# target stand



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I think I have worked out the about the lightest I think I can go but heavy enough and cheap if you have to buy the lumber , easy stacking easy transporting target stand , I have made a bunch of free lumber stands but generally they are heavier and don't transport in a normal car well when I started they were 20 or 24 inches wide but USPSA and IDPA targets are 18x30" and 18 inch wide cardboard seems easier to get than 20 or 24 inch

this one is 24"x21" at the base and the tops of the uprights are 4 feet tall and the uprights are 18 inches wide at the outside 

it takes 1 stud length 2x4 normally 92 5/8" local price is just under 3 dollars 

one 1x2 8 feet , ten feet is great if you can find them cut in half local price is around 1.50 for the 8 footer

and 7 inches of any 1 by lumber , you could make the uprights 3 1/2 inches shorter also and use that to make the spacers but finding a 1x scrap 7 inches long generally isn't to hard or if you were making a bunch a 1"x4"-8' is enough to make 13 stands 

with screws or nails I did one with screws and one with my 16 penny air nailer cost is right around 5 dollars a stand , if you can't find most of the lumber for free as scrap 

if you shoot an upright they are cheap and very easy to replace as they just slide in 

18+18+24+24= 84 inches 

transport is easy as they lay flat or stack in a trunk and the uprights are individual and pull out easily , hold the target or backer on with large binder clips to make changing of targets easy and quick


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

You can make the same stand with PCV tube that will slide together for transport. It does have one draw back and that is if some Jerk shoots the uprights it will shatter even with a 22 rim fire bullet.
I use the 3/4 inch stuff my self but a friend used 1.5 inch stuff.

 Al


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

I used to make the wooden ones like pictured above, by found that they would warp enough over time that it made getting the uprights in and out difficult. Now I make them out of PVC, with wood uprights. 

I build the bases out of 1 1/2" pipe, about 24" square, and put in a tee in the middle of opposite sides, with the open end of the tee facing upward. For uprights, I jam an unmodified 6' 1x2" into each tee. Each base costs like $10 to make, but they are virtually indestructible, and replacement uprights cost like $0.70.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

I use an old real estate sign made of angle iron about .125 thick and 1" wide

The legs are cut at a sharp angle so it's easy to stick it in the ground and it only weighs a few pounds It's around 36" tall and 24" wide I generally tape on a thick piece of cardboard and attach my targets to it with a staple gun or tape.

I've been using it for over 30 years now, although I almost killed it with an errant 300 grain bullet from a muzzleloader


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## Chuck R. (Apr 24, 2008)

I took a slightly different track and just welded some up out of steel. Made 8 of them in a couple hrs about 7 years ago when I 1st built my range. Most of it was scrap except for the pieces to hold the 1x2 strips. One of my stands can be seen strapped on my âmoverâ. Same concept, slightly more permanent solution. Very light weight, and they stack in my shed by running a rod through the cross beam. 






Also by design they can slide under each other to allow for "no shoots"/ hostages:

Chuck


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

I always like to see new target stands
The PVC are definitely the easiest to put together, and I always kept some spare parts around
Now days, since I don't have to go anywhere to shoot, I use a couple of T-posts with chicken wire stretched across.
I have pipes in the ground at 20, 50 and 100 yards, so I just lift the posts out and move them to whatever distance I'm shooting.









The pipes are slightly lower than the ground, so I can mow right over them.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

most of my earlier target stands were made if dunnage 

from Wikipedia encase like my wife anyone isn't sure that is a real word : *dunnage* is inexpensive or waste material used to load and secure cargo during transportation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunnage

the local lumber yard would let me grab some off the pile for the 4-H I would make up several target stands the 4-H kids would use them for their season and then I would leave them at the range under the covered firing line for anyone to use including 4-H that wanted to practice , they would get fairly well shot to pieces in a year I have a few bases that are going on 2 and 3 years but they have a few holes in them also I would patch up the ones I could come spring and build a few more but where always some what awkward to move 

given the number of holes in the bases I don't think PVC is a great idea for my use one round ball and I can see picking up a lot of pvc pieces from the range 

I like the idea of steel but haven't got my welder up and running at the moment 

my neighbor is a plumber and offered if I wanted to pick up pipe to make them from steel pipe he has all the tools to make them up quickly one night.

but for now low cost ,reasonably light , easily stack-able for storage will do 

I can see where wood in NC would turn into a sponge but that isn't as much of and issue here especially if they get stored under cover they should last till they get shot several times and since I don't plan to leave these out at the range that shouldn't be as much of an issue


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## Chuck R. (Apr 24, 2008)

Cornhusker said:


> I* always like to see new target stands*
> The PVC are definitely the easiest to put together, and I always kept some spare parts around
> Now days, since I don't have to go anywhere to shoot, I use a couple of T-posts with chicken wire stretched across.
> I have pipes in the ground at 20, 50 and 100 yards, so I just lift the posts out and move them to whatever distance I'm shooting.
> ...


I like the "sockets" with the ability to mow over them. Most of mine are "portable" because I use them primarily for defensive shooting either drills or setting up IDPA stages. I do have some fixed stands for rifle swingers with berms behind them out to 500meters.

Turkey at 385meters:





Pig at 300:



2/3rds IDPA at 500:


And hereâs a detail of some 8â plates on stands I made a while back:




I thought about making a standard plate rack, but this way they can be shot together, or mixed up in a stage, or moved to create a drill like the V Drill I posted about yesterday. The angle iron "shield" does a good job of protecting the iron pipe from damage. 


Chuck


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I agree with keeping the plates portable for mixing up stages I like the pipe and angle iron shields 

more options when building stages is better
we will see if they hold to their promise they aren't going to let me design any more stages , they were unhappy with my last stage , and more unhappy with their times and penalty points they took for hitting no shoots but they forgot last time they said that or I got there early enough and they were all late that they had to live with it.

I should have taken a picture of that one , 6 poppers, 2 steel , 3 shoot , 5 no shoot and 2 barrels placed in so that none of the poppers were visible from any one spot in the shooting box , you had to move lean or thread the needle on every popper 14 rounds to complete 

most of our steel plates have sacrificial 2x4 uprights , they get shot up some but they hold for a lot longer than I would have thought


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## Chuck R. (Apr 24, 2008)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> most of our steel plates have sacrificial 2x4 uprights , they get shot up some but they hold for a lot longer than I would have thought


GCP,

Mine did at first too.......

But they actually did get shot up pretty quickly (no big deal really) I changed them because when shot together like a plate rack, the bullet fragments would stick in the 2x4 of the target next to it. Got to the point I had to wear gloves to move the stands around. These are the 3rd iteration:

V1: All wood with 2x4 upright; bullet fragments and shot up.
V2: Iron pipe; put one round dead center of pipe and dented it. Was worried about possible splash back towards shooters.
V3: Added &#8220;replaceable&#8221; angle iron shield; works well, bullets and fragments deflected backwards. 

One more "pre" version, I shot these plates for quite a while just using "Shepard" hooks from the Walmart Garden center. They cost like $4 per, and held up well. I had to use them up against my backstop, cause I couldn't get them into my range gravel easily. 

Chuck


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I know about the lead fragments , ours are full of them some guys wear gloves i fine there is usually a spot just behind the bottom of the plate that I grab them and drag them out onto the range luckily our storage locker is right off the side of the range so they don't have to go very far


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

At home I have truck tires stacked up filled with sand. To change ranges I move the shooting bench.


About ever 3 or 4 years I set up my sifter and reclaim the lead from the sand. That lead can be melted and used again and any copper jackets can be sold as scrap.


 Al


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## Dutch 106 (Feb 12, 2008)

Hey,
Back 30 years ago we used some very similar holders for lath holding milpark targets. Back shooting at WPPL club IPSC match's in Mt Horub we used to scrounge short bits of 2X4 thru the summer burn the bad ones in the bonfire and build new ones out of the 2X4 bin as necessary I remember having to bang a few new ones together for a match with lots of targets. and they seem to last a long time if you have the stuff handy to fix them.
Pallets and steel posts for more permanent targets for rifle work. yes, if your smart you don't shoot the posts.
Dutch


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