Gongs, steel targets, need advice

[chav0_12]

My buddy and I have made several like these out of conduit and they work well. I really like what steveaqha has shown here. Anyone can do this and you can make them any height you want. One thing I will ad, whenever you make yours, depending on the terrain and if you shoot prone, we've ranged and set targets only to get back to shooting position and behind the scope to find we didn't notice a slight ridge between us and target and not be able to see it. Whoops lol. Stand up and see it fine, lay down and its gone. When going 1k ish, don't make them too short lol.

Yeah, I've been there and done that this spot is pretty conducive to what I want to do. The only issue I'm seeing is the elevation changes. but that's not too bad at all. the bottom point will be the target location. At the top there is a plateau that looks perfect to shoot from, and having some flat spot on the way down the hill to shoot from. The "main" road runs just behind the shooting location.

 

[neilbfree]

Check out Action Target - PT Scout portable stand and targets. Easy for one person to carry a couple of hundred yards and it uses one easily replaceable 2x4 to hold the target. Their PT Practice target is all metal and also portable. It's really handy for pistol shooting and probably also good for rifle.

 

[Radman]

I found a place that's pretty close to home where I can setup to shoot to 1k yards.

What I need is some ideas/help on deciding what to do for a stand that's reasonably portable and can be setup in a reasonable amount of time as it's not a place that I could leave it. Also curious what size gong(s) I should get. I intend to work my way back and develop dope for at least a couple of rifles. I'd probably start at 300-400 and work my way back to 1k in this area.

I think there's another area I can go shoot a mile, or close to it too. So I was considering getting 2-4 gongs or steel plates to shoot at but am not sure what would be adequately sized for the different ranges. Also not sure what thickness to get. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

I use everything from 3" to 10" & larger.
Go to Lowe's/Home Depot/Walmart & buy some Shepherd's Hooks for holding flowers & baskets. They're very durable, will stand an occasional hit & are super easy to stick in the ground & remove! Buy some blaze orange & white spray paint, alternating colors each time that you paint them. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Radman]

I found a place that's pretty close to home where I can setup to shoot to 1k yards.

What I need is some ideas/help on deciding what to do for a stand that's reasonably portable and can be setup in a reasonable amount of time as it's not a place that I could leave it. Also curious what size gong(s) I should get. I intend to work my way back and develop dope for at least a couple of rifles. I'd probably start at 300-400 and work my way back to 1k in this area.

I think there's another area I can go shoot a mile, or close to it too. So I was considering getting 2-4 gongs or steel plates to shoot at but am not sure what would be adequately sized for the different ranges. Also not sure what thickness to get. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

Though I haven't done it yet I'm sure the cabinet panels off old washers & dryers would be great for very long distance.

 

[chav0_12]

Though I haven't done it yet I'm sure the cabinet panels off old washers & dryers would be great for very long distance.

I have a friend that has a bunch of scrap. I'm going to go poke through it and see what he has that I might be able to use.

 

[mac426]

I use shootingtargets7 emt target stands with emt pipe and super hangers with collets. Metal 3/4 conduit is needed, I use 4 ~4' pieces for legs and one 2' for the target attachment, It works well for most areas. Pack them with Velcro cable straps and leave the 10" bullseye gong attached. Travels fairly easily.

 

[chav0_12]

@mac426 I like those stands. I might just buy one of the folding brackets for the conduit or 2x4s.

 

[BigJake54]

I made modular A-frames out of #4 rebar. Very sturdy and very easy to mend if an errant shot hits the frame. I hang my steel from 4" baling belt or the hooks from old ratchet tie downs. The baling belt is the best because it kind of self heals and will take hundreds of shots (unlike chain) before the steel will drop. I use grade 8 carriage bolts to attach the steel to the belt or hooks.

 

[mac426]

@mac426 I like those stands. I might just buy one of the folding brackets for the conduit or 2x4s.

I take my setup all over. I'm shooting pretty quickly, with a single trip. Hope it works out for you as well.

 

[Chuckrub]

2 10' 1/2" rebar a 3' piece of 1 1/4 conduit

 

[Pro2A]

I found a place that's pretty close to home where I can setup to shoot to 1k yards.

What I need is some ideas/help on deciding what to do for a stand that's reasonably portable and can be setup in a reasonable amount of time as it's not a place that I could leave it. Also curious what size gong(s) I should get. I intend to work my way back and develop dope for at least a couple of rifles. I'd probably start at 300-400 and work my way back to 1k in this area.

I think there's another area I can go shoot a mile, or close to it too. So I was considering getting 2-4 gongs or steel plates to shoot at but am not sure what would be adequately sized for the different ranges. Also not sure what thickness to get. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

Just an approach we've used on several shooting sites. We drove metal T fence post, usually one post per target, into the ground at 45 degrees leaning toward the shooting position with T leg pointing toward ground.. Strips of used tire tread are wire tied (multiple ties along backside of post/tread length....maybe 6-12") to flat "top side" of post looping up over the end of post and hanging straight down from tip of post. Drilled hole in end of tread strip to bolt gongs to the tread with a bolt Most gongs have a mounting hole. Wider/multiple tread strips stacked tend to better resist wind twist, gong jump. Downward angle of fence post tends to deflect errant rounds down into the ground via glancing contact with the post, rather than a square hit taking a bite out of the post. Taller plates and greater post angle can almost totally shield the post from errant bullet strikes. Depending upon soil type and depth post is driven, pull post when necessary with a fence post puller or hi-lift/farm jack and chain. On some ground where the posts needed to be removed frequently for mowing, we drove lengths of pipe, of diameter to accept T-posts, almost flush into the ground at 45 degrees as a permanent target sleeve, slipping the posts in/out for shooting/mowing. Longer target shapes tend to also protect the posts better from bullet strike damage. We have used angled AR500 plates to build protective bullet traps protecting target cameras. Use T-posts to support plates. Angle plates forward with bottom in sand trap pit dug into the ground to catch errant rounds.. Set camera behind plates looking at targets. Run cable in shallow trench to transmitter off to side out of any probable errant bullet strike zone.

 

[JustMe2]

Go to a lumber yard and buy a couple of saw-horse brackets. You slide a 2x4 in each side and the top then clamps to another 2x4 or a pipe or whatever you want to hold the plates like @steveaqha built. I like having various size plates hanging on the same frame as a challenge to refine the shooting.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/EBCO-Galvanized-Sawhorse-Brackets/1000347721?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-tol-_-bng-_-LIA_TOL_217_Pro-Tools-_-1000347721-_-Local-_-0-_-0&gclid=7cbacbd4c99a1e96e67ca9fe6aabea36&gclsrc=3p.ds&ds_rl=1286981&msclkid=7cbacbd4c99a1e96e67ca9fe6aabea36

 

[OmegaRed]

Little different than what you are looking for, but I'm welding up a KYL target stand next week. You could do a no weld one pretty easy that can disassemble with black pipe and tees.

You can simulate shooting further by going to a smaller plate. I got a 10", 8", 6", 4", 2" made out of 1/2" AR500 for $130.

 

[Wyo37]

T-posts and some chain is what I hang my 12" gong from