I'm making several gongs on portable stands and wonder what's the best way you hang them. I drilled 2 - 3/8" holes in each and wonder if cable, chain, or heavy rubber strips are better.

Got any suggestion on straps and stands to shoot high power at them?

Thanks in advance.
H

Just have some stoopid imbred like boxer hold it.

You may be onto something there.... Does anyone have a ex-wife or mother-in-law to volunteer?

Some shooting buddies have a range with a bunch of gongs at various ranges and they went with just rope. Their theory you can shoot through chain too but its cheaper quicker and less hastle to retie or replace rope.

I used fire hose.

I think the person who changed the thread title likes his well-hung.

I just use rubber to be safe. My dong hangs just fine..

I bent up a steel frame made out of 12mm steel bar and welded two pieces of chain to it, my gongs are 40 mm steel I just get them as off cuts from the lazer cutter and get him to blow a hole in them then I hang the gong off the chain with a shackle

I made a few up

And I thought I was the only person leveraging drop steel from my work place!

40MM... that should be thick enough to keep most bullets from going through.

This is a cut and paste from a post I made a couple years ago.


The basic setup - bent 1/2" thick rebar with strips cut from a mud flap holding the target. Make a couple holes in the ground and put the target legs in. The stake has been painted at 8, 10 and 12 inches to see how deep the hole is.

The rubber is 2" X 12" long strips cut from a semi-trailer mud flap I picked up at a truck supply store for $8. One mudflap makes a couple dozen straps. Those straps will take a lot of bullet hits and still hold.

This whole thing picks up and fits in the back of the car.



The back with details of the u-bolts. Those are wing nuts but the shock of bullets hitting that target already snapped off one wing on each so I replaced them with regular nuts. The bolts are hardened and will take a lot of abuse.

The little clamp things on the rebar are doohickeys for electric wires. The ubolts tend to slide toward the center of the top frame and cause the target to swing around the vertical axis too much, so these hold the straps apart to prevent that and let it swing straight back and forth.

But I have long since replaced those clamps with duct tape wound around the bar. It works just as well, is a lot cheaper and doesn't come loose.

You drilled holes in your plates?

Elaborate

I have my wife hold it.

They came pre-drilled. I bought several different sizes of AR500 hardened steel plates from JCVibby here on the fire. He occasionally runs a sale on them with the proceeds benefiting a kid's school or class. (sorry, JCV, I forgot the details so you'll have to fill in that part.)

On the straps - they take a lot of direct hits, but I've noticed that if you catch just the edge of the target with a bullet in front of a strap, so that half the bullet is turned into shrapnel, it will cut through a strap like a hot knife through butter. Doesn't happen very often and the straps will hold even with 75-80% of the width shot away, but just mentioning it. I always keep some extra straps with me and a wrench, it only takes a couple of minutes to change one out if you kill one.


I started with hardened steel chain but quickly learned one of the immutable facts of the Universe. Although target hangers only occupy 3% of the entire area of the target setup, they will take at least 25% of the hits. A bullet will cut through a hardened steel link like nothing, the rubber will not resist the bullet but will absorb the hits. There's a Zen lesson in that...

Baler belt works great. But anymore I just use twine, as I have about 750 miles of it laying around. If I shoot through it replacement is easy, quick, and free.

I think a lot of stuff will work for hanging the target but the easy and quick replacement is key as anything standing down range will get shot to pieces eventually. If it's free that's even better!

Thanks Jim!

Oh gong, my bad.

The strapping from mudflaps that Jim mentioned is awesome, if you like to hang 'em. But those t post brackets from JC Steel are the slickest system out there. Hanging steel does make a purtier sound when hit, though.



Tanner

Ok. Since you brought up the topic of sound, I have a question. When it shoot my steel gongs, there is hardly a ping. Certainly not the sound that all the you tube videos show when hit. I am rather disappointed. Any suggestions?

1/2" or 3/8"

Mine only make noise when you hit them.... YMMV.

T is right though.... the T Post bracketed targets make a heavy thump sound, like someone hit it with a hammer. When hanging, they definitely make a greater ping and ring sound.

I really like the T-Post set-ups.... you can hang a lot of steel in quick order and get to shooting.

Cable and chain will get cut pretty easily. I'd go rubber.

What I generally use on stands at the range is wire. Easy to work with, easy to replace. I carry a roll of wire and a pair of fencing pliers in the shooting kit for just such events.

Tire sidewall

Bungee cords.....

I cut up a semi-truck mudflap and hang my plates with that. I use the rebar and bracket system for portability, compactness, and cheap replacement parts. The mudflaps can take many hits before breaking. Notice the bullet holes in the rubber...



deputy30,

AR500 steel, or mild steel? All steel is not made equal when it comes to sound resonation after a hit. AR500 resonates better than most mild steel. Thicker steel also doesn't resonate as well as thinner (3/8", or at most 1/2") steel.

Ah, a connoisseur, eh?

I like my steel!

Ahh. Did not realize that about the different types of steel. I will have to research what type of steel I got. Thanks

Cut strips off of a horse-stall mat

I have 5/16 and 3/8 chain on mine, should probably convert over to baler belt or seatbelt. Steel fence posts.

The chain will take one hit and still hold. Fairly rare to actually shoot both sides of the same link.




Trees also work great, quick and easy if your just double checking 200 yard zero(or longer). One or two large staples(2-3"), hammer, less than 20 seconds total.

and if you do, baler wire is a quick fix.....

Don, I might have a section of chain with a wire splice....grin

I have multiples.....

Can you attach a picture of the t-post set up with gong?

As you wish.....

2/3 IPSC silhouette (12"x18") on a 4' post....



On a 24" post (which I much prefer )...



Bracket on the back....

Clever.
I was fearing people hanging them off fences and clipping the wires eventually.

New idea shooters -

After reading about guys wanting a louder ringing gong - I came across a cow bell and plan to hang a light target gong below it off the bell hammer. It should really make a good noise.

I also like the wire idea because a person can keep several feet of it there to re-tie as needed.

I have several wide poly-v belts to try hanging gongs from also.

Thanks guys.

That's what we do as well. Railroad tie plates on saw horses.

HumDinger - "It should really make a good noise." So do Swarovoski (?) crystal glasses when they hit a tile floor due to a groom who imbibed a tad too much Wild Turkey at the receiption recently. Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle...Homesteader.