what won't you won't shoot at (and why)

docwharden1881

docwharden1881

member
Joined
Apr 17, 2024
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79
Location
midwest
I will absolutely not shoot at:

anything made out of glass. Bottles, jars, etc.
reason: too dangerous, pain to clean up afterwards

live animals of any sort
reason: i'm not a hunter and i consider it cruel

there might be more but these examples are off the top of my head. when it comes to expired food it depends if i want to feed any wild critters.
 
I shoot at proper paper, metal and plastic targets on the range and deer and elk during the hunting seasons. I will not shoot at anything else except if a cougar or bear attacked which is highly unlikely but I am prepared.
 
Anything that will not "go away".

Ice cubes with food coloring are a great target, and very reactive.

It would be better to say what odd things are a good target.

So many people don't have a chance to shoot at an "improvised" target like a milk jug full of water. Most ranges don't allow that kind of thing. Sure everyone has seen a video of it, but to see it first hand is really something, and shows the guy that just uses his gun as a long distance hole punch just how powerful things are.

I don't like to shoot "good" food.
 
Glass, for reasons mentioned.
It will be a problem for someone/something, if not you.

On the rare occasions I do shoot glass, I usually nest it inside some kind of box or container. That way the glass shards get contained and easier to clean. You can still kind of "hear" a hit.

I also don't shoot random metal targets (old cookware, brake rotors, etc.) with anything more than .22LR, if that. At least not at dangerously close range. Results can be unpredictable... [EDIT: Curved items, like woks and lids, can be ESPECIALLY dangerous!]


Stopped shooting at living things for no good reason long, long ago. To where it goes without saying...
 
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You can't beat the "clang" of a gong.My Dad had some old 24" disk blades, I wish I had saved them instead if selling them for scrap metal.
 
Another vote for "I don't shoot at glass," for reasons already mentioned.

It's harder to list the things I don't shoot than the things I do, which include: oranges, cabbage, other fruits and vegetables, paper & metal targets, soup cans. I don't shoot animals (unless hunting or threatened (which thankfully hasn't ever happened)), or targets that are neither biodegradable nor easily cleaned up.
 
If I stopped shooting at steel that bullets are designed to bounce off I'd pretty much not be shooting much. There isn't any safety concerns about shooting steel as we find all those bullets within 5-8 ft. of the steel dingers after they ricochet and end up in the dirt. Almost all the energy is depleted upon impact, so only enough for the short trip backwards into the soil.
 
I shot an old TV, that was a mistake. Picking up the glass was a real pita.
Seems like clay pigeons even the so called biodegradable ones stick around forever too.
 
My dad owned a junkyard and I could shoot up the cars destined for the crusher. That was a lot of fun. I wish I could still do it. If I have an appliance go out I'll shoot it up in a heartbeat. I'm not concerned about ricochets out here. I guess glass is about the only thing I won't shoot altho it is a lot of fun. I can't say I won't shoot paper targets because I will if the need arises but those days are few and far between now. I only shoot paper when I'm sighting in a new gun. Shooting for tight groups doesn't interest me. Having fun does.
 
Glass, huge no-no. I will only shoot steel, (love the instant feedback), and paper. I haven't shot an animal in years, but if I went hunting again I wouldn't hesitate to humanely harvest one, or if need be to protect from attack.
Ice was something I did once, even made a video, due to that stupid "ice bucket challenge" idiocy many years ago. I declined to pour ice water on my head and instead shot ice targets. On a hot summer day in AZ they didn't last long after being shattered.
I hate seeing things like water heaters or refrigerators being used as targets - slob shooters make it harder on all of us. I've attended clean ups at wildcat ranges - massively not fun.
 
If it makes a mess I shoot it at the dump. Some day I am going to stop by and see if I can get some cracked windshields, just to test with (old .25 acp thread).

Some invasive animals I kill just to get rid of them. I would poison them but then might hurt other species I do not want to harm. Not to mention a slow death would be cruel to me vs a gun shot.

Spend a couple hundred hours smoothing a hay meadow and have pigs come in and destroy it overnight and you'd probably feel like keeping the buzzards and coyotes well fed.

I won't shoot protected animals or ones that are not "in season".

I'm a meat eater though and something has to die for that to happen. Same as the plants I eat, they get just as dead. Death is just part of life, even if it's not observed or first hand, it occurs.
 
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I feel that invasive and/or destructive pests are one thing.

Shooting at animals that happen to be there (small birds, etc.) in the name of a reactive target is quite another.


Also agree that plant life is valuable and to be respected. I don't go around breaking limbs and branches and pouring automotive fluids all over tarnation with this in mind. We can eat and still be respectful of our fellow Earth inhabitants.
 
Round paper plates. I won't shoot at them at a range even though they are cheap and environmentally ok.

I just consider them low class.

I know this is elitist and snobbish and I apologize.
 
Snob shooters make it harder on all of us. I've been looked down upon for my choice of cheap targets - massively not fun.

[/just joking here]
 
Starter52 said:
Round paper plates. I won't shoot at them at a range even though they are cheap and environmentally ok.

I just consider them low class.

I know this is elitist and snobbish and I apologize.
Click to expand...
Punching holes in paper to me is "ho-hum''. Unless your thriving for "match-striking" accuracy (which I'm not) I really don't get much bang for the buck out of them as targets. The only time I use paper plates is for my slingshots or airguns. Those two I'm trying to become a little more accurate with. Mainly for pest control.The little community I live in seems to have more cats and dogs than people and they love my backyard for some reason.
 
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Toss my non biodegradable targets in the trash when done. Heck take and break down my cardboard and put in trash ( nothing left at backstop, takes up less space in can ).

People often look at me funny for doing so.
 
hawg said:
Call me a slob shooter if it makes you feel better. I shoot on private property and clean up my own mess.
Click to expand...
No, wasn't meaning to insult you at all - that's YOUR property, you do what you want with your property. It's the idiots who shoot on PUBLIC land and leave burned out cars, propane tanks, glass, etc., those are the ones I refer to.
 
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