People don't like target shooting?

[kazaam]

I've seen a few different people on various forums say that they don't like/got tired of shooting targets. Is this a common thing among "veteran" shooters? Getting ready to buy my first handgun and I certainly hope I don't get tired of it.

I don't think many ranges around here allow shooting any, uh, objects and I'm not too sure about steel.

SO...can/did you get tired of target shooting?

 

[allaroundhunter]

You might get bored of only shooting targets, but that is when you get into competition to make it fun. Adding a challenge keeps everything interesting and adds another level of fun, especially to the sport of shooting! But no, not everyone gets tired of just punching paper.

Sent from my HTC One X

 

[Dnaltrop]

31 years of shooting and I still get that "kid in a candy store" feeling every time i feel that weight in my hand.

When I get tired, I get other people involved, have THEM shoot my guns, and get my kicks vicariously.

 

[tipoc]

I've seen a few different people on various forums say that they don't like/got tired of shooting targets. Is this a common thing among "veteran" shooters?

No not particularly, since everything you might want to shoot at is a "target" in one way or another. A shooter can shoot at an indoor range or an outdoor range. You can shoot at any distance you care to. You can shoot bullseye for extreme accuracy or combat style for self defense. You can take classes and expand your skill set. You can shoot revolvers or modern design or antique design. You can shoot semi. You can get into Cowboy Action Shooting or IDPA. You can go hunting. And a lot more. Throughout you will be putting a lot of holes in paper, or in aluminum cans, plastic bottles, etc. You have a few decades to get bored in.

tipoc

 

[tarosean]

Sure I get bored punching paper... then out comes, fruit/melons, bottles/cans, spinners/ drop downs, etc. Some sort of reactive target helps cure it...

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

I don't think many ranges around here allow shooting any, uh, objects and I'm not too sure about steel.

SO...can/did you get tired of target shooting?

Yes, some can indeed get tired of target shooting. But the reasons vary from person to person.

Some tire of it because locally it may be too much of a pain to reach a place they can target shoot. Some because they're limited in places to go...like your example, where they only have indoor ranges which don't let them have fun shooting anything other than paper targets.

Still others tire of it due to increasing costs or changes as they grow older. Changes like arthitis and vision impairment.

The reasons are as individual as the person. But not everybody gets tired of it.

I wouldn't worry about it. Just get out there and have fun! Too much worrying might make you...well, get tired of it.

 

[Pete D.]

Target

No....not everyone gets bored with paper punching. It is all that I do with pistols and after some decades of it, I am not bored yet.
Pete

 

[OneLiveRound]

It depends on the shooter I guess, there are some days when I don't have an option of an outdoor range. I'll either practice running drills on Q targets or practice accuracy on bullseye.

 

[One_Jackal]

I am really getting into silhouette shooting. Silhouette shooting is almost always outdoors. You can shoot different distances and sizes of silhouettes. Last but not least, you don't have to put up a target every few rounds.

At home I like shooting golf balls. Every time you hit the ball it rolls a little further away. Great fun with a 22 rifle!!

 

[BigN]

I still enjoy shooting paper after many decades, never get tired of it. Everything I shoot is reloaded so there's also the enjoyment factor from seeing custom made reloads going into the same hole If it weren't for reloading, not sure I would enjoy it or do it as much.

 

[MrBorland]

I love informal target shooting, and I don't get tired of it. It's all about the fundamentals, so it's an important part of my practice. But...it's only part of my practice. If I formally competed in target events, the scores & competition would likely keep me motivated to practice it exclusively.

 

[Sam1911]

I don't have a whole lot of attention span for simple plinking or "informal" target shooting these days.

My focus changed years back to various kinds of competition and other more focused persuits and I tend to get my noise and recoil needs adequately filled through practice, training, and development in those areas.

The better I get at my various persuits, the more I understand that I have to learn/improve, so that keeps things from being boring.

 

[PabloJ]

I've seen a few different people on various forums say that they don't like/got tired of shooting targets. Is this a common thing among "veteran" shooters? Getting ready to buy my first handgun and I certainly hope I don't get tired of it.

I don't think many ranges around here allow shooting any, uh, objects and I'm not too sure about steel.

SO...can/did you get tired of target shooting?

Colonial Shooting Academy which is like health spa for gun people opened few miles from my house and I haven't shot there once. Yeh, making holes in paper gets old real fast.

 

[littlebluevette]

A defensive target is a shoot or be shot target.

 

[JohnBT]

"Colonial Shooting Academy which is like health spa for gun people opened few miles from my house and I haven't shot there once. Yeh, making holes in paper gets old real fast."

They have a tactical range in the basement that's open to recreational shooters twice a week (according to the e-mail they sent me; I'm a member.)

"Tactical Range
Our custom target control system works through a wireless interface between an off-range computer and the targets, which means the rifle-rated range can be operated by a single hand-held remote control. The system has preloaded programs. This can be programed to run at different timing intervals. This can be programed to run in solo to gang mode. With easy to follow instructions. Additionally, the remote allows you to face or edge targets on demand."

TACTICAL RANGE:
Shooters must be holster qualified. (Safety class required.)
A Range Safety Officer must be present at all times.
Appropriate safety rules apply.

www.colonialshooting.com/content/rules-of-the-range


The 1800-sq-ft shoot house in the basement has moveable walls, etc. for law enforcement training, etc.

 

[StrawHat]

I competed with a revolver for over a decade and with a rifle for several decades. I have grown tired of shooting at formal targets at fixed ranges. Nowadays, once I have decided on a load and dialed in my sights, I rarely use a formal target after that. Instead, I walk out on properties (with permission) and shoot at stumps, rocks, cans, etc at unknown distances, from field positions and try to take my shots in hunting time. I use a field rest when available or a modiied stance when a rest is not available. I estimate the range and hold over or under as necessary, same with windage. Shooting like this, I rarely get more than twenty shoots a day, more often less than ten, but it is great practice with a rifle or a revolver.

 

[JEB]

i dont shoot targets as much as i used to but still do some target shooting on occasion just to keep in practice.

 

[2ndAmFan]

Since my family owns some land in TX I don't have to put up with range rules on target shooting. I use paper to sight guns in but then I can shoot pretty much anything that is available. Soda cans filled with water at least react when you hit them, and you can sell them to aluminum recyclers when you're done.

 

[Snag]

I can see how shooting paper at an indoor range year after year would get old. Outside is a whole different story, target possibilities are endless.

 

[mgmorden]

Exact opposite for me. I first was introduced to guns as a kid by way of hunting. I quickly learned that for the most part, hunting is pretty darned boring and I gave up making the hunting trips with my dad for almost all of my teenage years.

Eventually I started back and I still get in a little hunting, but I found that I FAR prefer going out and just shooting targets. Lately I've started USPSA and Steel Challenge competition as a way to keep things mixed up, but overall I just enjoy the challenge of shooting, and paper targets allow me to do that to my hearts content.

If you do find yourself getting bored, I'd suggest the following:

- Try a different gun/caliber. If you've shot a Glock until you're tired of it try a 1911 or something else completely different.

- Similarly to the above, try different disciplines. If you typically shoot benchrest/scoped rifles and get bored try switching to handguns for a while (and vice versa). Or try a shotgun on a trap/skeet range.

- Try competition. USPSA, IDPA, SCSA, 3-gun, Cowboy, Benchrest - whatever suits your fancy. Sometimes just having some goal in mind will make all the difference in the world.

- Take up handloading. Shooting takes on a whole new meaning when you're working on different loads. Trying out different powders and bullet designs and seeing what works best can be a hobby unto itself, and the target shooting part becomes your proving grounds .

- If all else fails - just take a break. Never push yourself to do anything you don't enjoy, but sometimes just a bit of time away from a particular hobby will make you appreciate it all the more.

 

[CraigC]

Shooting paper at an indoor range bores the hell out of me. Which is why I'm ever thankful to be able to shoot on my own property when and at whatever I want.

 

[Hunterdad]

Target shooting has become boring to me. Punching home after hole in paper gets really expensive. My buddy gets upset because I never want to go out shooting. He loves dumping round down range for some reason. Now, I mostly shoot competitively and enjoy that much more. Reactive targets are what its all about for me.

 

[Furncliff]

Yup, I get bored shooting paper. I switch to the reactive targets and that's very satisfying.

 

[BCRider]

I don't mind shooing paper now and then. But when I do it's mostly aimed at practice towards the action shooting I prefer.

And in fact it was the lure of IPSC and similar shooting that got me off my tuckus to take the course and become licensed. We've got an indoor rental range in the city. If it was simply a case of stand at a bench and shoot I'd simply have gone and rented my fun a couple of times a year and called it good.

So for me? Yes, if it was all about paper punching I'd be out of here or have a far smaller collection than I have at present. But IPSC, IDPA, Cowboy Action and the local versions of Speed Steel is what keeps me coming back and shooting handguns.

Keep in mind that here in Canada that handgun use is purely a sport. Effectively there simply is no concealed or open handgun carry at all regardless of the threat potential.

 

[DeadFlies]

Shooting paper at an indoor range bores the hell out of me. Which is why I'm ever thankful to be able to shoot on my own property when and at whatever I want.

This pretty much sums up my situation as well. With three kids at home I have lots of empty milk jugs that need to be repurposed before they get recycled. I am never short of reactive targets.