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Dave McC · February 12, 2002, 07:36 AM

This came up on a thread here, and I had an E mail inquiry, so here it is...

Back in the mid 70s to early 80s I hutned shot and hung out with about 8-10 GOBs of my age. We all had Appalachian roots, too much hair and drank too much beer.We listened to the Allman Bros and Merle.We also had lots of guns, especially shotguns.

The standard piece was a long bbled, tight choked
repeater, often an 870, 12, A-5 or 37. We liked heavy loads, 3" chambers,and much of our discretionary income went into ammo.And,we weren't well off, so we made our fun as it came along.

Fortunately, there was plenty of stuff to shoot at, in or off season. In season, we shot doves, quail, pheasant, woodcock, geese and ducks. We drifted canoes down some of the Patuxent's many feeder creeks,shooting mallards and woodies as they came off the water, and taking many squirrels from the trees.Mallards also got jump shot off tiny farm ponds, and a cut corn field often had a dozen or two old Canada decoys set out not long after the combine left.

Off season, we shot starlingsand other vermin, groundhogs and possums, coons etc. We waged Jihad against crows, regarding them as feathered thugs that ate the eggs of better birds.

We'd set under Mulberry trees and shoot tweeters as them came in for the fruit. Sorry, know better now.

And yes, we'd go to the dump at dusk and shoot rats off the trash. Told you these were GOBs...

We had access to a stone quarry after working hours, and spent many a pleasant hour pass shooting pigeons, much to the joy of the quarry workers. Most of what we shot, we ate.

But, even then, we'd run out of live targets every now and then. Priding ourselves on our creativity and self reliance, we came up with targets and things to shoot, some of them quite extraordinary.

Of course, we threw clays with a handthrower, and devised strange ways of shooting them, like throwing them straight up and trying to hit them coming down. We also frisbeed them by hand, direction and speed varied greatly, and they had to be hit fast.

And, we tied balloons on two foot strings and secured them to the ground on breezy days, and gave an extra point if we could cut the string with a shot and then hit the balloon with a second one.

For slugs, we'd mount a piece of cardboard in an old tire and roll it down a hill. Like that rabbit target in SC, this was a hummer.

For Practical shotgunning, a brown paper grocery bag set on a stick or wire hanger made a good replacement for a tombstone or Q target.Various drills, including El Presidentes made up a nice COF series.

Beer cans made good plinking targets, and two or more shooters could try to move a can beyond a given line,kind of a race.

Overripe melons, water filled milk jugs, etc, served as blowup targets, instant gratification at its finest.

This should give folks some ideas, how about what YOU do?....

February 12, 2002, 07:36 AM	#1
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Some ideas for targets.... This came up on a thread here, and I had an E mail inquiry, so here it is... Back in the mid 70s to early 80s I hutned shot and hung out with about 8-10 GOBs of my age. We all had Appalachian roots, too much hair and drank too much beer.We listened to the Allman Bros and Merle.We also had lots of guns, especially shotguns. The standard piece was a long bbled, tight choked repeater, often an 870, 12, A-5 or 37. We liked heavy loads, 3" chambers,and much of our discretionary income went into ammo.And,we weren't well off, so we made our fun as it came along. Fortunately, there was plenty of stuff to shoot at, in or off season. In season, we shot doves, quail, pheasant, woodcock, geese and ducks. We drifted canoes down some of the Patuxent's many feeder creeks,shooting mallards and woodies as they came off the water, and taking many squirrels from the trees.Mallards also got jump shot off tiny farm ponds, and a cut corn field often had a dozen or two old Canada decoys set out not long after the combine left. Off season, we shot starlingsand other vermin, groundhogs and possums, coons etc. We waged Jihad against crows, regarding them as feathered thugs that ate the eggs of better birds. We'd set under Mulberry trees and shoot tweeters as them came in for the fruit. Sorry, know better now. And yes, we'd go to the dump at dusk and shoot rats off the trash. Told you these were GOBs... We had access to a stone quarry after working hours, and spent many a pleasant hour pass shooting pigeons, much to the joy of the quarry workers. Most of what we shot, we ate. But, even then, we'd run out of live targets every now and then. Priding ourselves on our creativity and self reliance, we came up with targets and things to shoot, some of them quite extraordinary. Of course, we threw clays with a handthrower, and devised strange ways of shooting them, like throwing them straight up and trying to hit them coming down. We also frisbeed them by hand, direction and speed varied greatly, and they had to be hit fast. And, we tied balloons on two foot strings and secured them to the ground on breezy days, and gave an extra point if we could cut the string with a shot and then hit the balloon with a second one. For slugs, we'd mount a piece of cardboard in an old tire and roll it down a hill. Like that rabbit target in SC, this was a hummer. For Practical shotgunning, a brown paper grocery bag set on a stick or wire hanger made a good replacement for a tombstone or Q target.Various drills, including El Presidentes made up a nice COF series. Beer cans made good plinking targets, and two or more shooters could try to move a can beyond a given line,kind of a race. Overripe melons, water filled milk jugs, etc, served as blowup targets, instant gratification at its finest. This should give folks some ideas, how about what YOU do?....