Home made flat pack Target Stand

[Die Judicii]

One of the main places I test ammo and zero scopes, is in the bottom of a huge quarry that is on private property.
No-one to interupt me, and being surrounded by rubble and rock/earth walls 12 meters high, (zero wind issues) is about as safe as you can get.

The only problem I've had is,,,,,,,, it's nigh on impossible to drive steel pickets in to hold/hang targets on.
And, making timber frames that are bulky or need a cordless drill and a handfull of screws that are easily lost to assemble,, is a pain in the Rse.

I needed something that was ultra light,, very quick to assemble,, fits together without tools or screws,, and can be transported as a flat pack.


So I made this out of components from a kids swimming pool.

The two "arch" leg frames simply push onto the single cross bar at the top.
Hang the target/s on with cable ties,,,,,,,, and your ready to go.
When finished just pull out the top bar, and everything lays flat for the trip home.

Target Stand.jpg (168.29 KiB) Viewed 5029 times

[Wapiti]

Looks awesome mate, maybe will give some handy people ideas and encourage them to build some better mousetraps for some bush sighting in!

[on_one_wheel]

What happened to using beverage cans ?
They're the perfect drinkable target that's still worth 10 cents once used.

[Wapiti]

What happened to using beverage cans ?
They're the perfect drinkable target that's still worth 10 cents once used.

absolutely
Not so great for checking groups though...

[bladeracer]

What happened to using beverage cans ?
They're the perfect drinkable target that's still worth 10 cents once used.

Biggest problem is that too many people don't bother cleaning up after themselves.

I haven't bought a can of anything for decades, when I did use to drink soft drinks I bought two-litre bottles, which are way more useful than cans

With the bottles you can put a schraeder valve in the cap, put some air pressure in the bottle and get a better visual effect when you shoot it.

[Oldbloke]

Yep, always find cans laying around in the bush. Plenty with bullet/pellet hole. Disgraceful.

[Wapiti]

Damn gun owners. Should be banned.

[Fester]

I made a pair of flat folding saw horses to hang gong targets from.
Worked well and you could prob buy Bummings versions by now.

[Blr243]

I’m thinking more along the lines of a portable backstop to safely catch bullets when I zero out bush on flat country. I need some sort of thick steel 600 by 600. But it’s goin to weigh a ton I don’t like shooting up trees. And dam wall back stops are not necessarily available

[Wapiti]

You're going to need some thick steel if its cheap MS250, which means heavy.

Unless you go with a 600x600 piece of Bisalloy. Then you'll still need 12mm, if your rifles have a velocity over 3000fps.
The craze is Bis 500 for some reason, which is the most brittle. The number designation starts at 80, which is super impact resistant but not as "hard", there's 200, 300 etc with 80 being used for dozer cutter bars on blades, coal and rock hoppers etc where big hits with mega pressure are experienced because it doesn't shatter.
I bought a 1.2m square sheet of 10mm Bis 80 from a local fabricator for $100. In country areas they use it a lot. It handles everything.

[bladeracer]

I’m thinking more along the lines of a portable backstop to safely catch bullets when I zero out bush on flat country. I need some sort of thick steel 600 by 600. But it’s goin to weigh a ton I don’t like shooting up trees. And dam wall back stops are not necessarily available

When you zero the rifle at 220m or whatever distance you prefer, confirm your zero at closer range, say 50m, then you can use a smaller target. If you know the bullet should be say 12mm high at 50m when correctly zeroed then just use a 200mm plate. It's going to have to be a high-grade AR/BZ steel though for any high-velocity centrefire. Boresight it before firing so you know it will hit the plate.

I have a 1200mm-square 5mm plate of BZ450 that weighs 62kg, so a 600mm square would weigh 15.5kg. Heavy, but it's not going kill you if you're carrying it in a vehicle. Different matter if you're on foot It cost me $450 three years ago so a 600mm plate is likely to be over $100.

[Oldbloke]

I’m thinking more along the lines of a portable backstop to safely catch bullets when I zero out bush on flat country. I need some sort of thick steel 600 by 600. But it’s goin to weigh a ton I don’t like shooting up trees. And dam wall back stops are not necessarily available

I don't think lugging a great lump of steel around is very practical.

[Wapiti]

You do what you gotta do. Impractical for someone is great fun for someone else.
The only way I see any of this is impractical is if you ride a bicycle.

[Blr243]

Thanks for the steel tips. I’ll keep my eye out everywhere I go

[Fester]

The way they charge for hard steels and not being able to score it from work anymore, I will stick with a log or whatever.

I know from my first gong making, I needed mild steel to be about 16mm thick to stop bullets and just leave craters.
A good score is those pipe blocking plates that come in lots of sizes and are pre-drilled, not sure of the thickness though.

[bladeracer]

The way they charge for hard steels and not being able to score it from work anymore, I will stick with a log or whatever.

I know from my first gong making, I needed mild steel to be about 16mm thick to stop bullets and just leave craters.
A good score is those pipe blocking plates that come in lots of sizes and are pre-drilled, not sure of the thickness though.

I've been using 200mm-square 8mm and 10mm post foot plates from my local steel place. Full-noise jacketed .357 does crater them a little, and 12ga. slugs leave a decent dent, but I'm shooting them at 10m or less. I want to shoot one with the .303 at 275m just so see if it takes much damage.