Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Favorite Plinking Games

Just trying to get some new ideas. What are your favorite plinking games with a .22 rifle and/or pistol?

I generally don’t have anyone to shoot with other than my 8 year old son. Sometimes we’ll shoot at a steel target until one of us misses but generally we don’t shoot against one another due to the obvious skill and experience disparity.

I mostly shoot pistols and revolvers and will either increase the range, shoot D/A, or practice drawing and making hits. He shoots the same targets with his 22 rifle.

I shoot aerial targets quite a bit, probably most don’t have a safe place to do it but it certainly builds speed and gives a sense of accomplishment when you get it down.

We have the steel spinner targets, similar to photo. We usually shoot offhand, or from sitting. It’s more fun if there are 3 or more shooters.

The shooters, shoot as fast as possible using identical guns until, one shooter clears and then resets. The looser gives his/her firearm to another shooter, and the shoot resumes. Those not shooting load magazines for the next round.

We added another feature to this. When shooting, you shoot while watching your opponents targets. If he/she is ahead of you……you shoot and reset their spinners. This adds to the challenge as your trying to make good shots while also watching your neighbor. I think that it aides in shooting while monitoring your perimeters! memtb

Dueling trees and spinners of course.

Also like to set up pairs of Ritz crackers at various UKN distances and essentially shoot a game of horse with them. Crackers because they're easy to see hits and zero clean up. Birds get em.

Fly shoot. White paper w/dabs of bait on paper.

Sunny day, warmer weather needed for flies to be out.

Golf ball. With every hit it moves 5 or so yds down range and becomes a challenge when it gets out to 80 or 100 yds.

Wyoming Golf.

From a "tee box" a player tosses a golf ball as near or as far as he likes, then gets 3, 4, or 5 shots to advance his ball as far as possible. Players take turns, each getting the same number of "par" shots. Farthest ball wins that "hole". Ball must be "played" as it lies. Not visible? Tough luck.

I don't know if you can still buy paint balls. We used to set them on golf tees at various ranges and shoot with .22 rifle or pistol. Kids has a blast because a hit gives you a very visual feedback.

I like the ideas. Keep them coming.

I've got a set of NRL 22 TGTs with stands, a NYL Rack, and a set of animal silhouettes (rabbits, squirrels and crows). I've also got a set of these for clay pigeons:



Bought them for 3Gun practice, but kids like shooting clays off them with the 22s and they also hold my animal silhouettes.

When we do the man against man challenge thing we normally shoot my AR500 Bowling pins, working your way inward, then the yellow swingers. 1st one to hit his/her TGTs, then ring the IDPA swinger in the middle wins. With 22LRs, only hits on the top of the pin will take them down.

I built an intermediate range steel course of 14 targets from 20 to 150 yards (kinda like Hickock 45), grandkids, 11 and 13, get scopes and a single point rest...I get offhand iron sights. It's pretty competitive, sometimes they win and I have to do chores, sometimes I win and they do the chores.
I kept the targets plenty big so it's more fun than serious...5 moa is about right for them. Easing them into centerfire now, starting with .310 Greener which they love, .30-40 Krag subsonic cast also, full house .32-40...starting to see them tense up a little, .38-40 full house is a work in progress, no more than 3 or 4 shots...easier to prevent a flinch habit than break one. Good family fun, no batteries required.

I like to play the Know Your Limits game but I do it on a steel target with holes in the front and flippers that will show you've hit it.

front view

after you've hit the flippers and then a back side view.

I weld on hanger arms to hang it on a 2x4 target board. hole sizes on this one are 7/8" down to 1/4" by 1/8 increments.
I only shoot standard velocity 22LR, at 50YDS, the high velocity stuff can accelerate wear and pit the front, I don't want anything coming back at me. It's not a bad idea to tip the front down a bit when hanging it up so splatter deflects down.
Shoot through the hole to flip the flipper up, shoot them back down, set point value for each hole and miss!
It's funny to hear a dead thud of defeat when the shot hits the main angle and a ping when it hits the flipper!
It's not elegant but it's humbling...

Have used one or several of these over the years. I have one and friends do as well. Latest is KYL-Know your limits swinger. round disc progressively getting smaller & down to a 1/4". I have both RF & CF dueling trees, but they can be picky at times & not want to work well.

Did this as a kid. Stood on a creek bank with my holstered six shooter. Would toss a grasshopper into the creek and wait for a perch or bass to smash it. Draw and fire. Genuine fun.

Picked up some of those clay holders yesterday. Looks like a bunch of fun!

Wildfowl: The whole VarmintFamily prefers to shoot orange centered clay pigeons laid upright on a dirt bank.
Once they get to hittin'em regular they self distance and back up to increase the challenge/fun.
I salvage clay pigeons by the hundreds from the local trap range.
Cheap, reactive, fun and CHEAP!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

One area near me where I shoot has a seasonal creek that is pretty fast running right now. Fun to toss in a chunk of wood, and open up on the fast moving target. Yesterday it was my Colt Commander 45acp, other times whatever i have with me .

Last time I took the grandkids out they got the biggest kick out of shooting colored push pins stuck in a 2x4 rack.