Easy $10 target stand with pics

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MD_Patrick

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Been thinking of a target stand and finally got around to making one tonight. I ended up being very happy with it, so I put pictures and directions up on my site in case anyone wants to make one. Easy, fast, breaks down easily, and can be used with about any size target.

http://69.251.188.87/Stand.html
 
THAT...is cool. Nice job.

Speaking of cheap target 'stands', I went to the range last week (the day before election day.....sniff) and noticed that some of the folks there had acquired their target stands along the way...along the side of the road, actually. There were using the election litter that clutters all of the highway medians, the signs with the thick coat hanger type frames seemed to be the most popular. Just stick them in the ground and tape your target to it. There were a couple of guys with AR's that just walked the signs out to 100 and started laying waste to them.
 
That's one of the things I was thinking of, but none of them were tall enough. Elk Neck requires 4' at center of the target. Probably not a huge deal, but any excuse to build something out of PVC...
 
Nice job.

For the uber-poor, or frugal guys....

Free Target stand. Go to your local realtor, ask for derelict real estate signs. They gave me 10!

Putting up IPSC torso's on furrier strips? Get a used tire, again, free, and slash slots on both sides. Put furrier strips in slots, whala.

Want cardboard for your IPSC torsos? back of any store, they throw it out. Make template, cut away. FREE.

I'm all about free.
 
I don't mean to "poop" on your PVC project, but the horizonal "base" pipes probably need to be longer OR anchored into the ground. The way it sits right now, a sudden gust of wind might blow it over, and it will probably "dance" somewhat when rounds strike the target.

You can anchor the base pipes fairly easy, with holes drilled through the PVC and using some long spike nails hammered into the ground.

Instead of using the horizontal pipes for the base, you could also pound some long spike nails into the ground, with enough of the spike lenth above the ground so that you'd be able to slip the vertical pipes over them.

PVC projects are FUN! I built a PVC sun shade that goes out with me every time. It's just big enough for one shooter, but could be engineered to have more room. The "sun shade" part, that fits on top of the PVC pipe, is nothing more than a large piece of cardboard! I think that I invested a total of about $6 for all the PVC stuff.
 
I've made similar stands of PVC in the past. They work fairly well except when you do shoot one. The PVC tubing usually shatters when struck by a bullet.

Some method to anchor the stand is needed. A light wind will blow the stands over. I use plastic tent stakes.
 
Jim Gardner had an article in the May/June 2006 issue of "American Handgunner" with instructions, materials list, and photos for these. They are simple and inexpensive to make and work quite well.

They aren't paticularly stable as-is, but a little improvising with sandbags, cheap tent pegs from Wally's (can be used to anchor a bungee cord), the aforementioned landscaping timber spikes, or even a piece of log chain fixes that.

A very practical alternative to the pricey steel items, especially if your club or range doesn't have them, IMO.
 
Well, I tried to test it out today, but 95 was a parking lot, so I had to abandon the mission. Damn all of you with your backyard ranges.

I was thinking about it blowing over and I'd be surprised in anything but a really strong wind. Maybe the picture is misleading, but it seems very stable.

In any case, thank you for the advice. I'd thought of laying some sandbags or something over the legs if it was super windy, but stakes are a great idea, too. You could even store them in the legs when they weren't needed.
 
I made some stands out of pvc a while back. It's a good thing they're cheap, because they definitely don't work as well after they've been shot. I like the election type signs a lot better. They're smaller and can survive a bullet strike. People say to me, "wow you must really hate Roberta Farrell to be shooting up her signs like that." Nah, her signs were just closest to the intersection.

It would be funny to put the signs back up after they've got a few hundred rounds through them.
 
Speaking of cheap target 'stands', I went to the range last week (the day before election day.....sniff) and noticed that some of the folks there had acquired their target stands along the way...along the side of the road, actually. There were using the election litter that clutters all of the highway medians, the signs with the thick coat hanger type frames seemed to be the most popular. Just stick them in the ground and tape your target to it. There were a couple of guys with AR's that just walked the signs out to 100 and started laying waste to them.
Click to expand...

We had a teen arrested in Md for stealing political signs and hordeing them a couple months ago.
 
The way it sits right now, a sudden gust of wind might blow it over, and it will probably "dance" somewhat when rounds strike the target.
Click to expand...
Patrick,
I can vouch for that. I just made three of these, and it seems EVERY TIME I go shooting, the wind picks up. I've had to anchor them

Thanks for the elastic and clip part, I would have never thought of that. I zip tied big cardboard squares because paper targets kept tearing. Now the cardboard holds the paper, but needs to be replaced soon. AND, as someone else mentioned, there are problems if someone shoots the PVC. My wife is still learning, and left chunks of PVC at the range last week...
 
I like your desgin. I use stands pretty much like aquapong's & they work real good. I don't have much trouble with them blowing over but sometimes I do have to put a block or something over the base. I don't glue any of the joints together & I carry several extra pieces with me. That way, if somebody shoots a piece of the stand & kills it, i can just pull the thing apart & replace only that piece. I also made a simple PVC rack to lean our shotguns against when we shoot clay's instead of laying them in the back of the pick-up or leaning them against the side or something. PVC is a wonderful invention!
 
I made this one a little while ago and it's worked well for me.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu24.htm
Click to expand...

Very nice! I like the wood idea, easy to replace some pine furring when it gets shot up. :)

One question though, are those bullet holes in the roof?

oops.jpg
 
My target holders are pretty low tech compared to those.

I take an 18" piece of 4x4, cut a 1/4" groove lengthwise down 1 side, screw 2 pieces of 1x2x3' perpendicular to the length on the side opposite the groove, as a base.
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=47675&stc=1&d=1163251763
targetholder.jpg

Then I cut a piece of 4x8x1/4" OSB into 4'x18" strips and put one into the groove.
 
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It should be noted that I am not the owner of the website...I just used his plan. I got 4ft sections of closet coat rail from Home Depot for the expendable pieces. The first set has made it through the first two range sessions. I put a screw halfway down the pvc uprights so the wooden uprights stand up a bit more.
 
I have not made any of the pvc stands (yet), but I have heard that if you fill the bottom pieces with play sand that will vastly improve the stability.
 
Target stand

Someone in our Condo was throwing away a sports chair, the type that pulls up in the middle and slips into a nylon golf bag type cover.

The frame makes a good stand and I used 3/4 pvc pipe, it just slips over the 2 backrest tubes, to make the frame (2 - 36" pieces for the sides, 1 - crosspiece ? ",you will have to measure between the backrest tubes, and 2 -90 degree elbows).

Chair frame folds up in its own bag and target frame is approx. 30" X 36".
 
I have built something similar to this before. It took about two or three magazines from a new gun (sight was off) before a stray made my 45 minutes of work went poof. I like wood, as its a little more sturdy, but the realtor signs have worked best for me so far. I just hang things from them (from targets to sheet metal plates) and they have taken several stray bullets and are still going strong.
Don't mean to dump all over your project, as it looks like you did a hell of a job putting this together, and without a stray bullet, I'm sure it would work very well.
 
Looks nice, i'm going to have to break down and build something sooner or later.

It gets old trying to figure out what to use when in the woods.

Steve
 
Thats a good stand, here is another option though,

1. 5ft 2X2
2. small square of plywood 6inX6in
3. 50 pound bag of gravel
4. 5 gallon plastic bucket (I use laudery detergent ones)
5. second piece of plywood, to staple your target to, whichever size works best for you.

Assembly:
1. nail small plywood square to bottom of 2X2
2. stick in bucket
3. fill with gravel or rock, dirt, (gravel works best for me)
4. Attach second piece of plywood, however high you want your targets.
5. staple paper targets

Notes:
I keep the gravel in a second bucket with a lid, so I can resuse it and keep it in my car. I usually have to replace the stapled plywood aftter a long day of shooting.
 
eh

I bought an H frame from metalman for about $35 and it's lasted me quite some time. A single long piece of high quality pine is $2.99 at home depot. Cut that in half, one piece in each hole, and then just staple gun a big peice of cardboard to the two pieces (use long staples).

carboard is free and all you have to do is pick it out of the dumpster at costco, etc.

I tell you what, I have DELIBERATELY HIT the pine legs of my target with everything from birdshot up to 8mm mauser. Not once did my legs shatter. The wood just lets the bullet slip through, and still retains its strength. Quality pine is really tough stuff and after about THREE THOUSAND shots my original set of four pine legs is still being used. There are holes all over them (many from jerks on the range shooting at my target), but they are still very usuable.

The concrete bucket is a good idea but it's too heavy bulky and messes up the inside of my car.

i also bought a brinell 500 spinner from metalman. expensive as all get out but it's been hit about... oh... maybe 2000 times? by all sorts of ammo from all sorts of shooters, often two or three hits at the same time.

still ticking.
 
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