[Bravo11]

I'm looking for some target ideas. I shoot a lot of paper targets but after so many rounds you have to go down range and change out targets and examine shot placement. I've also shot standing clay targets but you keep having to go down range and put more clays up. I've seen the resetable targets made of steel but most require shooting lead and I mostly shoot FMJ(cheaper, easier to find) and most resetables are for rimfires.
Any ideas?

[Bacchus]

Have you considered using balloons? You should be able to inflate them to different sizes and tape several of them to the targets. They will move around in the wind, too.

[SDC]

You can always hang a gong as a target; no re-setting of targets that way.

[boing]

Old pots and pans can be had cheap at yard sales and flea markets. They make decent disposable gongs.

[Devonai]

First you need a sturdy target stand of the type with two legs and two cross beams. Move the lower cross beam to about a foot above the ground and reattach it. Then set it up on your range. Next, take a large coffee can and punch two one-inch holes on the rim across from each other. Thread a rope through the holes. Fill the can with damp sand, then use the rope to tie it to the target stand. Hang the can so that the bottom of the can is 1-2 inches below the lower cross beam, and behind it when viewed from the firing line.

When you shoot the can, it will move from the impact. The lower cross beam will keep it from swinging wildy which will eventually start to happen. The damp sand will hold in place fairly well until the can is simply too well ventilated. Then you just replace the can with a fresh one.

The biggest problem with this system is that it can be difficult to distinguish individual hits during rapid fire, as the can is moving around too much.

[TonyB]

I have an old oxygen tank and an old propane tank hanging from trees.They gong and move(w/ bigger calibers).
I also use old pill bottles.Not the ones your prescriptions come in ,but the ones that the drug comes in from the company(I work in a pharmacy).These fly when you hit them.Then I shoot them again.....like making them dance.I like these because they don't break and shatter,just has holes.....easy to pick up and throw out.
:cool:

[Skunkabilly]

Tennis balls.

[Dave Markowitz]

How about charcoal briquets?

[P95Carry]

I don't have a pic .... or the time to draw a diag but ... what I used to have until gave it away (d'uh - stupid) ..... was a home made steel deal. I used some scrap 2"x1/4" equal angle, some rod, tube and pieces of 1/2" plate.

The main part was three 12" ''spokes'' at angle at 120º to each other ... on the ends of which were welded the 1/2" plates ... these were approx 4" x 6". The center of this trio was a piece of steel tube.... all ''spokes'' welded to that.

As a base pole, I used a pointed piece of angle about 2 feet long - so it would hammer into ground and atop that was welded a length of round bar the dia of which suited the I'D of the tube mentioned. So ... hammer spike into ground, place ''windmill'' on top and .... start shooting!!

The whole thing was thus a sorta rotating three bladed windmill .......... which I used at no less than 25 yds ... in fact never had any bullet ''spash-back'' at all. There would always be one ''paddle'' showing, enough to shoot at .. and when hit it would spin the whole thing ... once stopped then always another ''paddle'' available. With practice, this sucker could be kept spinning by semi rapid fire.

Best for handguns .. .308's always went straight thru!!:evil: :D

[Bravo11]

P95,
Thats a good one. I may try something like that. One of the things I'm looking for is not having to go down range a lot to stack up more targets.
I'd rather spend time shooting.

[Thirties]

"You can always hang a gong as a target; no re-setting of targets that way."

SDC, can you elaborate on the gong. What size, shape, thickness, attachment?

[cordex]

Cheap handgun or .22 LR gongs:
Old, used plow disks hung on nails work nicely. .45 striking the edges will chip it, but that's not a really big deal to me.

Careful - try to make sure that the concave side is towards the shooter and stay a reasonable distance back. I generally shoot from about 30 yards when using .38/.357 or .45 on 'em.

I prefer real armor gongs that I can use rifle on too, but ...

[444]

I have posted this before, but here is what I did.
I went to a junk yard and bought what they said was the leading edge of a road grader blade. It was about four feet long and about eight to ten inches wide. I could barely lift it and had to use a dolly to get it out to my truck. I also bought a coil spring from a car and a tire rim. I welded the spring to the side of the rim so that the rim is lying flat on the ground and the spring is sticking up in the air. Using a torch I cut the road grader blade into square plates. I then welded one of these plates to the top of the spring with another piece of steel at a 90 degree angle to the plate as a brace.
When you shoot it, it makes a satisfying thump and it shakes around somewhat depending on what you shoot it with and how far away you are. There is no mistaking the sound of a hit.
I have been shooting this target for years. I have hit it with everything from a .338 Win Mag to a .22 LR. Handgun rounds don't do anything to it other than leave a smudge of lead. Nothing has seriously damaged the plate although it probably wouldn't hold up to continuous bashing from a big centerfire rifle at close range. FMJ .223 will leave a depression in the steel from ranges closer than 50 yards.
I intended to build at least three of these, but never got around to it. I have plenty of steel left.
The beauty of this target is that it can pretty easily be loaded into the truck and taken to where I shoot. Of course if you have a place where you shoot and can leave it, then so much the better.
The plate size is great for handguns at handgun ranges. The plate size seems to be a good size for offhand rifle at 100-200 yards. It is still big enough to be a valid target beyond that range with a scoped rifle from a more solid position.
Of course I spray paint the plate for better visibility. With blaze orange paint, the target is visible at considerable distance.

My faviorite reactive target is what Skunk mentioned. Balls. Golf, tenis, kids balls of all sizes. Depending on what you hit them with, the move or sail. They present a fairly challenging target for handguns. I throw one out, and shoot it until I can't see it anymore then either retrieve it, or walk up until I see it again and resume fire. A tennis ball will soak up a lot of lead. I found a kids ball out in the desert and shot at it for months. It was yellow and had spikes all over it; not sure what game it is used for. Golf balls are obvioiusly a tougher target and sail farther when hit. They are hard to keep in sight for more than a couple shots.

[Bravo11]

I normally shoot FMJ's at the range. How dangerous is shooting the steel targets at handgun ranges of about 25 yrds?

[cordex]

Depends on the steel.

Cratered, pocked, dimpled steel more dangerous.

[RWK]

This is a fun, reactive, but not-reusable target idea that I have enjoyed for some years. Local supermarket vegetable managers will sell very cheaply – commonly give away – large produce (pumpkins, squashes, zucchini, and so forth) that is well past its prime or even rotten. Presuming you have access to an outdoor range with a safe backstop, these targets provide instant – frequently spectacular – reactions when hit by common handgun target loads (FMJ). For example, a spoiled, over-ripe watermelon will simply EXPLODE when hit by a standard pressure 230 grain .45 ACP round.

It is fun, inexpensive and provides much more spectacular and instantaneous feedback than paper targets.

Best regards -- Roy

[yesterdaysyouth]

pumpkins are fun and easy to grow, too bad you can't have a year roud supply...

i just grab a roll of white paper, about 4-6 sticks... drive the sticks in the ground, and strech it out there and tack it up... anywhere from 5-50ft long if you wanted, then i use the birchwood casey orange dots.... you can shoot all different calibers, all day long with about 20 ft. of paper and 2 sheets of those dots....