbed a 4" swinging steel target from Midway USA (this one is highly recommended) and it's a LOT of fun to make it spin around with a .38 Special or see if I can hit it while it's still moving with the 10/22. Steel gives a very audible *ping* when hit, and the target moves as well. Another very inexpensive target that gives great feedback are orange clays - you can buy a large box of clays for under $10, and those are the biodegradeable kind which wash away after a good rainstorm. Most ranges allow clays. For $15 you can get a set of 4 clay holders and spend the better part of an afternoon breaking clays at a variety of distances.
Granted, there's nothing like a good private range that will allow better reactive targets like watermelon or jugs filled with water, but in a pinch you can rig up something that most any range will be happy with. Paper can be boring for new shooters, especially young new shooters; good on you for recognizing that and wanting to head it off at the pass. Another thought would be to come to the 2012 Northeast Bloggershoot... :)
Here's something to think about, though. I grabbed a 4" swinging steel target from Midway USA (this one is highly recommended) and it's a LOT of fun to make it spin around with a .38 Special or see if I can hit it while it's still moving with the 10/22. Steel gives a very audible *ping* when hit, and the target moves as well. Another very inexpensive target that gives great feedback are orange clays - you can buy a large box of clays for under $10, and those are the biodegradeable kind which wash away after a good rainstorm. Most ranges allow clays. For $15 you can get a set of 4 clay holders and spend the better part of an afternoon breaking clays at a variety of distances.
Granted, there's nothing like a good private range that will allow better reactive targets like watermelon or jugs filled with water, but in a pinch you can rig up something that most any range will be happy with. Paper can be boring for new shooters, especially young new shooters; good on you for recognizing that and wanting to head it off at the pass. Another thought would be to come to the 2012 Northeast Bloggershoot... :)
Anyone else have any thoughts/ideas on reactive targets that won't get Daniel booted from the range?
That is all.
9 comments:
Small balloons partially filled with brightly colored water (kool aid will work if you leave out the sugar). Staple the tied-off portion of the balloon to the bottom of a strip of cardboard and hang that from a target traveller or a steel plate frame.
You can put half a dozen targets on a doubled up piece of cardboard and get several cycles out of 2 square feet of the stuff.
To answer the silly questions.
1. Yes, you should, and I have a Hi-Point right here.
2. How much .22 LR? A full auto, multi-barreled 12,000 round per minute set up, fired from inside a tank, ought to be just fine for rabid griz.
Ask silly questions, get silly answers.
If shooting through a scoped .22 rifle; paint balls are a blast.
Charcoal briquettes and billiard chalk for when she gets better.
Various sizes of soda bottles can be tied to strings and stapled to the target holders.
At our range, we considered fruit but rejected the idea because of it would likely attract nuisance critters (possum, raccoon, cats, dogs) and insects.
Unglazed ceramic tiles.
NSSA uses them on their range. A good rain reduces the shards to clay and it's absorbed into the soil.
Jay,
Recall when I glued up some orange coated aspirin tabs onto black paper? Could see 'em but they were hard as hell to hit. We sure did blow through a LOT of .22 that day.
- Brad
Saltine Crackers are good.
Blue Rocks are good.
http://www.do-alltraps.com/targeting.html
And those things are awesome.
Spear
Ritz crackers are biodegradeable, and if you buy the low-sodium kind, you don't even feel bad about shooting them.
Pringles are cheaper, and the nacho-cheese kind are easier to see with the sort of day-glow orange color. Trouble is, I eat more than I shoot.
Ping pong balls are good. The thick plastic toy ones are more durable, and hop around nicely.
Golf balls can be had cheap, especially if you have a friend who lives next to a golf course. Beware that you don't ricochet them into something/someone important.
Neco-wafers (1 inch discs of sugar) or Aspirin tablets, for accurate shooters. Or put out a piece of rotting meat, and shoot the flies it attracts.
You can use a sharp knife to punch a small hole throught the center of an orange skeet/trap clay pigeon. Run a zip tie closed until you have a 1" loop at the end. Push the 'tail' of the zip tie through the hole in the pigeon and then through a small hole in cardboard backer. The clay is big enough for small kids to practice on, and you just have to walk a fresh bunch of clays out to the target once in a while. The zip ties tend to stay in the backer when the clays explode.
Many thanks, everyone!
I'll try whatever the ranges let me get away with; it all sounds like fun. I do want to shoot melons etc. though, Cornered Cat style (i.e. showing her how important gun safety is, in terms of just what a bullet can do). I'll try to find a place to do that.
Jay: the 2012 Northeast Bloggershoot? Sounds like fun, but why do you want to shoot bloggers?
Seriously, I'd love to do it. Tell me when, and the secret location of the JayG Batcave, and I'll do my best to be there.
cheers,
DiB
Post a Comment