Boneyard
The Joy of
PLINKING!
As airsofters we have all had the odd ‘plink’ at a tin can or two in the back garden. Whether that’s to ‘scope’ in a new AEG or GBB pistol/rifle or making on-going tweaks and adjustments to hop or its general setup ‘plinking’ brings its own joys from time to time.
Tin cans have their charms and give a satisfying ‘plink’ when hit and I’ve even drawn up my own targets on some scrap paper but I decided to take a closer look at ‘range’ ideas and soon realised the limitations of a few systems. Here’s a brief overview of my ‘findings’, hardly scientific and sometime ‘obvious’ I hope this helps some of you to obtain a better ‘plinking’ experience.
Easily obtained, but need replacing or resetting every time you knock them down (you could place them on sticks however). These shred too easily for my liking and are likely to cut you if not handled correctly when they have been well used. Again, no scoring or measure of accuracy. Very satisfying when hit though, probably where 'plinking' got its name.
Chalk Targets
Chalk targets like the TARIAN MARKS targets reviewed here: http://www.airsoftodyssey.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/tarian-marks-targets.html these are great and give a very satisfying break and powder wisp when shot at but the mess they make, makes them a bit of a pain to clean up at the end of the day!
Steel knock down Targets
I use these a LOT – and are a great re-usable target but you do have to hit them with some force and they don’t always knock down first time depending upon how you set them. With these however you just know if you’ve knocked them down with no scoring rings on them, but great for timed runs and such like but they are very expensive.
Paper Targets
A Great cheap system and one that you can easily sort yourself, with a DIY option and if you spend some time searching print off options available via a few websites. The draw backs for me though are the print costs when you realise just how quickly you’ll run out of printer ink! Plus depending upon the shooting ranges involved these targets can rip through far too readily!
Heavy Card Targets
Again these are more expensive to purchase in comparison to paper targets but were originally designed for use with airgun pellets at a much higher fps and weight, so at a distance can be difficult for airsoft BB’s to penetrate. Not ideal for airsoft use depending upon your distance from the target.
170GSM Paper Targets
The best of all worlds really on this one and the most successful of the lot for both private or range use for competition and scoring use. The paper is of a heavier weight but not too thick for airsoft BB’s to penetrate than card. The paper weight makes for cleaner penetration of the round and less confusing tears in the paper. Obtaining pre-printed targets in colour also helps with aiming and sight acquisition as well as scoring at a distance. I love these targets so much I’ve had some ‘custom’ designs made up which will be getting more and more use in competition and not to mention plinking, a great way to improve and hone those shooting skills.
Website: http://www.contactleft.co.uk/
E-bay Shop: http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/contactleft
1 Comment
I'd been giving some consideration to new tartgets for farting about with my guns in the garden mate. Good to see this article, as there was also some discussion on "That" airsoft forum that is run by the UK's only retailer.
As you quite rightly state, tin cans, although cheap and readily available, and also giving a satisfying "Ping" when hit. They can be a bit of a hazard with sharp edges and need to be handled/disposed of correctly.
The chalk ones are good, but messy and not exactly inexpensive considering how many rounds I like to go through on a 'Plink' :-D
Paper/Card is the sensible option, and as mentioned, it's easy enough to make your own. I'll take a look at the linked ones mate, but I won't make any promises about buying them. I like to get pictures of David Cameron out of the newspapers and see how much punishment I can dish out!
Posted on July 5, 2013 at 11:07 AM
Post a Comment