Portable Target Stand

[Pressman]

I need one. Last summer I never had time to shoot. That is changing this spring. I was able to inspect the local Sportsman's Club range this week and found I need to bring my own target stands.

Not wanting to buy anything, I would like to build something light enough to easily pack out to 100/200 yards and still be stable in a breeze.

Looking for design ideas??

Ken

[metricmonkeywrench]

Free standing or stick in the berm?

[Jake McCracken]

Pvc pipe and some wood lath strips. Cut some extra PVC peices to replace the ones you shoot. And fill the lower feet with sand or spent primers. Or if you want to go light just drill holes to stake them down.

Google "pvc target stand DIY" and click images. Some reason i cant upload a pic right now.
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[slim1836]

I just use an advertisement stand like you see on the side of the road, paint if wanted and put sticky targets on them. Most are standard size and easily replaced with wire or zip ties. Small hammer puts them right in the ground.

Slim

261505

[Winger Ed.]

Grab a real estate 'house for sale' yard sign.

[pete501]

You mean steal those signs.

[Winger Ed.]

You mean steal those signs.

I'd rather get the ones that get left behind after a house sells, or the weather beaten ones real estate agents will give you.
But do whatever works for you.

[Stewbaby]

Pvc pipe and some wood lath strips. Cut some extra PVC peices to replace the ones you shoot. And fill the lower feet with sand or spent primers. Or if you want to go light just drill holes to stake them down.

Google "pvc target stand DIY" and click images. Some reason i cant upload a pic right now.
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^this

[rockshooter]

I've been know to recycle those election signs that you see stuck everywhere. I am usually polite enough to wait until after the election tho.:mrgreen:
Loren

[rmark]

I use a 2x4 frame on the ground that 1x3 slot into with a 3/8 plywood face

261512

[Pressman]

Jake and rmark, I like your ideas. I had thought of using signs, but it won't be for 6 months till after the election. I can ask my realtor if he has any.

Good ideas I had not thought of.

[gwpercle]

Some real estate , for sale , Landscaping by... , Painting by ... and other yard signs are made of heavier metal frames and are designed to be used over and over by contractors during a building project . They are known as Heavy Duty Yard Sign Frames ... try a search , there should be a supplier near you . I get one with a corrugated plastic sign mounted , large enough so I can tape 4 pistol sized targets to it . The heady duty frames are not easily blown about ...an extra brace to the ground could be fabricated if needed .

The lighter wire political signs are free for the taking but could be affected by wind ... I use a lot of these and consider them disposable .
Gary

[Bazoo]

If it ain't real windy, a cardboard box does acceptable in a pinch.

[Conditor22]

https://i.imgur.com/cDIEN9T.png

[Jake McCracken]

Woo hoo got the pic to post!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200503/63731bf05c99bce240014b41187eedf0.jpg

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[metricmonkeywrench]

A while back our club range banned all metal in the impact area due to some negligent shooters. I had been using the Caldwell stick in the ground stand that uses a 2ft by 2ft plastic backing, the same stuff election signs are made of. My buddy and I slapped a couple of these together. Just a plain old chunk of 2x4, some 3/4 dowels for the ground stakes and 5/16 or 3/8 for the uprights all glued together. Shot out uprights are simply drilled out and new ones glued in place. The current backing material is a pile cut from of the large election signs from 2008. Eventually cooler heads prevailed and metal target stands were allowed to return.

261553

[Three44s]

I shoot on our ranch so my stand gets driven out and it is made of steel so it stays out.

I started with the tin flywheel off an engine that had an automatic trans hooked to it. That is my base.

Next I attached an upright of thin walled square or rectangular tubing sized so another either a factory size or one I manufactured will slide into it so the upper section and bottom can be broken down. The separation capability is for easier hauling but also in case I wanted to build a different base or top section.

Now for the nitty gritty:

I used a very small cross sectioned channel iron, say 3/4” wide for my side rails to hold the target board. The channels are uprights and the grooves point in (facing each other). The top of the channels are open and the bottoms are welded onto a piece of angle iron running horizontal. The angle iron is welded to the upper rectangular tubing that slides into the upright of the base.

I have two pairs of the channel irons (4 pieces) with a strap or angle iron running across the top to keep the uprights from getting bent etc.

I use used political signs and gather them up after elections but store them out of sunlight so they last quite a while.

My upright channels are paired such that I have two spaced for a standard sign in an upright position and the other two spaced so the sign can be layed on its side. The top of the channels are open so I just slide in and out the top.

The edges of the political signs slide in the grooves of the channel irons, down from the top and back out of the top.

There is some variation in dimensions of the signs but not bad. If I did it over I might make one each of the channel pairs with some adjustment to allow for minor differences in the sizes. So far I have been able to improvise however.

I design my own targets in Excel. Mostly I use four black squares in a square cluster on white paper. A white space in between that is sized so that my cross hairs fit between the squares with a slight amount of white space showing. I call it my visual vise (a vise not a vice).

As I run my test loads out I fire a group then rotate my target backer and all and get four groups on one piece of paper.

Three44s

[Elroy]

The woman is into hanging flower baskets,and she bought these poles that are about 6' high,and made from about 1\2" round steel .They have two spikes on the bottom,and bend away at the top,and have a hook on the end.They are a cheap Walmart item, and I think they could be easily shaped to make a target stand like you need.

[nun2kute]

I use a 2x4 frame on the ground that 1x3 slot into with a 3/8 plywood face

261512


made from scrounged lumber, easily tailored to fit any size target, recyclable, ??? what's not to like ???
made mine two high so I could put up two targets at once.
the replacement will have a mickey mouse like cutout just like my preferred targets so the board will last longer.
and it's very easily transportable.

[BigAlofPa.]

Shepherd's Hooks are nice for hanging gongs on.

[Prcshooter]

Those coated election/sale signs hold up really well and leave nice round bullet holes in your target

[country gent]

I made a couple up from 1/4" cold rolled round stock and pipe fittings. 2 uprights in the center. a lower sliding arm think side ways H. it pushed in the ground and the top arm went over the upright rods. The lower arm slide to tension target and hold different sizes. When disassembled it was very compact and light about 5 lbs.

[gtivan]

I just got done with mine. Rebar is awesome. 5/8 rebar cutting with a hacksaw. 5' legs with a 3' span. First i held it together in the corner just sandwiched between some plywood clamped together with bolts. Worked so well i had a friend weld it up. I made some leg holders with 3 foot 2x4 with a 3/4 in pipe sticking up 6 inches.

Very slim and portable. Fits between the wheel wells of my Tacoma, along with a take down shooting bench and still room for lots of gear.

[Chihuahua Floyd]

I've been know to recycle those election signs that you see stuck everywhere. I am usually polite enough to wait until after the election tho.:mrgreen:
Loren

This. Always plenty after elections.
CF

[Elroy]

If you could find one of them folding lawn chairs that the webbing is all tore up on you could strip it down,and have a target stand that is folding,and free standing.I think you could make it look halfway decent if you wanted.

[wwmartin]

This. Always plenty after elections.
CF

Why wait until after . Ask your least favorite party if you can have one for your yard. Staple your target to the propaganda as an insensitive to improve your shooting.
Bill

[Jake McCracken]

If you could find one of them folding lawn chairs that the webbing is all tore up on you could strip it down,and have a target stand that is folding,and free standing.I think you could make it look halfway decent if you wanted.I never even considered this option. Gonna keep my eye out for one now.

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[MT Gianni]

I asked a realtor who was making theirs up and bought a couple. Mine are 1/2" steel frames and legs. Cardboard to cover and duct tape or wire and you're set.

[frkelly74]

Some of our neighbors have " Dump Trump " signs that could just disappear. But seriously , Out at our gun club the prescribed frame is 4' tall and 2'wide frame of 2x2 or 2x3 lumber with card board nailed to it. I just fixed some today because THE RANGE WAS OPEN!!! and I had some card board I had been saving. There is a concern about ricochet so no metal is allowed. They tend to get shot up so I make them out of scrap that doesn't cost anything.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

this is what i use 261860 261861 261862 261863261864

easy to make i put cardboard on the taller target stand for paper targets the center 2x4 is to hang steel on works well you can adjust the height the 10" gong is on a short 2x4 for uses on the 100 yard range have a taller one for pistol shooting

[Blackwater]

The best target stands I've ever used were made of 2x2's. I bought 4 8 or 10' 2x2's, and cut two @ 6' long, which was long enough to put them over the soybeans I sometimes shot over. I've never met a situation where they didn't work, and work well. I DID take a few extra pains with them, but not much. I cut a notch in one end of the two vertical legs, to fit the square end of the crosspiece. Then I used carpenter's glue and a long screw to attach them together, being careful to make all flats match up. When these dried, the joint was pretty stout. Nails wouldn't have been nearly as effective. A notch was cut at what I thought to be the proper level down lower, and I usually kept it pretty low, so I could put up several targets at once, reducing the number of trips I had to make to change the targets. Use the carpenter's glue and screw again, and it should make for a good, firm frame that should last you a lot longer than you'd think, if you keep it out of the rain.

Then I bored a hole of @ 1/4" dia. about 8-10" from the top, which acted as the swivel pin for the legs. I did this on each side. Make sure you make the legs longer than the bottom of the legs on the front, so you can stand it more square to the direction of the shooter. Then, if you sometimes shoot in windy weather, screw a screw eye into each side of the supporting legs, and take some strong cord, and tie it to the screw eyes. Get some sort of good anchor (tent stakes?) and tie to the other end of the cord, and you can stake these in the ground to prevent the stand from blowing over, or moving in the wind.

I've made several of these over the years, and have yet to find a substantial fault in them. Keep them in the garage or utility bldg. and they'll be with you and serve you well, too, for a long time. It's all in how you treat them that determines how long they'll last.

[Elkins45]

I use a 2x4 frame on the ground that 1x3 slot into with a 3/8 plywood face

261512

Where I shoot they have a few of those and guys being their own furring strips and cardboard to use for ‘close quarters combat’ targets since the closest permanent target stands are 25 yards. What I’ve noticed over the years is that you also need to have a couple of cinderblocks to keep them from blowing over if it’s a breezy day.

[shooterg]

The Action guys here use this and variants - I thought they would not hold up in a breeze but they do very well .

[daloper]

261894 Try again