I’m ***uming that many fly fishers are also involved in shooting sports. I apologize, but I need to know today
I have a Mark III pistol. I was going to buy one of those metal or iron targets with rotating paddles that resets itself after shooting all paddles.
My question; is it safe to shoot with a pistol? I’ll probably only be 8 to 10 yards away and I’m wondering about ricocheting bullets. Should that be a concern?
Again, I apologize this not being a fishing question.
Bruce
They should have specifications for safe calibers, distance and ammunition on the package. Some are only rated for .22 rimfire, others for centerfire pistols and others for rifles. I think most say not to use full-metal-jacket ammo.
I have never had a problem with them and ricocheting bullets. Just make sure you have a safe backstop like a large dirt bank.
I have seen them used, never by me. Just not the right timing. They seem to be pretty good, and function well. They are caliber
specific.
My nephew has some at the ranch North of here and he uses them a lot, they seem fairly tough. He is with the local sheriff dept. so does shoot a lot.
Bruce, We used to use a fall down target for pistol shooting, effective but sometimes when a large cal pistol was used, like a .41 or .44 Mag, there would be flying lead that sometimes would hit the shooter. For rotating targets, I would suspect less of a problem. Needless to say, always wear safety goggles, protect those very important eyes. Larry —sagefisher—
Just for your information…If you plan to shoot 22 rimfire, you might want to check your local stores for ammo before hand. I love to shoot 22 rimfire and use to shoot 200 to 300 rounds per week at the local range, but, have not done any shooting this year because there is no 22 rimfire ammo to be found. All stores like Wally World, etc., have had empty shelves around here since January and no one knows when we will ever be able to purchase any! :mad:
A few years ago I started stockpiling 22 bulk packs of Federal and Remington when they were still around $10 / 550 rounds. Still have about 10K rounds so my 22 shooting hasn’t slowed down too much. From what I’ve seen, we will SLOWLY start to see it becoming available again soon but plan for the regular price to be $25-$30 for a box of 550. Nobody seems to know where all the billions of rounds of 22 ammo the ammo companies are supposedly producing, are going. Like Warren’s area, here 22 ammo has been next to completely gone in the retail shops since January. I have seen 550rd bulk packs of Federal being sold for $100. I was tempted to sell some of mine but decided I wouldn’t stoop to the level of the subhumans who brought this upon us. Looks like it might be on the way to recovering. Maybe.
I am putting all my retirement savings into grizzly saddles and .22 bricks. At a local store, on the day they get a shipment, there is a line waiting. Limit 2 bricks/customer and they are all gone in an hour.
I didn’t ever expect it would be easier to find .35 Remington for my lever gun than .22 for my plinker.
Lastchance,
It is my experience to get ricocheting from iron targets. Injuries have been nicks to shins, hands, knuckles and face. Our range is set up at 25 and 30 feet and we use 9mm and 40 cal. We had used larger rounds but stopped because the targets would get bent and had to be replaced faster.
Keep in mind these are iron targets not traps, sooner or later you will get a ricochet.
Stay safe wear safety glasses.
I’m assuming none of these injuries could result in a fatality?
If you’re shooting at a centerfire pop-up, or rotating target with a .22, yes, you may experience ricochets. They are meant to be moved by much higher energies. But if you are using a .22 movable target you should have no concerns at all. They are designed to give-way with the expected .22 caliber energies, so your bullet path is not affected dramatically.
Steel targets tend to have minimum distances for safe use in the fine print. AR500 steel is preferred over softer steel if you wish them to last very long. And you do need to get the .22 targets rather than the ones designed for larger calibers. I’d get one from Midway or Brownells or one of the target mfgrs. If you are having trouble locating .22 (or any other ammo) you may wish to keep an eye on slickguns.com.
DG,
Thanks for the link to slickguns.com. I checked their site and all their 22LR Ammo is marked Out Of Stock. I bookmarked them to my “Favorites” and will keep checking them.
Thanks, again…
You can tag items there so that you get an email notification when they are posted again. In the past year, many of the deals posted have sold out in minutes, so you either have to tag them or keep checking the site multiple times a day. But I have used that site to purchase thousands of rounds of ammo at great prices in that time frame.
No. The ricochet are very small fragments that result in knicks. The most serious injury could be to eyes so wear your safety glasses.