Golf Balls for Targets

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Rockrivr1

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So I went to the range late yesterday afternoon. It was raining, it was cold and I was the only one at the range. When I get there I realize I forgot my target holder and I didn't have any water bottles etc to shoot at. As I'm looking for something to shoot at I realize I have my golf clubs with me, so I fish out four golf balls and throw them out onto the range. A couple were around 5-7 yrds and the other two were around 10 yrds. I then load up and start firing. GRRRRRRRR!!!!! Them damn small golf balls not only frustrate me when I'm on the golf course, but now they are frustrating me at the range too! :fire: That is until I actually hit one. Then it's YEEEHAAAA!!! That little ball flew to the back of the range. That' over 100 yrds. :D DAMN that felt good. Over the next half hour or so I burned through a lot of ammo and had some really good hits on those golf balls. Ok Ok, a LOT more misses then hits but I was definitely improving by the time I finished.

Funny thing though. I was alternating between my Sig 220 in 45 and my Glock 22 in 40. I hit the golf balls twice as many times with the Sig then I did with the Glock. Not sure why, but there was definitely a difference. I'm not slamming Glock at all as I like my G22. Just was more accurate with the Sig.

Another funny thing is that I had some direct hits on these golf balls and neither the 45 or 40 penetrated them. Peeled some of the cover off but that was about it. I'm going to keep these 4 balls for further target practice. I want to see how many hits I need before I blast one apart. Hummmm, maybe I should try my 50 cal and see if they stand up. :evil:

Oh and by the way. When I play golf I slice really bad to the right. When I shoot golf balls they hook really bad to the left. Hummmmmm :scrutiny:
 
Golf balls are fun targets, especially when you can keep 'em rolling...

Oh and by the way. When I play golf I slice really bad to the right. When I shoot golf balls they hook really bad to the left. Hummmmmm

////Wise N. Hiemer mode on

Maybe try tossing a few up and smacking them with a baseball bat? ? ? :evil: I was not good at baseball, but man could I smack a golf ball straight with a bat. Now with a 5-iron . . .

See if you can find any part of the golf ball after ya hit it with a .30-06 147Gr FMJ round
 
It is amazing what ''punishment'' golf balls will take. I reckon that with all that wound up rubber encasing the core - they are actually quite good energy absorbers. Add to that low enough mass for the inertial response to penetration to be low - many survive a long time.

Downside is those ones that insist on going from 10 yards to 100 on first hit - it means a walk..... or fetch out the FAL and do 'em in properly! :evil: :p
 
Shooting golf balls - great way to make an inexpensive target.

Take a big fender washer and about two feet of fishing line. Tie the washer to one end and tape (or glue...whatever) the golf ball to the other. Run a rod, stick or dowel thru the washer and suspend the golf ball about a foot off the ground.

Hit the golf ball, it spins around and comes back to rest. You can shoot all day long without having to replace a target. If the wind is blowing, or you shoot rapid fire strings, you will quickly find out just how good you really are with a pistol - I suck.

The good news is, it's cheap, fun and will help sharpen your shooting skills. The downside is it takes a hell of a lot of ammo to consistently hit it if it is moving even slightly. When you can hit it, it will spin several times, so kids get a kick out of shooting this way. A brick of 22 rimfire, a 10/22 and a couple of golf balls will give a kid a full day of fun and then some.

No need to chase them and trashed out range balls are usually free for the asking at local courses.

BigSlick
 
Golf balls make awsome targets!

The boys started playing on some undeveloped land across the street from our house and found about 25 golf balls. I don't play golf, and little boys like to throw them real hard :eek: so I had to do something with them; in the range bag they went.

They make a real good reactive target. That is until they go flying over a berm and you can't find them. I like to shoot at them up close with my 9mm or 40cal until they get too far away, then I pull out the Marlin .22lr and work on them until they fall into a hole or something. The only one I seen blown open a friend hit with his AR. :evil:
 
It's nice to hear you guys are picking them up when you are done. I hate it when folks leave trash around the range.
 
Funny thing though. I was alternating between my Sig 220 in 45 and my Glock 22 in 40. I hit the golf balls twice as many times with the Sig then I did with the Glock. Not sure why, but there was definitely a difference. I'm not slamming Glock at all as I like my G22. Just was more accurate with the Sig.

Are you saying Glock got no balls?
anim_peep.gif
 
What do you have from Rock River? I'm sure you may do even better with your Rock River. I surprise myself with my limited RRA 45. No one is ever around to verify it.Some days are good,others days I should cut back on the coffee.
 
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My wife's favorite plinking targets! She gets bags of them from her boss, so the price is right. Great fun, no matter what the caliber and extremely challenging from 15 yds on back.

The only PITA is finding and collecting all the pieces for disposal when it's time to go home. Range rules/etiquette at our club requires clean up, and those failing to take the time and effort can be expelled. Security cameras now record the license plate numbers of all vehicles through the gate with date and time, so....

Upside is that we now have a nice, orderly range and damage to fixtures (target stands, benches, etc.) is waaay down.
 
We shot a match at 100 yards with hi-power. I used a .308, and when you hit a ball, it just sort of fell off the tee. Was still al lot of fun. :neener:
 
Used to shoot golf balls with 3 or 4 other guys, every one put in a dollar and took turns shooting. If you missed you were out of the rotation. Last man to hit took the pot. A good rifle and a steady hand will get you alot of ammo coin.
 
My 12 year old love to challenge me to what we call 22 golf. Two balls teed up at 10 yds. Two pistols with full mags. He gets to use the bench to rest, I shoot offhand. When the mags are empty the ball farthest away is the winner. He's started to beat me a little too often recently. Might have to take away the bench. Secret trick. Aim for the top half. Getting it to have a lot of overspin really makes it go a long way.

Steve
 
In a twist on pin shooting, I found a bowling ball at the dump, once. That was a hoot to shoot. No rifles. A 9mm barely moved it. .357 gave it a couple of rolls, though. Sure was a PITA to clean it all up, though... :evil:
 
Hmmm... Note to self: challenge friends to a golf ball shooting match, get some ball-bearings the same size as golf balls, paint them white, and...

:evil: :what: :D
 
Golf balls are indeed fun.

I shot one at near point blank range with my Mosin and I never saw it again :evil:

A bowling ball shot with the same gun was blasted into about 3 equal sized pieces.
 
Consider this: Charcoal briquets (the type you use in the grill), make great targets, are cheap, light in weight, give off a very satisfying puff of black powder when hit and are environmentally friendly to boot. My cousin and I shot up a bag before his dad started looking to fire up the grill for dinner.
Needless to say, we invested in a larger bag of Kingsford.
 
I have been shooting at golf balls for years. I take old wire coat hangers and cut them into 4 equal lengths, drill a hole in the golf ball just smaller than the wire and insert the wire into the ball to make a "lollipop". You can either jam it into the ground or drill a hole into an old log. They will keep taking hits until you shoot the "stem". Have fun.
 
I had some of the foam "golf balls" I would shoot around inside with my airsoft pistol. GREAT stress relief I might add.

Probably will try the same thing with my pellet pistol.
 
See if you can find any part of the golf ball after ya hit it with a .30-06 147Gr FMJ round
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I've shot them with .308, and they will take a lickin and keep on ticking.
 
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