Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Portable rifle target - ideas?

My portable rifle target has seen it's better days. It has served me well with the only negative is the 1/4" steel rods can not be drove into frozen ground or a rock surface.

Here is my current design.



Looking for design ideas. - Thanks

Wayne

A "A" frame design, just sits on the ground on 4 legs. Hinges to fold up when not in use.

I also need to build a portable target stand this winter. Looking at an easel type with a sandbag to anchor it. Probably 1x3 except plywood where target goes.

PVC pipe and fittings

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu24.htm

I'll have to take a picture of one my dad made for me. It's simple, stable, and easy to replace the backstop on. He uses a wood frame with the center cut out of it. He then staples a cardboard backer to it and the targets are stapled to that. When the centers on the cardboard are shot out, it's simple to replace with scrap boxes. The stand is held in place by putting the edge of the bottom board into a slot cut into two wood blocks he uses to hold the bottom. Really easy to make and use. Like I said, I'll send a picture later. Nothing to pound in the ground, heavy enough to resist being blown over in the wind, and simple to replace the shot out portion, and it's cheap!
David.

You can PM me if you are interested.

Most simple is a cardboard box with a few rocks tossed in. Easy to find and they come in many sizes. Cheap, too.

Mine is an old highway work sign stand.It has 4 legs that fold out and springs when ready to fold up.
I use cut pieces of plywood for target placement with duct tape.
When it gets shot up I cut another piece to replace it.
Talk to the highway/county folks and see if they have one that someone ran over or bent up.

Try political signs of someone you don't like.

Mine is somewhat like yours, and similar to 6mm's. I have used frames of this type for over 30 years, and they have served me well. First, it seems that most guys overbuild their frames, no offense intended. Mine are light, cheap, portable, and easy to repair. The basic frame is furring strips with two ends forming legs. A cardboard facing is stapled to the strips. A pair of screw eyes is driven into the two uprights, so that steel support rods can be dropped through them. I have run into the problem of hard ground, but recently I made a "driver" out of a piece of pipe about 14" long, with a steel center so that it slips over the 3/8" drop rods so you can pound on it with a hammer, sort of like a miniature fence post driver.

Despite their light weight, these frames have help up even in strong winds. They are cheap and easy to repair, and if you are careful you only need to replace the cardboard facing.

I don't have pics handy, but could make them if anybody is that interested.

Paul

I use discarded political signs from along the road. Light weight and very portable. Law says they need to be removed within 24 hours after the election. If I find any after a week I figure no one wants them and do my civic duty to remove and recycle them.

leave the keys in your car in downtown scum district.

shoot straight!

\

At Our state range, those are the stand of choice.
My son made four re-bar uprights with extra legs welded on and four cross bar hangers welded on.

We then add sone 2X 1 wood slats to staple to.
They can be a pain to drive into rock hard or frozen turf.

The plan was to make them indestrucatble ( or so he said)
His Mosin Nagant shot the top foot off one 1/2 re-bar like it was a jack straw!
LOL

That's what I use. Total material cost including the bolts and screws to hold the cardboard on was about 5 or 6 dollars. Only shot it once and since no glue is used it's easy to knock out the old piece and install a new one.

I'll try to take a picture of mine later tonight.

I like to play with my welder, on stuff where really good welds aren't required anyway. Here's the base of my portable stand on a yardstick though dimensions are whatever you want.



The steel came from a junk pile. The tube is 2" square and 1-1/4 angle. The red things are allthread with handles to lock in the target holder, not really necessary. I made holes in the feet so I could step in pole barn nails if windy, haven't had to yet.

Here's the target holder in the stand, a junk 2X4 ripped and other bits of scrap. You only need to change the cardboard occasionally. Again dimensions are whatever feels right.

Thanks to all who offered ideas.

Wayne

Angle iron real estate frame.
Use cardboard for the face as the duron hardboard is too hard for some calibers to make a nice hole in. Like a Swift for instance starts blowing up on the face, making ragged holes in your target paper.

we just use the election signs people stick up all over the place....easy to stick in the soft dirt down here. just put up a new one when it's shot out

This one's not only portable but it moves itself.

Finally got around to taking some pictures of my stand. It's 1 1/4" PVC pipe fitted together with some 90 degree elbows and a couple of T fittings. No glue, it is press fit together so you can knock out any section to replace it if you shoot it. In two years I've only hit it onece. The whole thing cost about $6 when I bought it, just one 10' section of pipe cut into pieces and the fittings.

The uprights come right out for transport. It is sturdy enough so it doesn't shake in a light breeze or even a fairly strong wind but if it's very windy you do need to weight the bottom down with a couple of sandbags or it might tip over.

That's what I use, stands and all. Even the sign part is good for sticking targets to on the back of them, but the stands are pretty handy as well.