Shooting targets

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Anyone made any rifle targets?Last edited by bigb; 01-31-2012 at 09:31 PM.Miller Challenger 172Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC 225/150Miller Maxstar 150 STLVictor 100CVictor JourneymanOxweld OAHarris O/ASmith O/A little torchNo, that's not my car.
Reply:how big of a rifle we talking .308? .50 ae? 22?  I will be making some for a friend .. he wants half body targets with an A frame and a ball socket on the top of the head. He will be shooting .556 and .223 and other higher caliber rounds also. The plan is 1/2" steel . A frame design, ball socket on the head, and other misc little plinker targets also. the usual square and circle targets. Got any ideas in mind?Owner G&S Mobile Welding & Millwright Services, LLCSpencerville, Ohio Adult Ed. Instructor at Apollo Career Center Lima, Ohio
Reply:My friend has asked for one. He will be using a .22. I thought maybe something that would hang in a slight downward angle. He left the ideas up to me, but I haven't ever done one.I heard you need to use hardened steel.Miller Challenger 172Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC 225/150Miller Maxstar 150 STLVictor 100CVictor JourneymanOxweld OAHarris O/ASmith O/A little torchNo, that's not my car.
Reply:For .22LR you really don't need hardened steel. For high powered .22's however it probably wouldn't be a bad idea..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Great idea! What thickness would be recommended for 9mmx19 rounds? At 10 to 40 yards?Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
Reply:A long time ago before my dad retired from the coal mines he built me a set of knock down bowling pins. They were minature compared to the standard bowling pins. He built a arm to attach a rope to pull them back up to shoot again. Lots of fun. I let a fellow LEO take it home to shoot and have never seen it again. hmmLincoln Power Mig 300 with PythonLincoln SquareWave Tig 255 Hypertherm Powermax 45 HH120 w/argon
Reply:The swinging targets are designed to direct as much of the round as possible down. I think my mass manufactured 22 target is 1/4" I'll check later. if you want that added downward deflection just weld your targets on at a little bit of an angle. with the top closer to the shooter than the bottom.As for the torso target, I'd probably just do a plywood body with a full sheet of plate on an angle (or a big hill) behind it. that way there less chance of ricochets back at the shooters.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:Around my house we shoot a lot. we started with mild steel targets wont do that again. It doesn't take long to shoot them up. The ones we use now are made from ar400 plate 1/2 thick we shoot .22lr to .338 lapua at them and you cant even tell they have been shot at. easily over 40k rounds later wouldn't use any thing else.
Reply:I'm making some from 1/2" A36 plate steel. 5x6 inches square.  i did make one 6x10 inches but welding two plates together ... we'll see on that one how it holds up long term.Got it for free as a professional courtesy, so i can't complain.will be used for hand gun, mostly 44 special, 45 colt, and maybe some 357mag and 44mag from time to time.  Might try the 30/30 with lead bullets at 40-50 yards.haven't gotten to try any out yet though ... still playin with the welder getting them fabbed up.
Reply:I made some from 1/2" mild steel, mostly for handguns. They will handle all the rimfire rilfle rounds but wouldn't stand up to centerfire. I shot a cylinder full of .357 mag from a pistol at one and it left craters. You will need tough steel for a rifle.I'm thinking about getting one of the self healing polymer targets to try out. They are supposed to stand up to thousands of rounds and they are pretty cheap.
Reply:I have made several knock down targets for the 22 range at my hunting club. As soon as something bigger is used they become swiss cheese, bent and useless. If you don't control the ammo used on the range you may end up with some AP rounds, again more swiss cheese unless you have hardened armor plate. As soon as you build the targets with one caliber in mind someone comes along and "I just wanted to try it out" with a larger caliber. Once a target is compromised the result of the next bullet impact becomes less predictable, gouges, nicks, dents etc. can send the bullet in an unexpected direction including back at the shooter. I speak from experience! Soft point hunting rounds are more forgiving than ball ammo. Surplus military ammo will make short work of 1/2" mild steel at 100 yards. If you have a military surplus dealer in your area you may want to look at some used armor plate from salvage vehicles. I have seen this material made into some very durable targets.
Reply:1/4" mild steel will be fine for regular 22 long rifle rimfire.  Not sure about 22 mag.Mine are awkwardly cut (I was learning in a class) lollypop shapes welded to a 1" legnth of of pipe (1" ID and 3/16" thick, I htink but it doesn't really matter much).  The pipe slips over a bent piece of rebar that is stuck in the ground.Watch out for backsplash if shooting up close, but if you do like someone said and weld the base of the lollypop offset from center it will hang at an angle and direct the lead downward.  Since all the 22 lr ammo I am aware of is either lead or copper washed, you won't have pieces of jacket material flying around.Fun easy project.
Reply:I build several of these every year for people. They are made mainly for pistol but some people shoot them with rifles, with mixed results. The rounds were cut out of 1/2" plate. The top piece is 1" pipe and slips in 1 1/4" on top of the legs. It is built to be able to pull the legs off so it lays flat in the truck for easy hauling. If you make one like this, be sure to bend the rods so the plates ar angled back a little. A .22 will come back towards you if you don't. Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by HondarussHe will be shooting .556 and .223 and other higher caliber rounds also.
Reply:Originally Posted by Darth VelderMaybe shift that decimal point one place to the right, and put "mm" after it, or he'll definitely have a "higher caliber" round there. I think if it's larger than .50 cal., it has to be registered as a "destructive device." Just kidding.
Reply:bigb  -  See MGMTargets.com for inspiration.   Opus
Reply:Here's a .22 rimfire swinger I built,all from scrap in the shop.The target sizes are 1" and 3/4" square, 5/8", 1/2" and 3/8" round.At 50 yards the smaller 2 are challenging but not impossible. A solid hit on the smaller 3 will spin them all the way around.
Reply:Originally Posted by RodJI believe that is correct, over .50 makes it a cannon.  Not that there's anything WRONG with that.
Reply:I made this one for my wife to shoot at with her new sidearm I got her for Christmas....
Reply:Here is one. 1/2 thick ground hog Attached ImagesDave ReberWadsworth Ohio
Reply:Originally Posted by Darth VelderRight. Like a buddy of mine (a retired Navy GMT1) says, "If you can afford to fire it, you should be allowed to own it, up to and including a sixteen-inch gun."
Reply:Originally Posted by strube1369Be pretty expensive to build targets for that 16"er though...
Reply:Originally Posted by jbmprodsfew old surplus cruisers and destroyers ought to do the trick would definitely pi$$ the neighbors off though especially at 3am so you could watch the light show.
Reply:Originally Posted by jmink427I made this one for my wife to shoot at with her new sidearm I got her for Christmas....
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWI have this disturbing vision of a set of balls and a ***** that your wife is using as a target for some reason. I'll let you decide where shes aiming...