Jump to content

Recommended Posts

I have a 3/8" AR500 Brinell steel target on the way. This one:

 

 

FULL38SLPK1.jpg

 

(Not bad for $39, since it comes with the holes pre-cut. Which seems kinda rare with steel targets like that.)

 

 

My plan is to get 2 of these hanging plant poles for about $8 each:

 

 

473029f4-c908-4167-a658-9c7bc302fa4b_300.jpg

 

 

.........and then get some rope or chain to hang the target between the poles. The tracking info on the target says the package is 10lbs, so those poles should have no problem supporting it. Sounds kinda ghetto, huh?bad_smile.gif

 

 

So that being said, anyone else have any other ideas? I just need it to be portable, cheap, and it has to allow the target to swing freely, to reduce the chance of ricochets (we'll be shooting at 100yrds with 5.56 and 7.62, so ricochets shouldn't really be too much of a concern anyway). So the above idea is the cheapest I could come up with, as far as a stand. But I'm always open to other ideas.

 

 

Also, I found this video of a homemade PVC target stand. Cheap and easy. It'd be perfect for anyone who's into paper targets, etc.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c_eA_oM_PY

Edited by -Shooter-
Link to post
Share on other sites

I use old bed frames setup like a swing set we hang bowling pins off of rope and go to town with the subguns on it.

 

They bounce around really good and the more ya hit them the harder they are to hit on the next burst.

 

I set it up so it folds and fit's in the back of my buddies cherokee

 

losen the bolts colapse it throw it in and go.

get there set it up hang pins and enjoy the day.

 

Oh! Extra rope is good to, sooner or later yer gonna hit one and have to pick the pin up off of the ground and re hang it.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I use old bed frames setup like a swing set we hang bowling pins off of rope and go to town with the subguns on it.

 

They bounce around really good and the more ya hit them the harder they are to hit on the next burst.

 

I set it up so it folds and fit's in the back of my buddies cherokee

 

losen the bolts colapse it throw it in and go.

get there set it up hang pins and enjoy the day.

 

Oh! Extra rope is good to, sooner or later yer gonna hit one and have to pick the pin up off of the ground and re hang it.

 

Totally forgot about bowling pins! Yeah, those make awesome reactive targets, and it just so happens that my sister's friend's family owns a bowling alley, lol. Might have to hit them up for some old pins.

 

Thanks for the reminder.032.gif

Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh don't leave that plate anyplace where you can't see it or it will grow legs.

 

This spring we had all our cross bars and steel plates stole out of the coal pits in Monroe county PA.

 

We spent alot of time setting them up only thing left is the upright poles we placed in concrete.

 

The took the plates, chains, and cross bars.

 

We had it setup on the back side of a flooded quarry shooting over the lake. 1200 yards for the 50's

 

Were pretty sure it was kids on quads that hauled then off for scrap. It was 5/8th plate steel 3 foot X 4 foot and we had 5 hanging for the 5 of us that shoot the BMG's together.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I have a 3/8" AR500 Brinell steel target on the way. This one:

 

 

FULL38SLPK1.jpg

 

(Not bad for $39, since it comes with the holes pre-cut. Which seems kinda rare with steel targets like that.)

 

 

My plan is to get 2 of these hanging plant poles for about $8 each:

 

 

473029f4-c908-4167-a658-9c7bc302fa4b_300.jpg

 

 

.........and then get some rope or chain to hang the target between the poles. The tracking info on the target says the package is 10lbs, so those poles should have no problem supporting it. Sounds kinda ghetto, huh?bad_smile.gif

 

 

So that being said, anyone else have any other ideas? I just need it to be portable, cheap, and it has to allow the target to swing freely, to reduce the chance of ricochets (we'll be shooting at 100yrds with 5.56 and 7.62, so ricochets shouldn't really be too much of a concern anyway). So the above idea is the cheapest I could come up with, as far as a stand. But I'm always open to other ideas.

 

 

Also, I found this video of a homemade PVC target stand. Cheap and easy. It'd be perfect for anyone who's into paper targets, etc.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c_eA_oM_PY

 

I used one of those plant\yard flag holders once, but I was using a cardboard target. My first shot hit the bulls eyes and my .308 round sheared the pole in half......end of holder

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I will tell you what I use, and it cost me way under 5 bucks, in fact it's cheaper then paper targets. go to a garage sale and pick up x-mas tree ornaments. I find them for 25-50 cents a box. if you ever go to garage sales, every frickin' one of them have x-mas stuff. then I find a political sign, cost: zero shekels , get rid of the sign and I hang the x-mas ornaments off that, and shoot them.

 

 

 

other great garage sale targets, bowling balls, elmo dolls, those god awful lawn ornaments, usually they are like a buck, but I offer 50 cents. BTW, I see those type of plant hankers here for a buck or 2 at garage sales

Edited by Matthew Hopkins
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I use a railroad tie-plate for my .22

 

I made the stand in about 2 hours out of scrap wood some 1/4" steel rod and some wire coat hangers.

 

It's similar to a saw horse and breaks into three pieces easily and quickly, the plate hangs from the top with the bent up coat hanger.

post-38542-0-37394300-1340227878_thumb.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Lots of good ideas! Putting holes in paper just loses it's luster after awhile.

 

 

Oh don't leave that plate anyplace where you can't see it or it will grow legs.

 

Unfortunately, the shooting spot is going to be available for a limited time only. A friend of the family who buys and flips houses just got a house with some land out in the boonies. So we're going to use it as a shoot spot until they're done fixing the house and are ready to sell it. So we won't be leaving anything behind when we're not there.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Shooter,

Where did you get that steel from if you don't mind.?

 

Wideners. They have quite a few different shapes/sizes in 3/8" and 1/2" AR500 steel. The big plus (for me, anyway) is that they all come with mounting holes pre-cut. I'm not sure of the going prices on AR500 steel targets, but Widener's prices seem good to me. I figure $39 for a target that should last a loooooong time (depending on how you plan to use it, of course) is a good deal. Shipping for the one pictured in my OP, which is about 10lbs, was $12 I think.

 

I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow. I'm going to be setting it up my back yard, just so I can paint the target with some white Rustoleum spray paint. That's another thing that's good about steel targets. Once you mark it up good with shots, you can just re-spray it for a fresh/clean target. Plus, the white will be easier to see hits at distance.

Link to post
Share on other sites

This is my buddy's place where we shoot. We call the target holders "trees".

 

photo68.jpg

 

 

There's a few trees that would work for target holders, where we're going to be shooting. But they're not close enough together to hang the steel from in a swinging motion, and I don't want just bolt it directly to the tree. Just because if it can't move, it's going to wear out the steel quicker and/or make ricochets more of a concern.

Link to post
Share on other sites

We've got some spinner targets down near the 50 yard tree to plink at, then up close for handguns I have a frame that I welded together out of some old bed frames that folds down for when we shoot the farther distance targets, we usually blow up ballons to shoot at all over the place, freeze some gallon jugs of water, stuff like that but not much as neither of us likes to spend a lot of time cleaning up after shooting.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

double up the chains or cord that you hang it from. jacketing scraps tend to cut the strings and whatnot. Although cutting one string can make a surprise spinner target that can be fun.

 

Is there a cheap source of the railroad tie plates that is not stealing them from the tracks? those are about perfect.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

For a RR plate just walk the tracks when they replace them they leave them on the side of the tracks.

@ least around here they do I know a few people that ride four wheelers and collect them for scrap....

 

In PA all the abandon tracks are owned by rails & trails and the ones in service are considered trespassing.

So get the 30 dollar permit for rails and trails and have @ it. there is alot of cool stuff to find on the tracks other than scrap steel.

 

I know of a ghost town that is 100% complete with wooden sidewalks and water tower in UP STATE NY.

 

Another good target stand are the reality signs they are a littl heavier than the political ones so they last longer.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Please do not forget this is the political season. The signs still out there from the losers make great stands for the sticky back targets........

 

OR use them like I do......Cardboard behind with thumbtacks through the front.......

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

post-39511-0-78311600-1340327322_thumb.jpg

 

My shooting gallery, scrap wood air nailed together with political sign backing (staple gun works great for sticking targets to them), a couple of luan silloettes with lungs and hearts (my neighbors idea). And numerous aluminum cans I found behind a grainery. I got alot of those RR plates, I may have to rig up something for them.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
Is there a cheap source of the railroad tie plates that is not stealing them from the tracks? those are about perfect.

 

I live right next to some railroad tracks, whenever they do work on 'em they tend to throw the old stuff over the hill into the woods, that's where I picked mine up, take a wire brush to it to get off some of the rust, then spray paint it and it makes a nice target.

 

In this situation I don't really care if it's stealing, they toss it and forget it, and I've never seen 'em come back for it, there are entire sections of rail half buried in the hill from where they did the same thing.

 

They are mild steel though so rifle rounds are gonna pit 'em, 7,62x39 makes about 1/8" divots, and .308 makes about 1/4" divots.

Edited by JoeAK
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

In this video, they use a couple of the plant hangers as steel target holders. You can kind of get a feel on how they move around....

 

[media=]

[/media]

 

I'm subscribed to his vids. Not sure how I missed that one, haha.

 

Thanks for the link. Looks like my setup will work fine then, since I'll have 2 plant holders supporting 1 target.

 

......................and DAMN his wife is hot. She's in a bunch of his other vids. He's a lucky man.

Link to post
Share on other sites

A guy I know bought a brand new steel target...

He went to a shooting spot, hung it up, and as soon as he gets to where he's going to shoot from it sounds like a gong orchastra....

Only problem was, it was rifle shooters & it was rated for 9mm... :(

 

Needless to say he was absolutely livid, but there were too many potential witnesses.......

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

A guy I know bought a brand new steel target...

He went to a shooting spot, hung it up, and as soon as he gets to where he's going to shoot from it sounds like a gong orchastra....

Only problem was, it was rifle shooters & it was rated for 9mm... sad.png

 

Needless to say he was absolutely livid, but there were too many potential witnesses.......

 

The first time I took my ex to an outdoor range, she did something similar. It's an unsupervised range and everyone agrees on when the line will go cold, to change targets downrange. Well we showed up and unloaded and I was just taking shots at an old TV someone left as a target, while we waited to go cold so I could set up the targets I brought.

 

Well, she didn't realize what was going on and she started taking shots at someone's spinner target (looked like it wasn't rated for anything more than .22) with my G19. Luckily I noticed it and she missed the few shots she got off before I said something, lol.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Chatbox

    Load More
    You don't have permission to chat.
×
×
  • Create New...