Pistol Target Construction

[OGmudbone]

Does any one here shoot and possibly make their own steel knock down targets. I have been wanting to make my own targets and design a weight or spring to reset them as well. any ideas?

Thanks in advance

[781]

The other day at a gun shop saw a 3 target drop plate set up.
The first two when dropped the back of the padle hit a movable stop and locked down.
When you hit the last tardet it moved the stop and they all came back up.
Looked good in the store but would it work in the field after a few hundred hits and you had to hit it hard enough to drop all the way to lock and too hard would cause problems also

You might try a dualling tree.
Those are a plate on a piece of round shaft the goes into a hole the top of which is cut at an angle so it has to jump up go around and drop back down to lock till hit from the other side.
Use a heavy piece of angle in the middle with the piont facing the shooter
Wear safety glass as steel targes do throw lead back at the shooter

[David Einhorn]

50 cal ricochet

[CurlyGeorge]

David, this video was my first thought, when I read the heading. I had seen that one before and I, too, no longer make steel targets. :blink:

[clinton]

Bowling pins make good targets, just go to the bowling alley and ask for some old pins, got a whole box for free, you have to set them back up manually

[VaughnT]

The first thing to determine is what you're going to be shooting at the targets with. What works for a .22lr isn't going to work for a .357, and what works for pistols won't work for rifles and carbines.

I've made several types of targets from mild steel plate to use with my squirrel gun (a Remington 597 and Ruger MkII), but wouldn't even think about mild steel for something stronger.

For rifles and carbines, you want to go with armor plate like AR500, and you still have to be careful of the distance you're shooting at.

My favorite style is the swinging plate that hangs from a cross-bar. This will move a bit when the round hits, and deflects the bullet into the ground. Pepper Poppers are also very nice and allow you to set them to fall only when they are hit solidly. The bad part is that you have to reset them after every string of fire.

[macbruce]

I've had my share of close calls shooting at steel, and had a close call like the video......Having fun one day shooting a

7.62x39 (ak47) with armour piercing steel cores blowing holes in a good size I beam.............when they go through it's way cool, when they don't It's way not...................
this applies to lead too
''Every action has an equal an opposit reaction''........otherwise, get out of the way or eat it
I think the swinging or drop over pistol targets deflect the bullet pretty well..always wear you know what...............mb

[Old N Rusty]

i made a snake , a watermoccasin, from mild steel to nail to a log, in the swamp near here, plan was to be fishing near by, so when a snake shooter boated by,my fishing buddy and i would go to laughing when his bullets were riccochetting off the "snake" i was persuaded by a friend that does a lot more shooting than i do what a bad idea it was to be shooting at steel with a .22 those bullets will come straight back at you! be carefull bro! drinking beer, boating, and shooting what larks!

[VaughnT]

Ricochets are always a danger, but that can be mitigated by using targets that are designed for the caliber, and are used at the proper distance. Shooting an 80# pepper popper with a .22lr is just asking for a comeback, but shooting it with a .223 at 50yd or more, and you're perfectly safe unless it catches in a previous crater. Again, it's mostly common sense.

And don't hesitate to throw those targets away once they get deformed.

[macbruce]

i made a snake , a watermoccasin, from mild steel to nail to a log, in the swamp near here, plan was to be fishing near by, so when a snake shooter boated by,my fishing buddy and i would go to laughing when his bullets were riccochetting off the "snake" i was persuaded by a friend that does a lot more shooting than i do what a bad idea it was to be shooting at steel with a .22 those bullets will come straight back at you! be carefull bro! drinking beer, boating, and shooting what larks!

Rus you're a man after my own heart ! It wouldn't supprise me if you rigged a rubber one up in a tree to release an drop into their boats.......I would sure put a little zip into a hot afternoon , course the armed snake hunters might take an interest in the sounds of laughter.....................

[Pat Roy]

It would be pretty hard to design a target system that could reset itself on the final hit. Take the walk and manually reset. And like was said previously, wear you shooting glasses. I've been hit by the jacket from handgun rounds that hit poppers and duelling trees. It is a lot of fun. Handgun rounds aren't too hard on plain steel as long as it is thick enough and you aren't shooting magnums or steel core projectiles.

[Countryboy39067]

Bowling pins make good targets, just go to the bowling alley and ask for some old pins, got a whole box for free, you have to set them back up manually

Be careful and get a good distance from bowling pins while shooting. They are hard and when hit they splinter and can send chunks back at the shooter.

[clinton]

Be careful and get a good distance from bowling pins while shooting. They are hard and when hit they splinter and can send chunks back at the shooter.

I shoot them @ 25 yards and I do not recall ever being hit by any splinters, oh and I am using .40 cal that may make a difference as stated above

[Freddie]

I don't think what you want to do is a bad idea, as long as you are smart about safety and design. A hanging, swinging target is probably the safest place to start, as long as you don't use too-heavy plate. Remember that the closer you hit to the "hinge" end, the less the target will swing and deflect the round.

If you are going to be making multiple targets for competition (the real fun), then you'll want something that gets knocked down or moves to another position, like a dueling tree, pepper poppers or headplates. My favorite is a stand with a row of 6 round headplates @ 8" diameter. This is a common design and you might be able to find one to copy. It has a lever hanging down from the back that resets all the plates when you pull it forward with a rope. I've shot quite a bit with these; mainly 9mm, and guys did get dinged now and then by pieces of copper jacket. The only serious injury I saw was when a piece of jacket went through a guy's pants and into one of his nuts... they cut it off at the hospital; the docs decided it wasn't worth trying to save it since he still had another one.

Besides normal range safety precautions, I'd recommend:
1. Use unjacketed ammo
2. Like VaughnT said, don't make them too heavy for what you're shooting. Also, inspect the plates frequently and scrap them when they get deformed.
3. Don't make them from unknown scrap; not just the plates, but everything in the line of fire... this is where I'm ignorant... I always thought mild steel was best, but I googled steel plates and it looks like the major manufacturers use hardened plate to resist deformation. If that's what they use, I suppose its the way to go. I think the worst material would be a soft steel that work-hardens- then you get deformation plus hardness. We got some targets like that once and they started shooting back at us... scrapped them before anyone got hurt.

[Dragons lair]

Oh Yea. Been a rso at a few clubs. Cool When a hot dogger sets a steel plate ajacent to the pistol range. Spraying
223 or 45s across the 50 unit pistol range. Not cool when I offered to put one in his head if one more of his came close to my 7 yr old. He complained was ordered off. Shoot lots,Shoot streight and safe. the life ya may save may be your kid. Ya may know where the slug hits at 300yds. Where do it go from there? a 150gr slug a long way off still hurts. Don't ask

[Old N Rusty]

SWELL idea mister Mac! gotta try it!

[macbruce]

SWELL idea mister Mac! gotta try it!

I gotta be there ! You cook the gumbo, and I'll bring the whiskey and coke....acola.......:wacko:

[Old N Rusty]

dont a gumbo, a seafood gumbo sound nice ! Sir thanks for the offer but ARIZONA ice t is my strongest drink now , but thanks, hey got a question for a real blacksmith, what kind of flux do best on J B weld? pax

[macbruce]

dont a gumbo, a seafood gumbo sound nice ! Sir thanks for the offer but ARIZONA ice t is my strongest drink now , but thanks, hey got a question for a real blacksmith, what kind of flux do best on J B weld? pax

Yea, I love gumbo,ever tried goose gumbo? I make a mean one ! Very few decent Cajun restraunts here.........
Thought I recalled you waxing poetic about whiskey and coke........musta been somebody else......I'll git the rubber snakes.....
JB Weld flux ??? Heard Tabasco works pretty good, but I couldn't say for sure............:rolleyes:

[Old N Rusty]

goose gumbo salted with # 4 lead shot? gotta use something close to grapeshot on the bayou they fly over on oxygen. smart birds. Oh i do remininse about the good ole days , like today wife is doing nicely on the john deere and i would have been in a lawn chair cheering her on with a mint julep . oh well the dr cant break me of my zigzag habit.i thaut you was well experienced with JB products. pax

[macbruce]

Lead shot ?? Well if I did use that I wouldn't say so here, ya never know there might be a game warden reading this. Paranoid? A little , but not as bad as some members that won't even post what state they're from...............(short rant) not you rusty........I'm out on the plains in farm country and unless you got $500---$1,000 for decoys, you pass shoot. And that is a challenge. 80 ft per second +-- and try to factor in altitude as well , doesn't make for a high kill ratio, honk honk..... Funny they seem to know the day after seasons ends and fly right in your face...............Oh and there is no (steel or lead) bounce back on these puppies.......(subject addressed)
I think you and my son would hit it off, re Mr Zag.............. Didn't you give the Basco a try?.........Honk honk........:D

[Reverend]

For long range gongs, use the brinell 500 plate. To prevent a similar incident from the guy in the .50BMG video, use an "L"shaped hanger bracket. With the weight of the plate hanging from it, it will slightly angle the plate to deflect the round into the dirt.

For silhouette pistol targets, use brinell 400. Make the plate channel at an angle so the top of the target leans towards the shooter. Again, this deflects the round into the ground.

For a falling plate rack, use the 400 again and mount the plates on a common shaft. A cam on the shaft can be used to lever all of the plates back up at the same time. Put a wheel, or a lever, on one side of the shaft with a rope or chain going back to the firing line. Remember a counter-weight so the shaft/cams rotate down out of way after resetting the plates.