So I got a little bored over the weekend and decided to make myself a couple steel targets for my .22 rifle. I'm hoping to get a JC Steel 25% IPSC target pretty soon for a project I'm working on but for now these will do. I got the steel from Lowes as a 1/4" thick 4" X 12" plats, which made it just about perfect for this project once I cut it in half. I tried to cut the steel down to approximate an IPSC shape but I cut one them a little steep...ooops. I secured them to some 1" angle iron that I had in my garage with 5/16" nuts and bolts so that I could just hammer them in the ground.
I got the two targets done sunday night but I was looking at some remnants of one of those cheap spinner targets thinking about how I could salvage it. Then it clicked that maybe I could use the smaller one as flapper but I couldn't come up with a good way to mount it to the angle iron. I decided to try and make it spring loaded instead of simply fixed in place so I was off to Lowes again. When I got home it only took about 20 minutes of fiddling before I had something that was workable. Here's what the back looks like.
I also made a short video today in the yard and at the 50 yard range. I wanted to get a lot more video but it cut out before I was able to finish the first 10 round magazine. I did manage to get a few shots on the flopper though before the screen cut out.
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After about 50 rounds there are a couple of kinks that have to be worked out, but mainly with the post that the flopper is mounted on. I'm thinking I need to move to all Grade 8 hardware there with lock nuts and try to move the target a little closer to center. The steel is good to go though, no cratering or other damage could be seen so all in all I think I'm going to enjoy them.
I got the two targets done sunday night but I was looking at some remnants of one of those cheap spinner targets thinking about how I could salvage it. Then it clicked that maybe I could use the smaller one as flapper but I couldn't come up with a good way to mount it to the angle iron. I decided to try and make it spring loaded instead of simply fixed in place so I was off to Lowes again. When I got home it only took about 20 minutes of fiddling before I had something that was workable. Here's what the back looks like.
I also made a short video today in the yard and at the 50 yard range. I wanted to get a lot more video but it cut out before I was able to finish the first 10 round magazine. I did manage to get a few shots on the flopper though before the screen cut out.
<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ir3qfvwABAY"></param> <param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ir3qfvwABAY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"> </embed></object>
After about 50 rounds there are a couple of kinks that have to be worked out, but mainly with the post that the flopper is mounted on. I'm thinking I need to move to all Grade 8 hardware there with lock nuts and try to move the target a little closer to center. The steel is good to go though, no cratering or other damage could be seen so all in all I think I'm going to enjoy them.
