bighornboy
New member
Can anyone recommend a good portable target stand, I do not want the type that you jam in the ground, I want a free standing type. I will be using it for both rifle and pistol. Thanks
Target Stand
- Thread starter bighornboy
- Start date
I just bought two of these
from Brownells. I haven't had the chance to use themm yet, but they are built very well, break down into 3 pieces for storage/transport, and accept 1x2 furring strips.
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=1702&title=THE+BEAST+TARGET+STAND
bob
from Brownells. I haven't had the chance to use themm yet, but they are built very well, break down into 3 pieces for storage/transport, and accept 1x2 furring strips.
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=1702&title=THE+BEAST+TARGET+STAND
bob
blinddog
New member
Get some 5/8 or 3/4 PVC pipe and T's and elbows build your own. you can make feet by useing a Tee with two short pieces on each down leg. they stand up pretty good even in strong wind but you may want a couple sand bags to hold things down hot glue clothes pins to hold a square of box board to staple targets to. It is cheap and when the stand gets hit like it will it is easy to replace and repair just do not glue the joints cut spare pipe of each lenght you will need between the t's and elbows.
Don't have a hot glue gun handy? Another method of attaching cardboard is to cut a 1/4" slot in four T's so that cardboard drops in from top and is held in place by the slotted T's & rests on bottom cross bar.
I...............I
I...............I
I...............I
I...............I
I...............I
I...............I
I...............I
I...............I
.......disregard, necessary for spacing only.
= T's
- & I = pipe
Regards,
hm
edited trying to get lines straight......no small chore! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
I...............I
I...............I
I...............I
I...............I
I...............I
I...............I
I...............I
I...............I
.......disregard, necessary for spacing only.
= T's
- & I = pipe
Regards,
hm
edited trying to get lines straight......no small chore! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
Last edited:
OldTurtle
Moderator - Deceased
I have three of them that are very similar to the ones from Brownells that were made locally by another retired LEO that has a small welder ($25 ea.) and uses lathe boards that you can pick up for $11 per 25..
If you are not a careless shooter, the lathes usually last me about 5 years..
If you are not a careless shooter, the lathes usually last me about 5 years..
I just take a scrap of plywood 12" - 24 wide and nail it to a piece of 2X6 or so (2X8/10) scraps so the 2X is flat on the ground and the plywood standing up. (L shape)
Throw some rocks or dirt on the 2X to keep it standing up, tape/tack/staple the targets to the plywood, burn it when you are done turning it into "holes".
Carl
Throw some rocks or dirt on the 2X to keep it standing up, tape/tack/staple the targets to the plywood, burn it when you are done turning it into "holes".
Carl
dogcatcher223
New member
Bob R, thanks for the link. Looks like I might have to order one of those.
kshuntercb
New member
For a good portable target stand, I use one of those house for sale framed signs you can buy at home depot. The frame sticks in the ground, you can tape targets to it and it sits high enought above the tall summer grass. They sell for about $15.
Colorado Pete
New member
My idea of stands enable you to staple heavy box cardboard backer to vertical wooden sticks, which are firmly attached to a two-by-four base that is nailed into the earth. I prefer a nailed-down stand because the wind out here can get fierce. Total cost and time investment should be about five dollars and twenty minutes per stand.
The foundation or base of the stand is a length of simple two-by-four, as long as you want your target area to be wide. The sticks are 2”x 3/8” SPF lath, sold as six-foot lengths for about sixty-seven cents apiece. Both of these items are easily found in the lumber department, and sections of scrap two-by-four can often be scrounged for free. If you want to build a tall pistol target stand of about your own height for close range use, such as IPSC/USPSA or self-defense practice, you will need two lath sticks per stand. If you want to build a rifle target stand that will be used at longer ranges, one stick cut in half will do nicely, for a target board that will be just off ground level and about three feet high.
What connects the sticks to the two-by-four base are 2”x4” fence brackets. These are usually kept in the same area as deck hardware. They are small, three-sided sheet metal brackets with four screw holes in their backs that sell for about the same price as the SPF lath. You will need two per stand. You will also need some small pan-head sheet metal screws (not wood screws!) of about size number 10, one inch or one and a half inches long, two per bracket, to complete the assembly. Note that the brackets (at least those I have used) have two smaller holes and two larger holes. It doesn’t matter which ones you use, but the number ten screws will fit the larger holes. Number eight screws will fit the smaller holes. You will also need at least two 12” long by 3/8” diameter nails for each stand. There are shorter nails but I strongly recommend the 12” ones for depth of bite into the ground. These sell for about fifty-five or so cents apiece.
Cut your two-by-four to a length matching your desired target board width. I use these stands primarily for cardboard IPSC pistol targets which are 18” wide, so most of my stands are that length.
Lay the two-by-four flat, then place the brackets across the width of the board as shown where you want the support sticks to be. Consider the open end of the bracket to be the “top”. Do not let the bottom (closed) end of the bracket move below the bottom edge of the two-by-four. Mark the screw hole locations and drill with the appropriate size drill. I prefer to use the two larger holes with number ten screws. For a number ten screw, about a size 1/8” drill works well. Screw the brackets to the face of the two-by-four, open face out, open “top” ends oriented in the same direction.
Next, cut your lath sticks to the desired length. For a pistol target such as an IPSC type meant to be my own height, I cut a foot off the sticks to make them five feet tall, with the cardboard IPSC target shoulder placed even with the top of the sticks. This arrangement will also work well with a plain cardboard backer onto which you can staple paper bullseye targets, plus the shortened sticks will probably fit into your car more easily!
With the two-by-four laying flat on the workbench, brackets up, lay the end of a stick flat in the bracket. You will note that the sides of the bracket stand up above the 3/8” thick wood by about half an inch or so. Before proceeding to the next step, make sure that you have already screwed the brackets onto the two-by-four.
Avail yourself of a hammer and start bending the tall sheet metal sides and bottom of the bracket over onto the stick. Make as sharp and square a bend corner as you can. The thin metal will bend quite easily with reasonably vigorous blows. Once you feel you have completed the folding over of the metal, the stick will be quite wedged in place. Now take a large flat screwdriver blade and slightly pry up the folded metal edges until the stick slides freely in and out of the bracket with only a slight drag. It is important to have the brackets screwed into the base when doing the bending so as to allow for the thickness of the screw heads in addition to the thickness of the lath.
Last, find a 7/16” drill bit. Stand the two-by-four base up on its long edge, and drill at least two holes clear through the four-inch width of the board. These are for the 12” nails to hold the stand upright on the ground. The position of the holes is not that important, but about three inches in from the bracket position works well. Two nails will be enough for a base 18” wide in firm ground. In soft or sandy ground, or if you go much wider, I recommend three nails. Experience on a windy day will let you know for sure! Remember that your cardboard backer acts a sail.
Set up is simple: place the base on the ground on its long edge with the open tops of the brackets facing up, hammer the nails almost all the way in (leaving about 1-2” of nail up makes it easier to pry loose) slide your sticks into the brackets, staple up your IPSC target or cardboard backer, attach any paper targets you like, back up and start shooting. With the narrow thickness of the two-by-four, the base can be set upright even on sloping ground. It is the nails that do all the work.
The single drawback to this design I have seen is that on a windy day the long thin lath sticks used on a man-height pistol target are quite flexible. The target will move generally toward or away from you, rather than side-to-side, so for close-range pistol practice it really has no effect on your shooting. For a shorter target arrangement with half-length sticks, there will be very little flexing until the wind becomes so strong as to tear the cardboard off the staples. On the plus side, the lath’s flexibility tends to prevent the sticks from breaking before the cardboard tears off (yes, it does get that windy around here!). Be advised that if you put a pistol-caliber hole (especially a .45) through the stick, it will become a weak point. If such happens, when you next use the stick, make sure the hole is up behind the cardboard, not down by the bracket. The lower area of the stick just above the bracket is where most of the wind-caused flexing occurs, and a big hole down there will cause the stick to snap in two (please don’t ask me why I shot my stick…).
I have adapted this design to set up life-size cardboard deer targets. With one stick each running up along the front and rear deer legs to the top edge of the target, using two 6” long bases that have one bracket and two nails apiece, it allows for flexibility of base placement on uneven ground. With a little imagination, this simple system can be used for a variety of target designs. It’s very inexpensive, quick and easy to make, and it works. In my book, that’s about as good as it gets.
For those that are interested, I have pix on a CD but I'm not sure how to get them posted.
The foundation or base of the stand is a length of simple two-by-four, as long as you want your target area to be wide. The sticks are 2”x 3/8” SPF lath, sold as six-foot lengths for about sixty-seven cents apiece. Both of these items are easily found in the lumber department, and sections of scrap two-by-four can often be scrounged for free. If you want to build a tall pistol target stand of about your own height for close range use, such as IPSC/USPSA or self-defense practice, you will need two lath sticks per stand. If you want to build a rifle target stand that will be used at longer ranges, one stick cut in half will do nicely, for a target board that will be just off ground level and about three feet high.
What connects the sticks to the two-by-four base are 2”x4” fence brackets. These are usually kept in the same area as deck hardware. They are small, three-sided sheet metal brackets with four screw holes in their backs that sell for about the same price as the SPF lath. You will need two per stand. You will also need some small pan-head sheet metal screws (not wood screws!) of about size number 10, one inch or one and a half inches long, two per bracket, to complete the assembly. Note that the brackets (at least those I have used) have two smaller holes and two larger holes. It doesn’t matter which ones you use, but the number ten screws will fit the larger holes. Number eight screws will fit the smaller holes. You will also need at least two 12” long by 3/8” diameter nails for each stand. There are shorter nails but I strongly recommend the 12” ones for depth of bite into the ground. These sell for about fifty-five or so cents apiece.
Cut your two-by-four to a length matching your desired target board width. I use these stands primarily for cardboard IPSC pistol targets which are 18” wide, so most of my stands are that length.
Lay the two-by-four flat, then place the brackets across the width of the board as shown where you want the support sticks to be. Consider the open end of the bracket to be the “top”. Do not let the bottom (closed) end of the bracket move below the bottom edge of the two-by-four. Mark the screw hole locations and drill with the appropriate size drill. I prefer to use the two larger holes with number ten screws. For a number ten screw, about a size 1/8” drill works well. Screw the brackets to the face of the two-by-four, open face out, open “top” ends oriented in the same direction.
Next, cut your lath sticks to the desired length. For a pistol target such as an IPSC type meant to be my own height, I cut a foot off the sticks to make them five feet tall, with the cardboard IPSC target shoulder placed even with the top of the sticks. This arrangement will also work well with a plain cardboard backer onto which you can staple paper bullseye targets, plus the shortened sticks will probably fit into your car more easily!
With the two-by-four laying flat on the workbench, brackets up, lay the end of a stick flat in the bracket. You will note that the sides of the bracket stand up above the 3/8” thick wood by about half an inch or so. Before proceeding to the next step, make sure that you have already screwed the brackets onto the two-by-four.
Avail yourself of a hammer and start bending the tall sheet metal sides and bottom of the bracket over onto the stick. Make as sharp and square a bend corner as you can. The thin metal will bend quite easily with reasonably vigorous blows. Once you feel you have completed the folding over of the metal, the stick will be quite wedged in place. Now take a large flat screwdriver blade and slightly pry up the folded metal edges until the stick slides freely in and out of the bracket with only a slight drag. It is important to have the brackets screwed into the base when doing the bending so as to allow for the thickness of the screw heads in addition to the thickness of the lath.
Last, find a 7/16” drill bit. Stand the two-by-four base up on its long edge, and drill at least two holes clear through the four-inch width of the board. These are for the 12” nails to hold the stand upright on the ground. The position of the holes is not that important, but about three inches in from the bracket position works well. Two nails will be enough for a base 18” wide in firm ground. In soft or sandy ground, or if you go much wider, I recommend three nails. Experience on a windy day will let you know for sure! Remember that your cardboard backer acts a sail.
Set up is simple: place the base on the ground on its long edge with the open tops of the brackets facing up, hammer the nails almost all the way in (leaving about 1-2” of nail up makes it easier to pry loose) slide your sticks into the brackets, staple up your IPSC target or cardboard backer, attach any paper targets you like, back up and start shooting. With the narrow thickness of the two-by-four, the base can be set upright even on sloping ground. It is the nails that do all the work.
The single drawback to this design I have seen is that on a windy day the long thin lath sticks used on a man-height pistol target are quite flexible. The target will move generally toward or away from you, rather than side-to-side, so for close-range pistol practice it really has no effect on your shooting. For a shorter target arrangement with half-length sticks, there will be very little flexing until the wind becomes so strong as to tear the cardboard off the staples. On the plus side, the lath’s flexibility tends to prevent the sticks from breaking before the cardboard tears off (yes, it does get that windy around here!). Be advised that if you put a pistol-caliber hole (especially a .45) through the stick, it will become a weak point. If such happens, when you next use the stick, make sure the hole is up behind the cardboard, not down by the bracket. The lower area of the stick just above the bracket is where most of the wind-caused flexing occurs, and a big hole down there will cause the stick to snap in two (please don’t ask me why I shot my stick…).
I have adapted this design to set up life-size cardboard deer targets. With one stick each running up along the front and rear deer legs to the top edge of the target, using two 6” long bases that have one bracket and two nails apiece, it allows for flexibility of base placement on uneven ground. With a little imagination, this simple system can be used for a variety of target designs. It’s very inexpensive, quick and easy to make, and it works. In my book, that’s about as good as it gets.
For those that are interested, I have pix on a CD but I'm not sure how to get them posted.