[Jerome Poiret]

Hello,

IIRW there was some pictures of steel challenge targets in a recent Front Sight, but I can't find it any more...

Could you please share how your targets are made? I'm interested in the way the plates attach to the posts, and the construction of the bases (stands? the parts taht touches the ground). I seem to recall targets that were held with a spring system, so they would "ring" nicely and take up the abuse of major loads.

Due to our Europen location, we can't buy the kits sold by US manufacturers, and thus have to make our own targets.

Thanks.

[Chills1994]

You can barely see it in the last two pictures, but the cylindrical tube posts (the uprights, or the verticals) are welded to old tire rims/hubs.

In a way, yeah, it is nice that the plates have that spring behind them on the bolt because it makes them ring better. But on the flip side though, I think more of us Arnold, Missouri shooters have noticed more back splatter or shrapnel bouncing off them now.

So if you were to go this route in France, be sure that all the competitors and even just the casual observers who walk up to a stage are wearing safety or shooting glasses, the bigger or more oversized the better.

There is one steel target manufacturer who makes a steel base. Then you supply the vertical upright which is a wooden 2X4. Then I think you either drill or notch out the top of the 2X4 for the bolt that attaches the plate.

The nice thing about a wooden post is that competitors won't mistake a ring from the metal post as a hit on the plate.

The downside being that you might have to keep a lot of precut 2X4 posts on hand as they get shot up and destroyed.

[01G8R]

http://www.mgmtarget.../v/products/sc/

The MGM design is the best that I have seen. It uses a slot cut in the plate and a 2x4 cap with a hook that goes through the slot. That design rings like no other. I currently have a lot of the MGM plates. I made my own bases and caps that are similar to the design of the MGM setup. I made the bases a little bigger and in a different orientation. I will take pictures and post the specs later this week when I go to the range. I use wood 2x4s for the uprights. They are cheap at about $1.50 for an 8' piece. I cut them in half and in 4 months of using them at our weekly match I have had to replace 1 upright at a cost of $.75.

http://www.handgunsports.com/

Handgun sports sells plates that are cut for plow bolts and they work well. I have their plates on my plate rack and they are really holding up well. The plow bolt sits flush with the surface of the plate and require a special hole that may be hard to duplicate without special equipment, but Handgun Sports plates are set up for the plow bolts.

http://www.nevcotargets.com/steel.html

Nevco is another option, but I don't like the welded design with the hanger on the back of the plate. I have never used Nevco and I believe they have a lifetime warranty.


I have a couple plates similar to the ones Chills1994 has with the spring setup and with carriage bolts instead of regular bolts. I would suggest that you use a plow bolt or carriage bolt to reduce or eliminate the splatter. You should be able to adapt the carriage bolt to your design fairly easily. Hope this helps.

[Chills1994]

Huh...interesting I have never heard of plow bolts before. Thanks!

[Jerome Poiret]

Thanks guys

[Flexmoney]

Jerome,

I know there are some more/different setups...to be found in the Match Management area.

[Jerome Poiret]

Thanks Flex

[PhotoRecon]

[quote name='01G8R' date='Sep 6 2009, 06:42 PM' post='1052873']
http://www.mgmtarget.../v/products/sc/

The MGM design is the best that I have seen. It uses a slot cut in the plate and a 2x4 cap with a hook that goes through the slot. That design rings like no other.

01G8R:

I've got a couple of MGM plate racks and some of their other targets. I was checking out their steel challenge selection and noticed the slot cut you describe. I was wondering if splatter is a problem with that design? The way it sticks out makes me think you could have some errant splatter coming off when hit.

[01G8R]

We haven't noticed any problems with the hanger design. When I first got them put together I shot about 20 rounds directly into the hook from a couple different angles and didn't have any issues. I think the major benefit to the MGM hanger is that the plates really ring.

[Pigdawg]

I bought a set of Nevco targets for my own use and we use them at a my home clubs IDPA match as a steel side match. We shoot everything from .22s to major PF .45s at it with no problems. I tried some 5.7X28 out of my PS90 just to see if it would damage it and the steel is just as smooth as the day I bought it.

Even though they are heavy AR500 steel they do ring really well. I shot this video just because I was supprised how well the steel did ring.

Nevco Steel targets

[Chills1994]

Arrghhh.... I guess my post didn't take.... Oh well...

Yeah, now that the club put the springs behind the plates I pictured above, they ring incredibly well now, too.

A shooter will be loading up for the next string and the RO goes "Standby!" and you can still hear this "boooiiiinngggg" in the back ground.

It is almost comical.

[PhotoRecon]

01G8R, on Sep 23 2009, 09:44 PM, said:

We haven't noticed any problems with the hanger design. When I first got them put together I shot about 20 rounds directly into the hook from a couple different angles and didn't have any issues. I think the major benefit to the MGM hanger is that the plates really ring.

01G8R:

Thank you for the info. I think I'll give them a try.

Regards...

[01G8R]

Here are the pictures of my setup. The bases are made of 2x2 14ga tubing. All three pieces of the H shape are 2' long. The base and cap for the wood 2x4 is made from 2x4 12ga tubing. If I had to do it over again I would use ticker wall for the 2x4 tubing. You can see in the pictures highlighted with a red circle where I had to make a small spacer so the wood 2x4 fit snugly into the 2x4 steel tubing. A thicker wall 2x4 tubing would eliminate the need for the spacer, but I'm not sure what thickness is required.

The cap is made from the same 2x4 12ga tubing. The hanger is made from 3/8" mild steel. I had some scrap angle laying around that I cut my hangers from, but in the future I will use 3/8" x 1.25 flat strap. I cut the slot in the hanger with a 5/8" end mill and then rounded the front of the hanger with a hand grinder. If I remember correctly the 2x4 steel is cut to 7" in length and is set back 9" from the front of the base.

Roundabout Setup for practice today.



Bases




Cap and Hanger

[PhotoRecon]

01G8R:

In studying your pictures of the bases you made I noticed that you attached the post holder closer to the front of the direction the target will face rather than in the middle of the cross member. Does this assist in keeping the target from moving?

[01G8R]

PhotoRecon

You are correct. I noticed with the MGM stands that the base was a little unstable unless you used big nails to hold them down. The MGM stands have holes pre-drilled so you can spike the stands into the ground. Down here is South Florida under that green grass is white beach sand. I found that even with the spikes holding the stands down if you had someone shooting open major loads the whole unit tended to shift around. Sometimes enough to fall over or for the plate to fall off the hook. I think the MGM stands have a little smaller footprint than mine do. I'm not sure, but I think the MGM is about 18" wide and 24" deep.

I made my stands a little larger and did not drill holes for nails. They end up being 24" wide and 28" deep. I only use 4' tall wood 2x4s and they never fall over. Even when being shot rapid fire with a 223 at about 80 yards the bases don't really move. The range I use is private, but I move my stuff to the side of the bay when I am done practicing so it isn't in anyone's way. I take the plates with me, but leave the stands. I didn't want to have to spike them down and have to pull the spikes to move them out of the way. It makes setup and stage changes really easy. Another benefit is that the 2x2 tubing comes in 24' lengths and cutting all the pieces 2' means that there isn't any scrap from a stick of tubing.


MGM Base

http://www.mgmtarget...228d9f24a0d3498