so you can chop down trees!
Is that fun standing a Few feet away and blasting a paper target with a bunch of bullets?
I guess to some people it is.
I wonder if he gave any consideration to what was down range? Looks like he was in pretty open space .

Behind that tree was a hillside. The bullers that did not hit the small tree either hit another tree or the ground on the hill.

Target shooting usually occurs at a far longer distance than self defensive practice. Target shooting usually has a far lower rate of fire than self defensive practice but that can largely depend on the skill of the shooter.

Aluminum cans are fun to shoot at but when you miss it's harder to determine where your round went than if you use a paper target. (Of course you have to hit the paper.) Knowing where your shot went can help you determine why you missed. Perhaps you flinched or perhaps you did not place your finger correctly on the trigger.

This analysis can be somewhat complicated. If you have some interest visit:
http://www.bullseyepistol.com/training.htm

I enjoy target shooting handguns. When I go to the range I usually shoot at ranges between 15 and 25 yards. It's fun and relaxing but you can have good days and bad days. The object of target shooting for me is to shoot a tight group, most preferably in the center of the target.

However I also have a concealed weapons permit and at the end of a shooting session I practice some self defensive shooting. I usually stay within 7 yards of the target as since I am not in law enforcement it is highly unlikely that I could successfully claim that I had a legitimate reason to fear for my health or life if my attacker was at a longer range.

My main object for defensive shooting is not to fire an extremely tight group but to hit the silhouette target in the "kill zone" as rapidly as is possible. Since I realize that in a real life encounter my shooting skill will diminish significantly, I use a smaller silhouette target than the life sized one. I practice shooting with both hands and then with only my right and my left.

To me target shooting is the most fun and self defense practice is far more serious. The basic skills I have learned by target shooting do help me while practicing defensive shooting.

Obviously it is essential while shooting to know that the rounds you fire do not endanger others. That's why I prefer to shoot at a pistol or rifle range or to have a hill or berm downrange. Portable targets are readily available so I don't have to destroy trees unnecessarily.

A blackpowder musket would cut that tree down with 2 shots or less.

about 40 years ago to a 6" thick pine tree with 6 shots from a S&W .44 magnum.

12 ga. Duck loads. Sloppy surgery, but beats calling out an arborist, or busting your own amateurish ass.

I was visiting my son and his family downstate when they were renting an old farmhouse and we were sitting having coffee when we heard shotgun blasts in the yard across the street.

We went out and there were 3 or 4 guys, with a county deputy, shooting some big dead limbs off the trees that hung out over the driveway and road. 12 gauge buck and bird shot, depending on how thick the limbs were. All the shot fell over a 60 acre cornfield.

Pretty common down there.

They're on the neighbors property, we've been using them for our backstop for a while now. They're cut off about 4.5 ft high and make for a perfect backstop.

We used to have an old apple three in the main field back on the farm that we'd shoot into a few times every year after sighting in our deer rifles. It was about 200yds off my brothers back deck. After one wind storm there it was on the ground, twisted off at the height we always shot it.

I recommend not shooting live trees.

Now that's what I call a reactive target.