DIY Target Retrieval

[oneounceload]

Smeg - my buddy's underground range is 50 yards long and is inside an 8' galvanized culvert buried, so his channel is attached to the upper side of the culvert. But, if you could make a free-standing frame, I suppose it could go as far as the range of the RC car - he has a VERY light target frame (since he has no wind to consider) that hangs down about 2 feet so his odds of hitting his car is slim.

Picture the channels like this: [ ] with the wheels running on the inside - he can run his target out to any distance of his 50 yard range - it is VERY fast - he had to build stops on either end since he isn't a typical 8 year old who can handle that remote well - the car came off the track a few times!

Really a cool setup - I imagine you could something similar with a clothes line and a motor of sorts for even longer ranges.....

 

[Smeg]

An overhead pulley and cable system like you see in indoor ranges is not going to work well outdoors, even if you wanted to go to the trouble of rigging support pylons, clothesline/wire and pulleys. The slightest breeze will set your target swinging about wildly.

That is an excellent point. I had wondered about how to compensate for the wind, but I thought I might be able to fight through it once I started building it. This could be a really difficult obstacle to overcome. Any ideas?

Smeg - my buddy's underground range is 50 yards long and is inside an 8' galvanized culvert buried, so his channel is attached to the upper side of the culvert. But, if you could make a free-standing frame, I suppose it could go as far as the range of the RC car - he has a VERY light target frame (since he has no wind to consider) that hangs down about 2 feet so his odds of hitting his car is slim.

Picture the channels like this: [ ] with the wheels running on the inside - he can run his target out to any distance of his 50 yard range - it is VERY fast - he had to build stops on either end since he isn't a typical 8 year old who can handle that remote well - the car came off the track a few times!

Really a cool setup - I imagine you could something similar with a clothes line and a motor of sorts for even longer ranges.....

I'm wondering if there might be a way to make this work on a track on the ground holding the target frame instead of anything overhead. Thanks for the info.

 

[BeerSleeper]

Automatic retrieval isn't practical if shooting at rifle ranges, and just hard to see it necessary if shooting at pistol ranges. I don't like the automatic retrieval system at my local indoor range...the target zips out fast enough, but takes 10 minutes to stop bouncing. Nothing beats a paper target firmly stapled to a plywood that isn't going anywhere.

My outdoor range has a piece of plywood big enough to hold 5 8-1/2"x11" paper targets (6 if I crowd them a bit), so I only have to walk to the target board every 5 or 6 targets. I'd feel lazy having it set up that way, but it's about a half mile walk to get there in the first place.

 

[jmorris]

I assumed we were talking about long range but some of the suggestions sound a lot like my portable running man target that I built from an old cordless drill and a boat winch.

 

[mfcmb]

The longer the run, the more any ropes or cables are going to sag and the stronger the supports you'll need at each end will need to be. The longer the run the less practical it will be to set up a suspended system.

How about a bicycle that you leave covered with a tarp and locked up at your range to get you back and forth? You can add a basket or rack big enough to carry your targets, etc.

 

[Smeg]

jmorris, that is awesome. How do you get it to switch directions?

*And what I mean is, how did it switch directions automatically when it reached the end? Is there something pushing the little switch on the drill (the one that changes it from clockwise rotation to counter-clockwise rotation)?

 

[yeti]

Why not build/buy a big RC transport and drive your targets in and out, you would then have a moving target platform too.

 

[wishin]

Go to the local day labor pickup point and hire a retriever!

 

[jmorris]

jmorris, that is awesome. How do you get it to switch directions?

If you watch the bottom video you will see the little nylon stops on the string hit the spring loaded swtich lever QPQT swtich reverses the motor. I had to have the springs so it had a range to stop when running fast. The other swtich at the bottom left makes the target stop on the right side, left side or both sides between being triggered it works off the two limit swtiches at the bottom (with the light blue flag connectors.

 

[Rembrandt]

Made a couple of these for crossing a river on our farm, but it could be easily adapted as a targets retrieval system. A little fabrication skill and some hardware you'll be in business. Distance on these are about 125' long.

 

[Bad Penny 03]

There was a Guns and Ammo article years ago where the author used a roll of butchers paper on a tubular frame and threw a motor on it.

He had a spool of wire and a switch at one end to index it forward.

Wasn't that expensive and saved him a trip or two.

 

[danprkr]

Second option, have children and get them involved. My eleven year old is happy to run across the often muddy area on our property to replace targets if he gets to shoot the first round.

Be good for the kid. Heck, for the first 12 years or so of my life I WAS the remote control for the TV, and I had ZERO say in what was watched.

 

[dg12]

If we could figure out a way to build a supercollidor - superconductor system to get things back and forth for us. We might could get rid of the dog.