Portable target stand

[Waterboy3313]

My 12" round 1/2" thick piece of of AR 500 steel was delivered today. I've been thinking all week about building some kind of portable mount for it. Key points as it has to be fairly easy to set up and be sturdy enough to handle .357 rounds at 50 yards maybe out to 100 yards and I may even decide to throw some .556 at it the same distance. I have a set of cheap Harbor freight saw horses I was thinking about hanging it from by a chain. Then I looked at the saw horses and realized the cross brace would interfere. Looking for a cheap set up to mount this thing from. I've thought about using everything from an all thread frame probably 3/8 in or larger to 1/2 in conduit.


Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[newfalguy101]

A pic of the target might help get good suggestions

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Saw horse on each side. Length of 2 x 4 across top. Piece of chain 14 to 18" bolted to each hole in plate. Fasten other ends of chain to hooks in middle of 2 x 4.

 

[Waterboy3313]

A pic of the target might help get good suggestions

 

[jmorris]

A T post will hold a target pretty easy, if you have a driver.

I have made “flasher” targets for long range that use EMT for the legs, quick and easy to set up and tell someone is hitting them at long ranges.




The red cannot be seen from the shooting position, until the target is hit and rocks backwards.

These have been shot many more thousands of times though, my “goto” favorites as far as portability.

A decade after I made the rack on the left, I made the one on the right and added wheels to it, so it was even easier to move around.



This one is likely the most often requested one for me to bring over to a pistol shoot.



All of the above require a truck or at least a big car, except the single reactive target in the center of the first video.

 

[Waterboy3313]

I was thinking about using EMT. I want a small package that is easy to set up and take down. More less self contained so there aren't any pieces or parts to get lost. I built a target stand for my paper targets that works nice but the bottom base and part of the lower are pvc filled with grout. Shooting at steel is new to me I could see bullet fragments tearing up pvc after the bullets hit the steel. So I am assuming pvc will be a no go.

 

[Waterboy3313]

I just ordered some brackets and hooks from evil bay that use 3/4 EMT. 2 Stick of EMT should do it for my one steel plate with extra left over. Maybe I will drill through the brackets to add a 1/4 20 bolt and wing nut through each leg to help hold it together.

 

[Choctaw]

I use my wife's old angle iron realtor signs for all targets that need frames.

 

[rdnktrkr]

Realtor signs, campaign signs and displays from grocery stores are my favorite, sometimes the displays have a metal frame with a wooden bottom that when removed allows you to put the metal onto rebar spikes.

 

[Walkalong]

I have made “flasher” targets for long range

Very cool, I like that.

 

[<*(((><]

I have a 6" x 52" long pvc pipe with a welded cap on one end and a screw cap on the other that fits 3/4" black pipe legs (x4) and a 3/4" black pipe cross bar piece to contain it all.

The legs are 48" long pairs, at the top is a street elbow with short nipple to a T then, repeated on the otherside the cross bar (48" long) threads into the other side of the T. The T allows the legs to spread apart and collapse. On the cross bar I cut 2" diameter rings in half and welded the halves to the bottom of the cross bar spaced apart to allow for carabiners to attach that holds the chain and target. The bottom of each of the legs has a threaded black pipe cap to prevent filling with dirt.

I can fit 3-5 steel targets depending on their size on the stand.

The whole thing cost me about $80 in parts. But I have a welder to attach the ring halves, if you don't have access to a welder you could figure out a clamp style ring for attaching I'm sure.

I don't have a picture of mine but this is essentially the same thing, mines just taller and wider it looks like. Also, mine has the cut in half rings welded along the bottom of the horizontal piece.

 

[Waterboy3313]

I got my brackets and hangers last night. Going to stop at the hardware store on my way home today to get the EMT. I figured two 10 foot sticks of one inch for about $25.

If I cut both sticks in half that will give me an extra piece if one of the legs or cross piece happens to get wiped out. I am taking Friday off of work so I can go try it out.

 

[Tilos]

You can use these, if the ground is soft enough:
Ashman Shepherd's Hooks, Black, Set of 4 Made of Premium Metal for Hanging Solar Lights, Bird Feeders, Mason Jars, Plant Hangers, Flower Basket, Christmas Lights, Lanterns, Garden Stakes and Weddings

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010J2XNB...UTF8&coliid=I22JI4O7PP8EIR&colid=6T86R8UM8FZ3

They are solid rods that can be stepped/pushed into the ground.
If your ground is soft you could use two per gong, one ear chained to each.

Edit: above hooks are 0.250" wire, some others are 0.400" wire and cost more.

 

[jmorris]

For a “hanger” I generally use steel barstock so only the edge is able to be hit but have found sections of old firehose to be quite durable taking many hits and still hold the target, lasts longer than chain, if misses are common and is also a bit more reactive.

I also used a worn out motorcycle chain to hang fairly heavy things, like this old oxygen tank with the bottom cut off.

 

[Waterboy3313]

So here's kind of a 98% complete target and stand I have been working on tonight. Nothing fancy by any means but it's a good start.


The place I shoot at the most is uphill from where I shoot from. The target hangs pretty low but I'm thinking it will be ok.

 

[Waterboy3313]

I got the EMT cut and drilled for 1/4 20 bolts. The leg brackets came drilled so it was match the holes for the conduit. I was on the fence about drilling the legs but it was a cluster trying to hold it all together for assembly. With the legs bolted to the brackets and through bolts on the cross piece it makes the stand 3 pieces and the 12" round 1/2" thick AR 500 steel plate a total of 4 pieces. Should be easy to manage and more or less self contained so no parts get lost in transit.

$40 eBay target, $30 bracket and hanger kit from eBay and $25 worth of 1" EMT conduit from Ace hardware. I'm sure I could have came up with something better or cheaper but hopefully this will hold up for quite a while. I also have about 6 feet of conduit left over for damage replacement.