N/A Plankin' with a spranger

Bedrock Bob

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Jul 18, 2024
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When I was a kid I learned to shoot a BB gun about 4 years old. My favorite targets were plastic army men thumbtacked to a board floating down the canal.

My father was a west Texas cowboy and he expected me to "go a plankin" every evening after chores. I was 8 years old before I discovered it was called "plinking" and not "planking".

As an old coot I have entered my second childhood. Now I'm plankin' with a spranger. I play with plastic army men, toy dinosaurs and shotgun shells.

I was cleaning out my target box today and realized it was almost an art form. So much better than paper with holes in it. I thought someone might enjoy seeing it....

Green army men and red pirates. 25-35 yards. .410 at 35 yards. 12 gauge at 35-45. The gorilla family at 55 yards. The T Rex and the lion at 65. Various dinosaurs filling the gaps.

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We like headshots on army men at 25.

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We call the T Rex "Pimples" He's taken many hits. When the temperature is hot he collects pellets. When it cools off he spits them out.

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At 70 we shoot a bright green coffee tumbler hanging from a bush. At 75 a propane cylinder we call "Dimples". At 80-100 an aluminum cylinder that rings like a church bell.

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I find "a plankin' with a spranger" a lot more fun than shooting targets. I get frustrated shooting groups. Especially with a springer. Especially at range.

Shooting "stuff" that challenges your skills is IMO a much better way to develop practical skills. Its also less stress. You celebrate your hits as they fly through the air and try to hit them again. Your misses teach you a lesson and are forgotten. It's nothing but pure fun.

I bet there are as many guys here shooting cans and various objects as targets. What "stuff" do you shoot? How do you set up your spranger plankin' range?
 
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Had various spinners, field target type targets with shoot to reset paddles, rimfire type targets, steel scraps and such. Ranged at 25y, 30y, 40y, 50y then out to 82y on a tree stump, all from my back deck. At 105y had a wood plank with tin can stuck on top, or target paper posted to plank. Ringing all that steel apparently didn't agree with my one neighbour (new hearing aids, haha), after a noise complaint I went to quiet traps to keep the peace...
 
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Had various spinners, field target type targets with shoot to reset paddles, rimfire type targets, steel scraps and such. Ranged at 25y, 30y, 40y, 50y then out to 82y on a tree stump, all from my back deck. At 105y had a wood plank with tin can stuck on top, or target paper posted to plank. Ringing all that steel apparently didn't agree with my one neighbour (new hearing aids, haha), after a noise complaint I went to quiet traps to keep the peace...

That's too bad. The sound of a hit is the best thing. Especially lead slapping steel.

My neighbor is a joker. When I start hitting targets he will come over close to the fence and yell "OUCH" right after a shot.

Toy soldiers are the best! The 760 moves them, but the 22 QB78 sends them! Gives me a reason to weed-whack more often, too.

I have a little zebra that I spotted next to the road and picked up. It matches my earmuffs, so I haven't had the heart to shoot it.

Cheers,

J~

At the thrift store I get bags of dinosaurs and animals. Army men too. A few bucks got me plinking targets for a year.

I sort them out and give most of them to a kid in the store. I won't shoot at a dog, horse or zebra. Dinosaurs are cool. Baby seals are out. Most farm animals are OK.

They come in different sizes and densities. Some shatter. But some are solid and super tough. Some are rubbery and really fly when you hit them. I have a dozen that are pretty much indestructible and will last forever.

They don't create a lot of litter. And they smack really nice when you hit them but not loud. Kinda like a real lizard.

They don't ricochet bad like steel either. If you set them at the right range they collect your pellets inside. We call them "leadbellies".

I think they are pretty sweet plinking targets.
 
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When I was a kid I learned to shoot a BB gun about 4 years old. My favorite targets were plastic army men thumbtacked to a board floating down the canal.

My father was a west Texas cowboy and he expected me to "go a plankin" every evening after chores. I was 8 years old before I discovered it was called "plinking" and not "planking".

As an old coot I have entered my second childhood. Now I'm plankin' with a spranger. I play with plastic army men, toy dinosaurs and shotgun shells.

I was cleaning out my target box today and realized it was almost an art form. So much better than paper with holes in it. I thought someone might enjoy seeing it....

Green army men and red pirates. 25-35 yards. .410 at 35 yards. 12 gauge at 35-45. The gorilla family at 55 yards. The T Rex and the lion at 65. Various dinosaurs filling the gaps.

View attachment 493783

We like headshots on army men at 25.

View attachment 493784

We call the T Rex "Pimples" He's taken many hits. When the temperature is hot he collects pellets. When it cools off he spits them out.

View attachment 493785

At 70 we shoot a bright green coffee tumbler hanging from a bush. At 75 a propane cylinder we call "Dimples". At 80-100 an aluminum cylinder that rings like a church bell.

View attachment 493788

I find "a plankin' with a spranger" a lot more fun than shooting targets. I get frustrated shooting groups. Especially with a springer. Especially at range.

Shooting "stuff" that challenges your skills is IMO a much better way to develop practical skills. Its also less stress. You celebrate your hits as they fly through the air and try to hit them again. Your misses teach you a lesson and are forgotten. It's nothing but pure fun.

I bet there are as many guys here shooting cans and various objects as targets. What "stuff" do you shoot? How do you set up your spranger plankin' range?
Man down!!!
 
I've got a couple of propane tanks that look just like that one🤣

Yeah, ol' Dimples is a favorite! I love that thing. It really clanks when you hit it.

We worked over a skinny propane torch cylinder like that too. It was awesome and had lots of hits on it. I left it out a few days and some fool shot it up with an AR. So I replaced it with the green stainless steel coffee tumbler. It sounds nice and you can hardly put a dent in it.
 
We had this stainless bowl set up at 85 yards for a couple years. It has been one of our best long range targets.

View attachment 493820

There are hundreds of hits on it. It flattens the pellets out and drops them in a pile in front of it.

You can tell exactly where you hit from the sound and the way it jumps.
I'm sure that bolt head seen its share of impacts
 
I'm sure that bolt head seen its share of impacts

Plenty!

We shot the stake into splinters a couple times. I've peeled lead off the head of that screw to get the nut driver on it every time.

The threaded nipple on the top of the propane bottle too. At 75 yards the HW95 sticks pellets underneath it. I've dug a half dozen from under it. And hit the threads many times. They are full of lead in spots.
 
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Here is my shootin' gallery. Cans and steel. Plenty of plankin' potential. Knock a can of off a string takes some serious accuracy.

View attachment 493821
maybe try what crow shoots = cutting hanging cans in half . the can on the left would be perfect !
 
What an AWESOME post! 😁 Living in east Tennessee (where the accent is eerily similar), let's just say I related instantly, lol...

I often shoot with a friend, and our fave reactive targets are small plastic pill (peeyul) bottles. Even our vintage 600 FPS spranger target rifles will send those a-flyin' a fer piece with a solid hit (heeyut).
 
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What an AWESOME post! 😁 Living in east Tennessee (where the accent is eerily similar), let's just say I related instantly, lol...

I often shoot with a friend, and our fave reactive targets are small plastic pill (peeyul) bottles. Even our vintage 600 FPS spranger target rifles will send those a-flyin' a fer piece with a solid hit (heeyut).

That's funny!

In New Mexico we speak west Texan east of the mountains. It's plankin'. West of the mountains we speak Spanish. So it's "pleen keen".

I married a girl from Boston. She had no "R" in her alphabet. She couldn't make that sound at all. Here we have three different kinds of "R's". She couldn't speak at all after a few weeks and I had to send her back to Boston.

Here a "b" and a "v" are interchangeable. A "d" is pronounced "th". An "h" is silent. A "z" is an "s". An "x" is a "z". A "g" is a grunt. And there is no "k" at all. It's easy!

When folks come over the mountains they don't know what the hell we are talking about. And we just smile and giggle when they talk.

I am not fluent in Texan. I just add all the vowel sounds available and it comes out pretty close. Say any word in English and put a,e,i,o,u into it and your speaking Texan.

Roping (a favorite New Mexico passtime) is "Raopian'" in Texan. You rope a "caou" (cow) and ride a "paouniey" (pony). Just throw a handfull of vowels in where they aren't supposed to be and your rappin with the Tejanos.
 
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