This is a follow up to an earlier thread* about a drill that I find fun as well as challenging, which is hitting a small target that swings freely in the wind. As pictured, the setup is a small reactive target suspended from a string and that moves somewhat randomly. The goal is to hit the target with a rifle chambered for the 22 Long Rifle or other rimfire cartridge.





As described in the other thread I originally used small pieces of hard pasta as targets. That is somewhat of a nuisance, though, because the targets must obviously be replaced after being hit, and even attaching them to the strings is time-consuming.

My recent change was to replace the pasta with a target that would react to being hit but could absorb numerous hits without being destroyed. Pictured is an old 35mm film can—something I have a lot of, and I suspect it will take a long time before it’s no longer usable. I imagine most people don’t have a bag full of the old canisters, but any suitable replacement would work. I even found something similar on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...A1NOW8IJMU3II9&psc=1

I haven’t tried those, and there are many similar items available, but those particular containers on Amazon are claimed to be made of HDPE which is what my film cans are made of. I wanted something that was durable and wouldn’t just shatter when hit.

In addition to the film can on a string, the setup just requires a way of supporting the target. I have two 1×2 sticks with a (retired) bore cleaning rod as the support, all of which I happened to have on hand. I have several replacements made up for when a string gets severed by a bullet.

How much practical skill the drill develops I’m not actually sure, unless it’s to engage something like a squirrel that moves back and forth erratically and stops at random, although I do sometimes use the “ambush” method of hitting the target which is to aim where I think it’s going to go and then shoot when it gets to that point.

The drill can be fired with any rifle that’s accurate enough for the size of the target and shooting distance. When I used pasta a couple of years ago I shot from the prone at 25 yards. Now prone and I don’t get along, and the film cans are much larger so I’ll probably move the distance to 50 yards or more and shoot from a tripod. One addition to the challenge is the greater effect of the wind on the .22 caliber bullets at longer distances.

As has been mentioned about other drills and challenges, we get the most benefit if there is some way of measuring our performance. I haven’t fired a full session with this new target, but my plan is to time how long it takes me to fire the 10 rounds in my Tikka or Ruger magazine and record the number of hits. Then I’ll divide the hit number by the time in seconds to get a score that I can compare from one shot string to another. For me timing a drill is a good way to add to the pressure as well as helping me avoid the common mistake of, “Shoot, shoot! You’re running out of time.”

If anyone has any suggestions about how the drill can be improved or varied, please let us know.

* https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...670078205#5670078205

I tried the timed 10-shot string five times today. Rifle is a Tikka T1x Ace Tactical with EC tuner, SK Standard Plus ammunition, standing using tripod for support, 50 yards. The rifle and ammunition are generally capable of close to 1/2 inch groups at 50 yards, so misses as well as hits are possibly due to natural shot dispersion.
The wind was unusually light so I’m sure I’ll do worse on different days. I did fire many shots while the can was still swinging slightly from being hit with the previous shot and sometimes missed as a result.

Scoring is the number of hits divided by the time for the 10-shot string, and then multiplied by 100 to give a more convenient number to use.

8 hits, 80.41 seconds = 9.9
8 hits 72.21 seconds = 11.1
8 hits 63.90 seconds = 12.5
9 hits 59.38 seconds = 15.2
9 hits 65.37 seconds = 14.4

After 50 or so hits, including yesterday’s, the film can was pretty much destroyed to the point that a shot could possibly pass through the middle without being seen as a hit.

I use wine corks or those squishy foam stress toys for multiple shot targets. Sometimes the corks will seperate but I figure they are biodegradable.

Thanks. It's good to have ideas for other suitable targets. I have a lot of film cans, and it seems that similar replacements might be available, but some things work better than others.

But is real cork used in wine bottles today? I could probably find the answer online, but it is something I wonder about at times when opening a bottle.