Target stand to hold multiple clays as static targets

[Emfuser]

I currently have a target stand that is a PVC base that holds two vertical 1x2's about 16 or so inches apart (got the design from some site I forgot), that stands about 6 feet high. Normally I tack cardboard to the wood and paper targets to the cardboard.

My home range (club) allows me to shoot clay pigeons as targets on every range I can use my rifles on. What I would like to do is put a few rows of clay pigeons up on my stand so that I can use them as reactive targets. What I'm trying to figure out is a way to hold those few rows of them up without having to engineer some sort of complicated means of suspending them. I have ideas, but I figure I'd ask some folks here before I go re-inventing the wheel.

If you've done something like this before, I'd love to hear from you.

 

[3KillerBs]

If you can get cull lumber at a price you won't mind replacing periodically as it gets chewed up by the misses you ought to be able to rout a grove that would hold clays the way a plate rail in a china cupboard does.

 

[Emfuser]

Not a bad idea, thanks.

I'm trying to minimize the amount of material out there to hold up the clays and get chewed up, esp since I'll be letting the gf use this, and she is a poor marksman (markswoman?) right now.

Still, good suggestion.

 

[jackstinson]

. .

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

No need to reinvent the wheel:
http://www.cabelas.com/spod-1/0036389.shtml
http://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0020407226085a.shtml
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=388279

You can usually find those hangers sold seperately if you want to supply your own rope or wire in some kind of frame. Here's a place that sells them: http://www.suresiteinc.com/price_list.php

 

[Emfuser]

Exactly the inspiration I need. Thanks.

 

[FN5.7shooter]

Try using chicken wire. There are some pre bent chicken wire corner supports used in stucco that I have laid horizonal and just set the clays on them. You can bend the thing into a U shape easy. Staple or tie it on your target stands. Pieces fall on the ground easy clean up.

 

[g.willikers]

We use target stands similar to yours. For mounting clay pigeons we just hang them on large headed, long shank tacks that are stuck in the cardboard. Works fine and requires only buying the tacks.

 

[Officers'Wife]

A small sheet metal bracket attached with a wood screw would work nicely.

Selena

 

[JonF]

Back in the summer i had made a stand out of simple PVC pipe to hold clays based on the SureSite design and their clay clips. I figured i could build it for far less, plus if someone ever mis-aims and shoots the stand, i can actually repair it vs throwing the whole thing away. Sure enough, my friends' girlfriend was shooting some clays with a .22 and she perforated the cross bar that the clays hang from pretty good. It held together good enough but in the end i had to replace it with another cheap piece of pipe. If i had the proprietary SureSite stand, it would have been toast and $40 down the drain. Plus i was able to design mine a little wider so we can get almost 10 per row (with 3 rows) and i can hang other stuff from it as well (cans, etc).

 

[ArmedBear]

Don't reinvent anything.

Go to Home Depot, Lowes, or wherever. Buy a pack of standard steel fenceposts (like you'd use for barbed wire), and a roll of plastic mesh fencing (not really fine mesh). Buy a pack of clothespins.

You're done. Cheap, easily replaceable, and can be configured in many ways on hills, etc.

I can't imagine why you'd buy a special target stand -- you WILL shoot it eventually. Just get steel fence posts. They withstand most shots and, at worst, get bent up a little. Plastic is a waste of effort.

 

[kinser11]

I built a metal rack to hold the clay pigeons. I thought it was a good concept until one errant round hit the rack and all the clay pigeons shattered. Back to the drawing board. :banghead:

 

[Emfuser]

I built a metal rack to hold the clay pigeons. I thought it was a good concept until one errant round hit the rack and all the clay pigeons shattered. Back to the drawing board.

Whoops

 

[phorvick]

I have used these with success and very great longevity....

http://www.justshootmeproducts.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=69

 

[rcmodel]

You can always go out at night and steal a bunch of wire-frame political yard signs before the next election!



They make great target stands.
Especially if you pick the politicians you really dislike!

rcmodel

 

[ArmedBear]

Phorvick, you paid $25 to hang 4 clays?!? I can set up a whole range, with 40 or more clays, with $25 of hardware. Since it seems nobody read my above post, read this one and save some money!

Use plastic mesh construction fence. Hangs from standard steel fenceposts. Clothespins hold up the clay pigeons. You don't have to build anything, and if you blast a hole through a fencepost with a hunting rifle, it doesn't matter.

Get away from the drawing board! Don't overthink this.

Buy a roll of this: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...3&productId=100384024&N=10000003+90401+527548

Buy a few of these: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=92063-80032-UPL04&lpage=none

Buy a big bag of plastic clothespins from the local drug store, and a box of clay pigeons from the sporting goods store. Bring scissors and a hammer, and head out to your shooting area.

With the scissors, you can cut the fencing to desired width (4 feet or so, or 8 if you put in a center post). With the clothespins, you attach the clay pigeons. They're so cheap, you just throw them away when they break. The fencing will not suffer much damage from shooting, but when it finally does, you can roll out some more.

 

[3KillerBs]

Don't steel fenceposts present a danger of ricochets from the misses?

The club we belong to doesn't permit any steel targets of any kind and I don't think the fence posts would go over well with the range officers either.

 

[rondog]

I know a guy that swears the best targets are Vanilla Wafers glued to a piece of cardboard. Haven't tried it yet though.

 

[Officers'Wife]

Go to Home Depot, Lowes, or wherever. Buy a pack of standard steel fenceposts (like you'd use for barbed wire), and a roll of plastic mesh fencing (not really fine mesh). Buy a pack of clothespins.

That makes me shutter in so many ways. You are far better off with wood fence posts - less chance of the ball's address being changed by a graze of the post.

 

[Officers'Wife]

Hi Rondog,

My brother swears by golf balls. He puts in an eye screw and hangs them from a frame.

Selena

 

[kinser11]

Golfballs--A very good idea. I have literally hundreds that are used and abused. They also work great for rifle practice.

 

[ArmedBear]

Don't steel fenceposts present a danger of ricochets from the misses?

Not in my experience.

They are VERY soft steel. Bullets don't just bounce off them. Ever shoot an old washing machine? The bullets don't ricochet back.

If you hit the fenceposts, they can be damaged; a direct hit will bend them 60 degrees or so. But they're cheap. Also, they're stuck in the dirt. They don't stay rigid when they're hit, like a steel target.

Steel targets are made of armor plate. That poses a significant ricochet risk.

Of course, you can use wood if you want, and put hooks in it to hold the fencing. I wouldn't bother trying to drive a wood post into our dirt and rock here, but maybe where you live it's mostly mud. But wood should work the same way. And you should still be able to hang 40, not 4, clays for $25.

 

[rr2241tx]

I have used T-posts, chicken wire and clothes pins exclusively for years. Eventually the wire gets so shot up it has to be replaced. I use snout rings to attach it around the T-posts. Rifle rounds just blow on through a standard T-post if the hit is on a wing, if it hits the intersection the bullet explodes. If you have people intentionally shooting at the post, you need new friends.