Range Report: backyard plinking

[Sir Henry]

I have too much to do to drive to the range for even an hour of shooting. That hour easily turns into four with travel and prep.

My gun of choice today was my Red Ryder BB gun. I can legally shoot on my property “if done safely”. Even I would argue it wouldn’t be safe. You can see the neighbor’s house to the right of the backstop. A bb won’t go that far but rimfire would.

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I’ve moved the firing line up to 12 yards. It was 20 off the shed.

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I’ll shoot at anything cheap that will make a ping. The boots are for decoration. Those measuring cups near the bottom are hard to hit at 20 but you can see they have been hit.

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Each piece makes its own song.

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This spoon is my favorite. It’s usually easy to see.

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The more work I can get done this winter the more time to go to the range in the spring

[fortyshooter]

Nice and very interesting field of targets to shoot at Gene! Like I say most anything laying around can make a good target.
Something to say about just walking out and plink with the air rifles. There is 30 acres of woods off the street behind my home but a big no no for any kind of air rifle shooting being in the city as in city property. A nice patch of woods but just for hiking of dog walking.

I think I can still shoot the air guns in my backyard range but might have to check on that but now I just take them to my country range.

[Sir Henry]

Thanks Forty. I’m trying to set my small backyard into a moving obstacle range. In other thread someone asked me about ricochets with bb’s and I said I didn’t get many. Well it seems I get more than I thought at that time. That’s one reasons I mover the shooting line forward as it also allowed me to shoot from a slight angle.

Pellets are better for accuracy but I can’t shoot metal this close. I liked your bottles filled with water. After I get a better selection of air guns I’m going to take a few design tips from your videos.

[North Country Gal]

Gene, You can shoot pellets, safely, at hard targets at 10 yards. I do it all the time. It helps to use a rifle that is appropriate for 10 yard work - these will be in the 500 fps ball park. The most important thing, though, is to use a target that is hard enough and substantial enough to flatten pellets when they hit. You get ricochets when pellets strike a target a glancing blow or targets that are too light. These targets can fail to flatten a pellet, completely. That's when you get ricochets. Wadcutter pellets are designed for 10 meter shooting and that flat point makes them very unlikely to ricochet.

And, of course, no worries at all when using a bullet trap, other than lead dust building up around the trap. Just need to clean that up from time to time. ALL of my indoor shooting at 33 feet is done using pellets and bullet traps. Actually safer than shooting BBs. That takes a special type of trap.

[Sir Henry]

Gene, You can shoot pellets, safely, at hard targets at 10 yards. I do it all the time. It helps to use a rifle that is appropriate for 10 yard work - these will be in the 500 fps ball park. The most important thing, though, is to use a target that is hard enough and substantial enough to flatten pellets when they hit. You get ricochets when pellets strike a target a glancing blow or targets that are too light. These targets can fail to flatten a pellet, completely. That's when you get ricochets. Wadcutter pellets are designed for 10 meter shooting and that flat point makes them very unlikely to ricochet. And, of course, no worries at all when using a bullet trap, other than lead dust building up around the trap. Just need to clean that up from time to time.

Thanks. I did not know the pellet shape made a difference. Part of my problem is some of my metal gongs are concave and anywhere you hit them they come back at the opposite way. Which means fired from the center they come straight back (I’m talking bb’s). If you are offset they don’t come straight back.

I do have the three bullet traps in a close by area. You can shoot both areas from the shed.

What I really want to do with pellets is to have a repeater gun where I can be moving and shoot at traps placed in areas. I already have three more traps still in a box.

[North Country Gal]

For sure, concave targets are a no no with pellets if you are concerned about ricochets. Flat and the heavier the better is the safe way to go. I won't even use the flimsy light spinner targets designed for air gun use. Mine are all the heavy metal variety.

[fortyshooter]

If you can find them....they used to make soft lead BB's for air rifles which would work great for hard targets. Steel BB's will bounce back if they can't penetrate the surface. And here's another type target to never use with typical air rifles pellets or BB's....those thick self healing rubber types.
You can hear the pellets whizzing by you head sounding like the classic ricochet!!

[Sir Henry]

If you can find them....they used to make soft lead BB's for air rifles which would work great for hard targets. Steel BB's will bounce back if they can't penetrate the surface. And here's another type target to never use with typical air rifles pellets or BB's....those thick self healing rubber types.
You can hear the pellets whizzing by you head sounding like the classic ricochet!!

I have some clay like bb’s that disintegrates on impact. Doesn’t make the same ping and isn’t nearly as much fun.

I think the best thing is to leave the bb targets as is and add bullet traps for the pellets. But then I’m faced with missing the trap. Not really a problem at untimed offhand but I want a timed course.

I want a rifle for precision shooting and maybe a semi-auto pistol pellet gun for timed action. For safety all action shooting positions will be very close as no missed traps would be allowed. The traps will be placed as low to the ground as possible so misses would go into the ground even though not really the first safety plan. Not missing is a must.

[North Country Gal]

You can do it. Even if you do miss, I've rarely seen pellet ricochet when shooting into the lawn.

[fortyshooter]

Gene... this target setup would go great in your backyard range!! Great for the "barbeque" range!!
https://youtu.be/CJfMI13ZOm4 Think I still have the light duty can pivots someplace.

As I watch this maybe not so good to have it next to the A/C unit!!!!! Wind was blowing the cans over when I had it in front of my back stop.