Help w/ vandal

[Tatume]

Hello Folks,

We have a vandal in our club. The property is lightly used, and this person shows up when there is nobody else there. We have a swinging steel plate at 100 yards, and he deliberately concentrates on the corners when the attachments are until he shoots it down. It has happened many times, and we haven't been able to catch him. There is no electricity at the club, so no way to arrange automatic surveillance. If we could catch him we would expulse he from the club, but it doesn't look like we will.

Can anybody suggest a material and design for a swinging or hanging plate of about six or eight inch diameter that will be immune to this type of malicious behavior?

Take care, Tom

[Yodogsandman]

How about a hunting trail camera? Would that just get shot, too?

[Tatume]

Probably, but it might be worth a try. Thanks!

[jcren]

I would suggest a camera commonly called a plot watcher. No night vision or motion sensors make them small and affordable. Basically they take a long range, wide angle pic every 5-10 seconds and you play them back as a stop motion video. Could be mounted well away from the benches to be less obvious.

[lobowolf761]

You could hang the plates using hooks. That way when everyone is done shooting they can be unhooked and put aside till next needed. That's how I have it on my backyard range.

[tsubaki]

I would suggest two cameras.
It is usual for the perpetrator to steal or damage the first camera and likely overlook the second especially if it is mounted 10 foot or more above the firsts periphery.

[jonp]

Bushnell makes a game camera that works over wireless so you can check it with your smartphone.

[bowenrd]

You may need to upgrade the steel target to something more durable.

[bdicki]

A trail camera mounted in a fake bird house high enough so you need a ladder to reach it.

[Four-Sixty]

Put up notice that says you've installed hidden cameras to catch the vandal. They may put an immediate stop to it for the cost of a sheet of paper.

[Nocturnal Stumblebutt]

How is it mounted? And who owns it? Or, if the club owns it, how are repairs paid for? I would tell the club that it only goes up when a member is willing to volunteer as range officer, then it goes home with the range officer. If no one is willing to do it then explain that membership fees will be increasing to cover the cost of repairs and to cover the cost to install battery operated surveillance. I would think that most members would be happy to work together to find out who is responsible.

[country gent]

There are some tricks to hanging the plate that may help some. First is getting members to understand the work and upkeep of the steel target. Is the plate bolted to the chains? Bolt heads tend to catch and absorb more energy when hit. Use of round headed bolts helps cut down on this some. Keeping bolts tight so there is now play when hit helps. Even better is to weld replacement chain links on the back of the plate in such away that the plate hangs at an angle of 30* this leaves a flat smooth face bullets cant grab on, the angle helps bullets to slide not transfering as much energy to the plate. Make sure the plate is free swinging and not binding or hitting anything anywhere along its travel.

[rockrat]

Weld some AR400 bar stock to the target to use to hang it. Put the attachment points behind some more AR400 (or AR500)bar stock. Should be fine.

[jsizemore]

LaRue makes a target that's supposed to handle substantial impact. You might be able to source the same steel from a local vendor. Mount an angled deflector plate in front of the chain part of the swinger mechanism.

[thegatman]

Catch the guy. Problem solved.

[enfield]

I don't think fixing the target is actually fixing the problem. I assume you have a sign in book that all members have to sign, you may be able to narrow it down that way. or change the locks and tell all members that, until the culprit is weeded out someone from the executive will have to be in attendance for anyone to access the club, then some people may come forward with more info. it's a shame but a few people can ruin a good thing.

[Freightman]

we put in a electric gate controlled by a card which records you when use. there are also cameras hidden solved some problems, some members are no longer members.:violin:

[Blackwater]

Surely, someone in the club has a game cam? If not, get one (a cheap one will do) and mount it cleverly concealed to a tree where he enters with his auto. Face it in the same direction he'll be travelling, and camo it up good so he doesn't notice it. Don't just wrap some black cord or whatever around the tree you attach it to, but camo it GOOD so he won't notice it. This way, you'll have his tag # and a pic of his car - excellent evidence on which to act. You should be able to get a profile of his head and shoulders which should help, too. That should do it, I'd think, and if you do a good job on the camo - REALLLY good - he'll likely never notice it. It all hinges on camo'ing the camera, though, but that's doable for such a nuissance as this. Idjits on a shooting range really mess things up for the others!

[Petrol & Powder]

Don't fix the damage for awhile and he'll move on.

[smokeywolf]

One of those cases where it's a shame that the target can't shoot back.

Yep, hidden trail cam. Can't just be out of reach because a paint ball or squirt gun w/paint in it will knock out a visible camera (even a bullet proof camera).

[Petrol & Powder]

If in fact someone is deriving pleasure from damaging the target, remove the source of pleasure. Don't repair the target for some time.
It sucks for the other shooters but the culprit will get bored and move on.

[leftiye]

Bushnell makes a game camera that works over wireless so you can check it with your smartphone.

And record it, so when he destroys the camera the evidence still exists.

[bdicki]

Our club has a rifle range with 50, 100, and 200 yard berms with covered benches and a few in a shack with a wood stove.
We showed up one day and someone had taped targets to the back of the metal chairs and walked toward the berms then shot back toward the benches. This is also toward the road and houses. Chairs full of holes and piles of 223 brass about 20 yards from their targets.
Hard to understand the thinking of some people.

[dondiego]

Is it possible that non members are sneaking in and doing the damage? We had to gate our club entrance and range due to that problem.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

This is a sad tale, that I've witnessed before. We "had" steel reactive homemade targets in our pistol pit. The frames got shot up (the frames were mild steel, obviously shot with a rifle, rifles are not allowed in the pistol pit), We fixed 'em up once. They were shot up a couple weeks later. We removed them forever.

We have always had a Locked Gate on the driveway. We suspect they were non-members walking in, around the gate (parking on the gravel road).

[rr2241tx]

Cheap game cameras will let you define the issue by documenting the perpetrator(s). What you do next depends on who you catch. Unmanned ranges are always used by trespassers when members are unlikely to be there.

[William Yanda]

You may need to upgrade the steel target to something more durable.

I think depleted Uranium is a controlled substance.
Bill
duckin' and running

[Tatume]

Individuals may legally own up to 15 pounds of depleted uranium. Depleted uranium is used in armor on M1a1 Abrams tanks by sandwiching a layer between layers of steel armor plate. However, I doubt that we could afford to build targets this way. No need to duck and run. :-)

[mdi]

Just a thought (don't yell at me, I don't condone ruining targets/equipment!); Has anyone thought this shooter is such a bad shot he inadvertently hits the attachment points on the steel? I once shot down a target hanger at a local indoor range with my new Puma. The sights were waaay off and I had a bit of trouble finding POI at first. First 5 shots to the hanger cut the retrieval cable. My bad! Mebbe this guy is such a bad shot he hits the corners?

[jsizemore]

Here's some targets that may work for you:

https://www.wideners.com/itemview.cfm?dir=1020|1022

[Hardcast416taylor]

We had a similar problem at a club I belonged to. People would go on the rifle range with trash to shoot at and then leave the trash. The target frames at 50, 100 and 200 yards would also be shot to pieces. We installed a heavy post and 3/8" chain with lock to kepp these people out, the chain was stolen twice so that idea was scraped. We next put in a swinging cattle gate on 4" weld pipe. 4x4 posts were put in the ground on the sides of the gate to keep them from driving around the gate and going the 1/3 of a mile to the range. We charged each member for getting a gate key and changed the locks and keys every year. This cut down somewhat on the damage being done, though it still was happening. It was assumed we had some slob members doing some of this damage. Finally a mobile home was put on the property near the gate and was rented out to a members relative to keep an eye on the property, the damage stopped!Robert

[dogmower]

"Cheap game cameras will let you define the issue by documenting the perpetrator(s). What you do next depends on who you catch."
how about a chain link fence, four sets of handcuffs and a flamethrower?
definitely cuts down on recidivism.

[williamwaco]

We protect all joints and connections with angle iron with the wedge pointed toward the shooters.

The angles are hit frequently but never any damage to the targets.

Obviously this would not prevent deliberate damage from repeated hits by high powered rifles.

[Seeker]

Battery operated electric fence/weed burner.

[Jtarm]

I'm for catching the vandal. Even if you put up an indestructible steel target, he's liable to move on to something else.

[mdi]

Hmmm. Mebbe a very large, very angry, vicious, insane dog? Worked for my Dad's wrecking yard...:bigsmyl2:

[MarkP]

A side wall of a tire is fairly resilient to bullet strikes, make a strap out of the side wall or tire tread. Weld the tabs or ears to the rear of the plate and hang with rubber strap. The gong will have a slight list to it due to the hang points being on the rear but works well.

[mjwcaster]

We have the same type of issues at our club.
Finally got permission to put steel targets back in on the new pistol range.
Steel had been outlawed because too many people brought all sorts of trash and also moved targets too close in, the shoot house has tons of holes in it from rounds bouncing back.

They lasted less than a week.

They were there on wednesday, had just been put in a day or two before.

By Saturday someone had pulled up the stands (they were held in by 18" pieces of rebar driven into the ground) and moved them to the 5 yd line to shoot them.

Stupid thing was that if they had the time to move the targets, they had the range to themselves.
They could have just walked up close and shot them (and perhaps themselves with a ricochet).

Second set got shot up and they have just been taken down.

We have had lots of other issues, like targets placed on top of berms (someone actually asked the volunteer grounds crew when they were going to weedwack the top of the berms so they could put targets there), used to have issues with propane tanks, new pistol pavilion lasted a couple of months before it had a bullet hole in the roof, pallets have to be chained down or they are dragged over and used as targets, etc.

One big issue we have is due to the layout of the club, trying to secure it is impossible.
Trap range is open to the public, rifle/pistol is private, no easy way to fence off rifle/pistol and could always just jump over or go around.

That and members bringing everyone they know and then some, 12 people on the range and only one member, take over all the benches and then won't move for a member.

We now have to wear our stupid badges all the time there and are encouraged to run out anyone without a badge or report them to the board.

Cameras have been put up this year, not sure how well they are working.

We still have it much better than the horror stories I have heard from an RSO at the state rifle range, several arrests there for refusing to leave when ordered to and one gun pointed at an RSO.

Even though I belong to the club, I normally only go when it is empty or head over to private land I have access to.

It sucks, because I have met some real nice people at the range and gotten to shoot some very nice guns there, but too many idiots at times.
Sometimes sitting around and shooting the breeze with other shooters is as much fun as the shooting.