I love to shoot. I'll fire just about anything that's put into my hands and can actually throw together some pretty good groups at fairly challenging ranges when the need arises. To me, shooting, like any avocation, should be fun and relaxing. The angst occasioned by trying to best someone else, as competitive shooters do, is antithetical to a pleasant experience. This is why I have become an inveterate plinker.

When it comes to plinking, few calibers beat the ubiquitous .22 rimfire.

I tried to find the words "plink" and "plinking" in three dictionaries and couldn't. Great! That's just the sort of activity I'm looking for--one that's so far beneath the radar that Messrs Webster, Funk and Wagnall don't even consider it important enough to warrant an entry in their books.

What is plinking? Well, it's actually anything you wish to make it--it's sort of the stickball of shooting. All you need is a gun, ammo, a venue and a touch of anarchy in your soul and you're there.

One of the neat things about plinking is that the urge can come up at just about any time you're out with a gun. After spending hours working on an article at the bench, with cases of ammo, bullseye targets and chronograph, I need some sort of sublimation. That's when I let rip at targets of opportunity, such as spent shot shells, dirt clods and busted-up clay targets. But plinking does not always have to be spontaneous--no, you can go afield with plinking aforethought.

The main thing one must consider when planning a plink shoot is safety. Make sure of your range parameters, wear the proper protective gear, and if you bring offbeat (more about that later) targets with you, make sure they're not toxic or dangerous--and clean up after you leave. The very casualness of plinking could easily segue into slob shooting, which is not great for the sport or the environment.

When one considers plinking, for some reason .22 rimfire seems to be the caliber that pops into his head, and I'll admit for the sheer volume of ammunition the little rimfire has a lot to recommend it. But bigbore handguns can be just as much fun--and for certain things they are absolutely necessary.

I remember a number of years ago one particularly enjoyable afternoon I spent with a friend, fellow gun writer Phil Spangenberger, as we banged away, offhand, at landscape features about 100 to 125 yards distant with 43?4-inch .45 Colt Single Action Army revolvers. It really is amazing what some of these guns can do at those ranges with open sights, and if you have the space, try it yourself. I've also essayed this with 9mm Parabellum, .38 Special and .44 Magnum with equally interesting results. While open sights might be more challenging, if your revolver is scoped, that would be okay, too.

While many natural targets abound, there are many things you can bring with you to increase the fun. First we'll cover the biodegradables. Fruit such as apples, oranges, some melons and grapes are super, as they really let loose when you hit them. One veggie to stay away from is the pumpkin, which is mostly hollow and at best breaks apart into chunks when you hit it. Boring. Eggs are great (especially when hit with a .22 Long Rifle hollowpoint), as are animal crackers (sort of a poor man's silhouette), Necco wafers and the like.