Target stand

Dubbsda27 said:

The paint cans in the trees make me cringe a little bit; hopefully you have a boat load of open space behind those or are shooting from a two story platform! Hows is the stand holding up to the misses, looks like its already gotten pegged a few times on the upper cross member.

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We shoot from a much much higher elevation than a 2 story building. The land slopes down significantly and we are shooting at it from a high hill. I always like to make sure there aren't any houses, cattle, etc and some very thick brush to stop the bullets or maybe a natural back stop. In this case though, we are shooting from a high elevation and the brush behind is very thick. The neighbor who owns the land behind was cool with the idea so long as we did not shoot while anyone was physically back there or him being present.

The cross member has taken some abuse already but it is still holding very well. I already had the material just thrown and collecting dust so I don't feel too bad about it. I also have a whole bunch of more pipes so I'm fine with it. Although I do think it would be best to cover the pipes with some super thick rubber or material that might protect it better but I have no idea what to look for or where to start.

I'm also thinking about hanging the target much lower using chains or conveyor belt to increase the distance between target and cross member. For a 5 minute job to put together and it being free, I think it turned out great haha...

Dubbsda27 said:

Yeah it's definitely a nice setup for a quick throw together with materials just laying around! Don't think rubber would help protect it too much depending on what you are shooting, based on the holes I'm guessing 223? As you mentioned if you drop the steel plate a little lower it would probably help reduce the hits to the cross member though. My brother in law actually created a very similar setup but using the black steel plumbing pipe for the uprights and cross member and then dropping the plate a little lower with a few pieces of logging chain. At 100 yards its held up pretty good so far!

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Most of the holes you see are holes I drilled out for future attachments, etc. I believe there is only one large hole to the cross member that is pictured. That was from a 9mm. I shoot it mostly with a 223 from 300 to 400 yards. My idea with the very hard/thick rubber was that maybe it could help absorb most of the fragmenting and the exit hole would not be obnoxiously huge but who knows.

hermosabeach said:

Stand looks GREAT

On the fire front- I would clear a 20 foot to 20 yard radius - no vegetation- no fires

Copper bullets spark on steel... shoot at night and you will see

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This is great advice. Thanks on the tip.

We actually have planned to rent a Kubota tractor from a local farmer to clear some land. It'll also help for spotting misses if the bullet lands on clean ground vs going into brush.

huntak said:

What is best for hanging steel targets? Chain or Rubber strap?

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The absolute best is probably conveyor belt bolted on to the plate via grade 8 bolts. The conveyor belt can withstand many impacts without falling completely apart.

huntak said:

Thanks and I will have to see if I can find some. What are you cutting it with?

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You should be able to buy plates already cut with bolt holes in them. In case you cannot, you'll need a plasma cutter. You can also weld 6011 on the hottest setting and it'll put holes right through it but that will compromise the plates resistance a bit.

huntak said:

Thanks and I will have to see if I can find some. What are you cutting it with?

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I made a thread specifically on this very subject just days ago. Check it out from the link below...