Talk:Plinking

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Wikitionary[edit]

Should this article be in Wikitionary? JoeBoucher 23:49, Jan 22, 2004 (UTC

I just expanded this one to include more material. A lot of the material needs to be better sourced but then, by definition, plinking is not the subject of very much scholarship. A basic definition of plinking ought to appear in any dictionary.

Usage[edit]

Is this a US only usage, what is it called in other English speaking countries?GraemeLeggett 08:59, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)

As far as I know, plinking is an informal American term. If anyone knows specialized terms from other variants of English or other languages, including those would be a nice addition. On that point, the article needs a more global perspective. As a child and for most of my few adult years I had never heard of or used the term plinking. I called going to the range or going to plink in the woods the same exact thing: "shooting."

  • Well, here in Brazil we call it "Tiro ao alvo" (which means "target shooting"). I'd never heard about the word "plinking" too - in English, I would call it "target practice". But i agree that the ricochet of a bullet actually sounds like plink. 189.15.227.156 (talk) 15:54, 14 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

during the Gulf War - Which One? Gulf War I, II or III?[edit]

Which one? Gulf War I (Iran-Iraq) it is not (as plinking is an American English term and US soldiers weren't involved) But does it refer to Gulf War II (1990) or the current one (Gulf War III starting in 2003-today)? The link suggests Gulf War 1990, but the term Gulf War itself is not definite - it's ambigious.

--Soylentyellow 08:40, 8 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The Gulf War is a term used in the west to refer to the coalition military effort focused on removing Iraq from Kuwait. Gulf War
However I don't think it's relevant to the topic of plinking. 142.134.37.140 (talk) 11:58, 11 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]


Shorten this article[edit]

This article needs to be no more than 30% its current length. It is largely unsourced ramblings about the benefits of plinking. It is not scholarly or even necessary. It should definitely be shortened and be just an entry in a dictionary. It should maybe even just be merged into an article on shooting in general. Articles like this make people distrust wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.172.24.153 (talk) 06:05, 28 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]


I agree with the above poster. This is a very poorly written, unsourced article. It definitely does not meet Wikipedia quality standards. -Series8217 (talk) 07:18, 17 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Agree! this article is stupid - I'm trying to decide if it's a joke. It's essentially describing "shooting at stuff for fun". 91.110.148.109 (talk) 23:49, 20 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Please read this Winchester blog item describing plinking to better understand. [1]https://winchester.com/Blog/2020/04/Getting-Outside-and-Plinking
I feel the people posting in this section don't understand this topic or have phobias around the topic of firearms. Well, if you have fear of flying, don't work on the wiki pages about aviation! 142.134.37.140 (talk) 12:02, 11 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Lead Pollution[edit]

Of all the things that have been marked Citation Needed in this article, this claim is prominently missing that disclaimer. It definitely needs it, especially when one considers that modern ammunition very seldom uses lead.

69.114.206.139 (talk) 18:45, 13 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

What? Most are made of lead. I'm less concerned about the effect on the environment than the effect on people handling the ammo. Folks loading the ammo have it on their hands and can get it in their mouths inadvertently...cigarette smokers especially. You might try reading Bullet#Materials to see the vast majority of commercially-sold ammo has lead. The article doesn't mention air rifles which are every bit as popular as the .22LR for plinking. The most common caliber in the US for air rifles is the .177 calibre which is almost always lead shot pellets...there is also .22 lead pellet rifles & pistols as well.
⋙–Berean–Hunter—► ((⊕)) 22:53, 13 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I think that the inclusion about air guns covers that. And most common amongst them are non-lead BB's. But either way lead discussions are not specific to plinking. North8000 (talk) 22:46, 14 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Neutral Point of View[edit]

The tone of the article is completely one sided. There are few sources, and those that do exist are at best instruction guides on plinking. Even with a brief "common criticisms" the article seems to be more of a how to, and why you should plink, than a discussion of what it is. For these reasons I nominated it for a neutral point of view check. Aptoumanoff (talk) 03:59, 23 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Under New Management[edit]

Attempting to reconstruct page to be more neutral, shorter, and more descriptive. Appreciate any feedback. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Indyhan3 (talkcontribs) 02:31, 28 June 2016 (UTC) - something about safety would be good- can passerbys be shot by accident? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 182.251.245.3 (talk) 06:46, 9 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Plinking is real - comments from a plinker[edit]

Plinking is real as a pastime or recreational activity. If there is a Wikipedia page for bowling, there can be one for plinking.

One of the typical characteristics of plinking is that the target is reactive. The plinking target makes a sound, or moves in some way, which is somewhat more similar to the experience of hunting than is the shooting of paper targets with a bullseye in the center. In plinking one is less interested in measuring the preciseness of their shot, and more focused on whether the object was hit at all, which again is an allegory to the experience of hunting wild game.

If you doubt plinking is really a word, look on 22LR ammunition and many of them indicate suitability with plinking. Here's a Winchester blog entry about the topic: https://winchester.com/Blog/2020/04/Getting-Outside-and-Plinking

I take issue with the wiki article including pictures of road signs showing bullet holes. This is illegal activity, not plinking. If I may add it is not only illegal but downright dangerous. Any target shooting should be done with a view of what is the backdrop. Highway signs such as stop signs are at intersections or roads where vehicles are present and passing by at any time. EWncouraging the shooting of road signs is encouraging a very dangerous activity. I took a look at the wiki page "driving" and it does not include photographs of rubber marks on pavement from yahoos doing donuts with their vehicles. So why does the wiki page on plinking show illegal shooting activity as representative of plinking? Shooting highway signs is not legal, and it is not typical plinking activity since it is being done on public roads and it is not a safe place to shoot. 142.134.37.140 (talk) 11:52, 11 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Someone from the WikiProject Firearms has removed the reference to illegal shooting of road signs as plinking examples. Labradort (talk) 21:30, 14 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]