Mark Fike
Summer is a great time to hone our shooting skills and introduce family and friends to marksmanship principals. However, going to the range with the whole family can be expensive. Why not create your own range on the cheap using things you probably have lying around the house?
Let’s face it, we all have things lying around the house that probably need purged, or are already headed for the dump. Some items we can put out on a “be on the lookout” (BOLO) list with the family to save them for future range use. Here is a breakdown of my top 7 items for our family range I keep on hand or snag when I see them.
Old Fruit or Vegetables
Yes, old fruit or vegetables are not only biodegradable, but they are headed for the trash or compost heap anyway. Squash, apples, melons, old onions and other vegetables or fruits are simple targets that will often explode spectacularly when hit which adds to the fun while on the range.
No prep work is needed with fruits or vegetables and you only need to be careful handling them if they are indeed going bad. If you have a garden and are overrun with squash or zucchini, or maybe some of them got way too big, way too fast, now you have a place to use them!
Plastic Water Bottles Full of Water
We throw away way too much plastic these days after only one use. Why not get a second use out of it before throwing it away or recycling it? The cool thing about plastic bottles is that they come in various sizes and can accommodate shooters of various skill levels. You can recycle the water bottles or part of them by using the caps that survive the initial onslaught of shooting practice for those eagle eyed shooters or challenge the kids to hit the tops. Another tip is to fill the bottles with water and then freeze them. If you are shooting high powered rifles or shotguns the impact is pretty cool. When done shooting, take a trashcan with you and be sure to police up the plastic from the range!
Old Clays
After we are done shooting clays at different events and the guns are on safe and cased, I always head downrange with a bucket to carefully collect surviving clays or large pieces of clays. On family range day we set these up on stumps, in the dirt, and against sticks downrange at various distances to challenge shooters with a .22 or airgun to hit them. You get instant feedback with the shattering of the clay and the best part is that the clay is biodegradable.
Old Blades and Other Metal Parts
Probably my favorite family range item to shoot at is old lawnmower blades or circular saw blades. I hang them by a piece of wire from tree branches, or my target stand and they swing and or “CLANG” when hit giving instant feedback. They can be shot repeatedly and last sometimes for years. Most people throw away old lawnmower blades, saw blades, pulleys and other such parts but they are really a target that keeps on giving. They move and take a beating. I start out by painting them bright colors to make them easy to see and like the clay parts, I will often place them at various ranges. Just be sure you put them at least 25 yards out and hang them freely by wire so they can move when hit.
Vegetable, Paint, and Soda Cans
Most people already shoot at soda cans but how about vegetable cans? We are throwing them away after opening them up. Time to give them a second use. Sometimes I leave the labels on the vegetable cans and challenge family and friends to hit a certain letter or picture on the can and sometimes I pull the label off to avoid having to go pick up pieces of paper on the range and make the target shiny by uncovering the metal. Up to you! Be careful when picking up the shot up cans to throw away as the bullet holes will have sharp spots.
Empty Shotgun or Rifle Cartridge Cases
Recycling old shotgun hulls or rifle cartridge cases (unless you plan on reloading them) by shooting at them is a great way to use them a second time AND increase shooting skills. These small targets can be set up on sticks, ends of tree branches or simply stood up on the dirt for a great shooting challenge. If you want to take the time to punch out the used primer and run a piece of wire through them they will get multiple uses too.
Old Paper Plates
Paper plates that are slightly used but not too messy or paper plates that perhaps are undesirable in that they are not the quality you normally use and are just sitting in the cabinet because they soak through when you use them are good candidates for the family range. If they are white shooters can challenge themselves to “shoot” a smiley face into the plate or “shoot” their initials into it for fun. The first one done wins another magazine of ammo to shoot!
Range Tips
When doing any shooting to include backyard shooting, be sure to wear ear and eye protection. As a lifelong shooter with hearing problems I can attest to the fact I wish I had always had ear protection on when around loud noises. Eye protection is equally important as small particles of gunpower or fragments can fly back into the eyes.
When shooting at targets, particularly metal targets, be sure you have a safe distance between you. I like to set up at least 25 yards away to avoid any fragments flying my way from bullets or pellets and the target itself.
Last, be sure to have a safe backstop and enforce this rule all the time. Point out the backstop to new shooters so they start thinking safety every time they go shoot. Shooting into the dirt is a great idea. Shooting downhill or into a berm with no trails or structures in the backdrop is smart. If shooting in a field be sure there are no livestock wandering around.
Remember, everyone goes home with all their fingers and toes if they abide by the gun safety rules!
While summer is ticking away, hunting season will soon be here. Having some family and friends range time is a great way to keep our shooting skills sharp.
