Plinking is informal target shooting done for

leisure Leisure (, ) has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, Employment, work, job hunting, Housekeeping, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as ...

, typically at non-standard targets such as tin cans, logs,

bottle A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal ...

balloon A balloon is a flexible membrane bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. For special purposes, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

s or any other man-made or naturally occurring objects. The term is an

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ...

of the sharp, ringing sound (or "plink") that a

projectile A projectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found ...

makes when hitting a metallic target such as a tin can or a

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plate.

Practice

In contrast to shooting done at established target ranges, plinking is generally done at home in one's

backyard A backyard, or back yard (known in the United Kingdom as a back garden or just garden), is a Yard (land), yard at the back of a house, common in suburban developments in the Western world. It is typically a residential garden located at the ...

, in an open field, or on other private land, the owner of which does not demand entrance fees.

Appeal

The primary attributes of plinking that make it appealing as a sport are as follows: easy availability and a broad variety of locations, minimum cost, freedom in practice, outdoors environment, and more engaging shooting experience when compared to established target ranges. Since not all people have reasonable access to a target range, outdoor shooting done at home or another nearby piece of land is a natural alternative, and for many, homemade shooting ranges are the only way to keep up good

marksmanship A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting. In modern military usage this typically refers to the use of projectile weapons such as an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle (or a sniper rifle) to shoot ...

Since target ranges generally charge a fee for the use of their facilities, and shooters usually have to buy their own paper targets, going to a target range can incur significant costs, especially when added up over time. In addition, gun ranges by necessity have many strict rules about the use of their facilities, concerning shot rate, types of ammunition, and firearms permitted, where the shooter is allowed to stand, and when they can go downrange to check their targets, which some shooters may find stifling. Many shooters also find the open air to be a much more pleasant shooting environment than an indoor target range, which is usually windowless and made of concrete and steel. By contrast, plinking can be done at home or during casual excursions whenever the urge strikes (subject to local regulations), for merely the cost of ammunition, and the targets used can be any item of suitable size that is at hand, with beverage cans being one of the more popular choices. Plinking can be done alone or in small groups at the individual pace of the shooters. The targets that are used are one of the main reasons why plinking is popular among gun enthusiasts, especially hunters. A three-dimensional target in an outdoor setting is much more akin to a real-world hunting scenario, allowing a hunter the opportunity for practice. Since any reasonably sized object, from a soda can or a

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

briquet''Single Action Sixguns'', page 294; John Taffin, Krause Publications, year 2005 to an arbitrary spot on a tree can be used as a target, a three-dimensional plinking range can easily be set up that will simulate situations commonly found while hunting small

game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

, such as when the animal is behind cover, or up in a tree. A plinking target will also often react much more positively to a hit than a paper target will, either with an audible impact, or visual confirmation by moving, splattering, or falling over. Steel targets, which are used for formal action and

long range shooting Long range shooting is a collective term for shooting sport, shooting disciplines where the distance to the target is significant enough that the shooter has to put effort into calculating external ballistics, various ballistic factors, esp ...

competitions, are also popular among plinksters due to their relative ease to set up, as well as their clear evidence of good hits.

References

External links

Power Plinker
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924003047/http://firearmusernetwork.com/programs/powerplinker/ , date=September 24, 2011 - Promoting the benefits of plinking. Shooting sports Firearm terminology

Practice

Appeal

See also

References

External links