Home-made targets

[db_tanker]

So got a bit of an itch - who here makes/cuts/welds their own steel gongs?
Is it cheaper to buy them off the web?

D

 

[TreyG-20]

So got a bit of an itch - who here makes/cuts/welds their own steel gongs?
Is it cheaper to buy them off the web?

D

I just use 15 pound propane tanks for rifles. Hung from a tripod made of cedar limbs. They work well for rifles at distance. Approximately torso sized. Have a nice ring when hit and last a good while before needing replaced. Best part is you can usually pick them up for free. Still it doesn't beat a good AR500 gong.

 

[Lonesome Dove]

I made a few with rebar A frame stands. Stole the rebar from a job I was on and had some 3/8" steel at work. Used chain to hang the gongs. Bought that and nuts and bolts at Home depot. Had about $20 into 4 of them.

 

[Younggun]

You can sometimes find good deals on steel plate from machine or welding shops. You may or may not know the hardness and need to consider that for closer range targets since dimpling/divots can lead to ricochets or fragments coming back at you.

If you want quality AR500 targets the best bet is to buy it from a reputable dealer. Just cutting it with a torch will take away the hardness near the cuts and it’s probably not worth buying raw material just to ruin the face hardening when you cut it.

 

[TexMex247]

I bought several AR500 torso targets(66% sized) and a multitude of round ones for about half of what most vendors were asking on Amazon. Even bought a dueling tree kit of paddles and built a stand. Doubled up the angle iron and gapped it with welds over hinge points. As already stated, torch cut is a bad idea and anything else would take forever. Mine have taken ridiculous punishment over the years and I consider them money well spent.

 

[Vaquero]

Cactus pears are great fun, in season.
No. I didn't make them, but they're everywhere.

 

[striker55]

Back in the 80's I had a set of IHMSA steel 22 targets, 5 each of chickens, pigs, turkeys and rams. Also had big bore chickens, 4 t-1 steel and one soft. That soft one took a beating, I was practicing at 55 yards at the gun club. A guy asked if he could shoot it with his rifle (22 250?) almost punched a hole through the soft steel, it had a crater in front that I had to file down and a bulge on the back side.

 

[baboon]

My cheap ass get paper bags at the grocery store & I cut them open. This is especially good when your first trying to get on paper. A 44 magnum marker usually is used for aiming points.

If I had the land I'd slowly buy into a set of steel. My guess is you get what you pay for & AR500 seems to be the go to steel. I'd want a dueling tree over a rack, different gongs at different distance. A Texas star would make sense for a moving target.

I would think a company that makes this could have the advantage of cutting the most out os a sheet of steel & buying multiple sheets would lower theft prices.

I guess a thieving MOFO could go out & jack manhole covers for a few gongs.

 

[Younggun]

If you are near railroad tracks, the plates that they nail down with spike are extremely hard and sometimes can be found laying near the tracks.

Downside is that they have holes in them.

Upside: The holes can be used to bolt them to chains.

Shot one with .50 BMG ball ammo. It was just propped up and knocked over when it, but the .50 BMG didn’t leave any kind of divot or impression.

 

[baboon]

If you are near railroad tracks, the plates that they nail down with spike are extremely hard and sometimes can be found laying near the tracks.

Downside is that they have holes in them.

Upside: The holes can be used to bolt them to chains.

Shot one with .50 BMG ball ammo. It was just propped up and knocked over when it, but the .50 BMG didn’t leave any kind of divot or impression.

Railway’s don’t like that, hell they can bust you for just being on their right a ways.

 

[Younggun]

I guess a thieving MOFO could go out & jack manhole covers for a few gongs.

Railway’s don’t like that, hell they can bust you for just being on their right a ways.

Reckon so.

 

[Iowashooter]

I buy a few various sizes and hang them from firehose or other rubber product…. Sometimes chains. The crossbar is a 2x4, the legs are conduit with tennis balls on the bottom and the two connectors (2x4 to conduit) I bought at a gun show.

Iowa winter shooting (the range is usually not crowded )

 

[TheDan]

You really want AR500 for anything other than .22lr. At the time I was building my range this place had the best deals. Dunno if they still do: https://shootingtargets7.com/

To hang them I drove t-posts into the ground and bolted a 2x4 across the top.