Hey guys, another installment of my DIY themed threads, this time around it’s making an ultra portable/cheap steel target stand on the super cheap. Goal:
Create a longer term steel target stand solution focusing heavily on three aspects.
[b] A. [/b] It must be incredibly portable, in order to be humped into LR shooting locales vs. drive up shooting ranges.
B. Must be able to be constructed very easily, or with very minimal effort, tools, and time invested in the DIY process.
[b] C. [/b] The overall cost of the finish product must be on the super cheap....for me the definition of super cheap is around $20 or less.
I’ll be overall brief here, since the video hopefully will portray the general idea better than I can by typing it.
Looks absolutely excellent.
Two things, first, where did you get the target, and what is your opinion of it?
And second, if you apply the torch to a piece of tubing the size of the hole needed in the nylon strap, and press said hot piece of tubing through the nylon, the hole will not fray and hold it’s shape better.
I’ve had a few others take my recommendation on the above steel target, and all have been totally satisfied like myself with it. This particular product/company is worthy of my highest recommendation for several reasons as listed below…
First and foremost, the product itself is stellar…super clean edges/cuts which matters greatly in a steel target. The durability of their steel continues to amaze me as well, as I’ve been hammering this particular target heavily with 5.56/7.62 now for a few years, and it doesn’t even have real poke marks yet on it. It will no doubt out live me several times over.
When first getting it, I did quite a bit of homework…nobody could match the quality (2/3rd ar500 3/8") for the price ($90) that I could find.
Shipping…believe it or not, this aspect when steel shopping matters more than one might think. CMP nails this aspect, they charge you the actual cost of shipping, not some inflated rate…and they ship that day, or the next. $15 to ship a 22lb steel plate to me in less than 3 days IIrc.
Lastly, I got to know the president of CMP, HR Eddens after reaching out to him informing him on how satisfied I was with his product. He’s a real gentlemen, and treats me like I bought 100 targets from him. Super receptive to feedback, and has offered to do one off stuff for me whenever.
Between the steel product, and Mr. Eddens awesome CS…CMP no doubt has my steel business for life.
Hanging steel is an art form, and science imho…and one can really tweak their setup in order to refine it to their particular needs.
Previous DIY stands of mine…
Shepard’s hook.…terrible solution
Wood stand…half ass solution / it broke before seeing 500rds or so
Longer term wood stand/saw horse…too damn heavy
Folding steel saw horse…proper solution / still run 2 of these at my LR locales. Really a prefect solution minus the weight.
As a general guideline…100yds and out for 5.56 FMJ type stuff, however I’m not sure on 9mm stuff.
It’s really all about how you hang it as well…If you mount it on a static stand with no deflection slope to it, better back way, way off.
However if you mount it like I have it where it can generate almost total “free movement”, one can come in much closer than a 100yds in my experience. Big reason why I don’t like static stands…that, and the fact they kill the beautiful natural resonance in a steel plate that makes them ring so sweetly.
I follow action targets safety recommendations when shooting at the targets I bought from them and when shooting rifle at the targets I bought from wideners and made frames for myself.
Always obey the Firearms Safety Rules listed above.
Always wear hearing protection and wrap-around shatter resistant eye protection
[b]3. Always stand at least 10 yards from
the target when using handgun calibers.
Always stand at least 100 yards from
the target when using shotgun slugs.
Always stand at least 100 yards from the target when using rifle calibers like .223 and .308.[/b]
Never use rifle calibers on handgun rated targets.
Never use ammunition that exceeds 3,000 feet per second at the muzzle.
Never use ammunition that travels below 750 feet per second.
Never shoot BB’s, steel shot, or
air gun pellets at steel targets.
Never use more powerful ammunition than the target
is rated for. (Green tip, armor piercing, etc.)
Never shoot on steel that is cratered, pitted, or damaged in any way.
Hard ground surfaces under the target should be covered with plywood or boxed pea gravel.
Targets should be placed with a 3 foot lateral and deep offset from
the adjacent target.
If shooting multiple targets, angle of
engagement should not exceed 20 degrees.
Use only non-toxic paint on steel targets.
Inspect all targets before using for damage, functionality, etc.
Shooters and observers must wear long pants (no shorts),
long sleeve shirts, a cap or
hat with a brim, and closed
toed shoes.
Instructors and observers should stand behind the shooter and observe all safety rules.
If using frangible ammunition, it is the responsibility of the Rangemaster to test fire all frangible rounds to
determine the following:
(1) that the projectile pulverizes completely on contact
(2) that the projectile does not damage the steel target at the distances you intend to shoot from
i’ve been using this design for many years and they have survived several matches. i still recommend it because it’s easy to replace parts when they get shot and it breaks down to 5 piece of 48" rebar and the joints which are made of galvanized pipe from lowes.
the third pic is from joints made by a guy who used to shoot my matches who basically welded short pieces of aluminum pipe together to accomplish the same thing a little cheaper. http://www.acetargets.com/ (though i haven’t heard from him in a while… not sure if he’s still making them)
unless you have high berms, i’d try to keep the stands low to the ground.
there is an art to it. depends on the weight of the target and the length of the strap.
sinister, ryan’s big dog steel is awesome. i won that “snipershide” target at a match last year, but i prefer the “headhunter” version which is identical minus the chest plate.
i bought 6 of his “econoline” 45% ipsc and shoot my AR at them. regarding the safe distance, i used to say 100 yards min for rifle. however, i have put about 2000 rounds on those econoline targets since december at distances from 20-40 yards and no ricochets or anything. the key is the T-post hangers and the steep angle that dumps the spall into the dirt at the base. i’m not recommending everyone go out and do that… just saying i think it can be done safely now.
I built a stand out of PVC and Wideners 1/2 in AR500 steel. The best anywhere I can find! The price is awesome too, $64($73 right now, still a better than everyone else price) at the time for a 16"x10"x1/2" target! The PVC stand only lasted one season but I was amazed at how much damage the PVC pipe took before giving up the ghost. It was very light and easily assembled and disassembled. I set mine up with t fittings on the bottom with 4 feet of pipe on each side. The upright pipes were 5 feet tall and the center bar was 4 feet across. Target was attached with case hardened chain. At the end it was being held together with duct tape. It was my first attempt so standing up for a year was a plus!
I’ve shot the target itself with 5.56, 7.62x39 and 54R, 9mm, .45 acp and Colt, 10,000 .22LR or more, .308 win, 30-30, and 12 gauge slugs and shot. Any thing that is military surplus in the calibers I listed it has withstood, at hundreds for some and thousands with others. I really can’t recommend Wideners targets enough, they have the best prices by far, were talking $100 less or more than other targets. A big plus is they aren’t just 3/8 inch either! They sell 1/2 inch also, unlike most companies. When I get done with my new stand I will upload some pics!
I have a very low cost, very portable and very durable DIY design. I built mine using 2 x 4’s in a sawhorse design. I have 4 1/2 inch AR 500 steel targets that I bought from Wideners hanging on mine. It has taken a few thousand rounds ranging from .22 to 300 Win Mag and is rock solid. The only challenge was finding a hanging mechanism / rope that could handle the splatter - found it. Get a used a firehose from the fire department - they throw those away and they are EXTREMELY durable. I cut my firehose to the desired section lengths and drill a whole to put a 1/2 bolt through. It works great - it gives the steel a little room to swing and deflects most bullet splatter down. Will take a picture tomorrow and post if anyone is interested.
the saw horse is the right design. it’s good to be able to change the angle too. i have some joints that are 45* and some that are 60*. The 60 lets me hang the target a little higher (helpful to get out of the higher grass in the Spring) and the 45* gives me more stability on hills. (the impact will swing the target back, and when it swings forward on a hill, it will often move the center of gravity past the forward legs and flip the stand over.)
if you’re setting them up permanently wood’s not bad, or if you’re just setting up one stand. but i can put 20+ of the rebar target stands in the back of my honda, and spread 20+ pieces of steel out for a lot more looks.
edit: the other plus about the rebar is that you can push the legs deep into the dirt if you need more stability.
