Hello Guest

Author Topic: Responsive Target  (Read 1823 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Bear9350

  • Registered
  • **
  • Posts: 893
    • View Profile
Responsive Target
« on: January 04, 2018, 02:44:46 PM »
I've been interested in making a responsive type target a while now.  Since the new bolt gun has already proven to be an accurate rifle I've recently started giving it some more thought.  The plan is to place the target on the other side of my brothers field.  During the summer months it will be nice to be able to shoot with out messing up the hay field.  Should it be corn, I believe we should be able to put longer legs on the target and shoot over the corn from the hay mow. 

Here is a link to one of the targets I saw that I am getting some inspiration from.  I would like to be invested about 10% of what that asking price is though.

https://xmetaltargets.com/product/plate-rack-gravity/


Curious here if anybody has any experience with something like this.

Over the past couple of days I put some thought into it and developed something in 3D that I think might work.  There are 6 main targets split off into a left and right side.  Each side can be reset individually via the 4th target to the outside.  The targets are 6" diameter.  They hang down and when hit are designed to flip up and rest I an upward position.  The reset target would rotate to push the targets back down.

The black piece in front is a deflector angled downward.  I should be able to get some used pieces of cutting edge from a grader or snow plow to use here.  From the reading I have done those are typically made from AR500 or a variant of an abrasive resistant steel.  Hopefully I can find one 3/8" thick.  I suspect they will be 1/2" though.

The targets will be 6" in diameter, 3/8" thick and cut from AR500.  I found a place online to source these for about $80 total.

The tubing etc... will mostly be schedule 40 pipe.  There is about $20 worth of various size and length pipe.

There are a few laser cut pieces that I will add into my next order of steel I get cut.  I am estimating an additional $50 for the material and cutting for these parts.

I'm just planning on pinning some 2x4's cut to length to the side plates of the target for legs.  Will make it easy to swap out new legs/ or taller legs to get over the corn should it be needed.  I can pin some 8' 2x4's pretty quick and easy if needed.

Then some various pins/ bolts/ nuts etc.. to fasten everything together.  And a little welding.

The only modification I am planning on making right now to the pics is adding a piece of angle iron to act as a splitter in front of the exposed pipe that the reset targets are mounted to.

Total cost should be about $160 I think assuming I can find a deflector piece laying around for no cost.


Also, not really sure of this was the right place to post this one.  Feel free to move if needed.
« Last Edit: January 04, 2018, 02:46:30 PM by Bear9350 »

Offline stlaser

  • Global Moderator
  • ****
  • Posts: 10205
  • Official PIA
    • View Profile
Re: Responsive Target
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2018, 04:05:45 PM »
I’ve cut parts for plenty of guys building them. I think you’re spot on everything. Grader blade is normally 1/2 unless you find a light duty snow plow blade. Some of those are 3/8” & it should all be ar500 for that. An old dump truck bed might have lighter guage impact resistant material (thinking 1/4”) for the bottom FYI. If you found one in a junk yard it might be cheap steel source. A lot of secondary steel sources carry ar500 at less expensive prices. Normally rusted and sitting outside but for your application it would be fine.
Living in the remote north hoping Ken doesn’t bring H up here any time soon…..

Offline Bear9350

  • Registered
  • **
  • Posts: 893
    • View Profile
Re: Responsive Target
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2018, 03:01:41 PM »
Had some time Friday night to build a proof-of-concept target before heading north Saturday and did some shooting with my brother.  I just cut (2) 6" gongs from 3/16" plate and welded them together to create a single 3/8" thick gong.  Built a little stand out of some scrap angle.

The intent of my design is to flip the gong up and get it to rest on top of the target where it will stay until the reset is hit.  I was concerned that at the intended distance of around 600 yards the target wouldn't fall and rest in the upright position like I wanted.  I wanted to test the concept out before starting to spend a bunch of money on the parts.  After a few hits it seems that it will function as I wanted. 
While I was up north I looked over my dad's stash of steel and found a piece of old snow plow where edge that was basically un-used.  6"x72"x1/2" that should work out perfectly for the deflector.  It's a little larger and heavier than I probably need but I designed the target in a way that I can easily remove the deflector from the target making it easier to move around.  Ordered the 6" steel gong's from a guy I found online for a pretty reasonable price this morning.  I want to get those in-hand and verify the measurements on them before I send the frame parts to my laser guys to cut for me.

Also, the new gun performed beautifully.  It makes me look like I know what I am doing.  I was putting down 2" groups at 500 yards.

Offline Bear9350

  • Registered
  • **
  • Posts: 893
    • View Profile
Re: Responsive Target
« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2018, 09:48:20 AM »
I got 2 targets built for tomorrow.  My brother and cousins will be gathering to do some shooting at my brother's.
I had to make some changes to the plate rack from the original plan.  My .40 was barely hitting the gongs hard enough to lock them up but wasn't able to hit the reset gong hard enough to reset the system.  The 9mm couldn't do it at all.  Should work fine for the rifle though I think.  Depending upon results from this weekend I might do a little redesign of the plate rack to make it work better for pistol.  I've got a couple ideas in mind.  The goal for this though was to have a rack that I could place across the field at my brother's that we wouldn't have to track across the field to set up or check each time we want to shoot.  I think this will do that.



The second target is a swinger.  I had all the materials on hand for this one so I thought I would just build it.  Will place it between 200 and 300 yards.  The 6" plates should make it rather difficult to get a full revolution out of it.  I figure it should take 4-5 hits to get it to swing all the way.  Most of the commercial ones I saw are built with a larger plate on the bottom.  Usually an 8" and 10".  I just had some leftover 6" gongs so I used those and added some extra steel to one end for weight.

« Last Edit: March 16, 2018, 09:50:30 AM by Bear9350 »

Offline Bigdave_185

  • Raising Boys into Real Men!
  • Registered
  • **
  • Posts: 7686
    • View Profile
Re: Responsive Target
« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2018, 03:02:49 PM »
I guess my first thought is where to store them? This take up a large foot print


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Offline Bear9350

  • Registered
  • **
  • Posts: 893
    • View Profile
Re: Responsive Target
« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2018, 03:36:30 PM »
I plan to store them at the edge of the field.  The idea here is that I can leave them out there.  This way I don't need to worry about how to get out to them during the summer when the  crops are on and I can't easily get to them.  I should be able to set that plate rack up at the edge of the field and shoot at it from my brothers hay mow when the corn is on.

The legs are just 3/4" rebar that slide into a section of pipe.  They quickly come off.  The deflector plate also lifts off the plate rack as it is just set in there.

Offline stlaser

  • Global Moderator
  • ****
  • Posts: 10205
  • Official PIA
    • View Profile
Re: Responsive Target
« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2018, 04:52:44 PM »
Turned out nice  :likebutton:
Living in the remote north hoping Ken doesn’t bring H up here any time soon…..

Offline Bigdave_185

  • Raising Boys into Real Men!
  • Registered
  • **
  • Posts: 7686
    • View Profile
Re: Responsive Target
« Reply #7 on: March 16, 2018, 05:27:18 PM »
That makes it nice to not need to store


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal