Home made steel gong stand under 20 bucks

eb07

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Just thought I would share.

So I have two steel targets, however the hard stands (below) are good for pistol but I wanted something that gave some movement for longer range. That's why I bough the 12" Octagon for rifle.

The 12" humanoid is for pistol and works great on the stationary stand(s) I made. The stands have lasted over a year of splash

Enter my homemade gong stand that allows movement for positive hit identification if you don't hear it with ears on at longer range.



Materials:



Harbor Freight:
Saw Horse Brackets $3.99

Lowes: ( with 10% veterans discount)
16 foot of 2X4 ( 4X3 + 1X4) $1.35 ( They gave a scrap one. And cut it for me)
2 ea 2.5" 3/8 Grade 8 Bolt $3.50
14 ea 3/8 washer: .30
2 Ea 3/8x16 lock nuts .32
2 ea 2" 3/8 Carriage Bolt $1.25
2 ea 3/8 wing nuts .30
2 x 1 foot of 3/8" heavy duty chain 5.30

Total invested: $16.28 plus tax


All that I needed to put together: tape measure, 9/16 wrench and socket and 3/8" drill bit

Took less than 5 minutes.

Put the extra washers on back to adjust the angle so the splash goes down and put the chain in front so most of the splash doesn't tear up the legs.







and is portable for transport. I can toss it in the back of the truck or rhino and run it out s far as I need. I will use tent stakes for and aft to hold it in place and provide stability like I do with the stationary ones.



If I shoot it up, the chains are cheap, the wood is cheap, the hardware is cheap, and the brackets are cheap as opposed to $150+ for prebuilt ones and of course I spend another 15 bucks or so for spares so if I do hit something on range I can replace easily. Just like I have for pistol stands.


Just thought I would share. Anyone have home made gong stands? I am always up for better ideas.
 
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No pics but two 6' pieces of 1" angle iron with two holes drilled in the side to support an upper target and lower target of different diameters.I prefer to shoot targets that are between waist and chest high.

Hammer the posts into the ground about 3' apart.Use "S" hooks to connect the chained targets to the posts.Kind of like your setup but there isn't an upper crosspiece needed.

This is on private land so we shoot pistols or move back for rifles.
 
I use t posts, drive 2 in ground and connect 1 across the top with u bolts. Hang targets with chain or heavy wire.
 
Built a pair of brackets out of 1" heavy steel tube.

Allowing me to add 1/2" or 3/4" rebar as legs, angled out. With a 4' section across the top to hang a target. Allows for portability as well as tough to hit with a bullet.

We use a narrow piece of conveyor belting to hang the steel. The belting can take hundreds of hits before finally breaking. FAR more sturdy than a chain.

I'd show a picture but everything is on worthless Photobucket , so no 3rd party hosting.

Go to the JC Steel site....they make the same rebar brackets. Mine are simply built differently.

1/2" Rebar A-Frame Stand Kit

JC also builds some neat T-Post brackets, allowing one to simply bang a post into the ground, then place a target on the psot. Quick and easy. We have several here on the Ranch range, they have held up well.
 
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Built a pair of brackets out of 1" heavy steel tube.

Allowing me to add 1/2" or 3/4" rebar as legs, angled out. With a 4' section across the top to hang a target. Allows for portability as well as tough to hit with a bullet.

We use a narrow piece of conveyor belting to hang the steel. The belting can take hundreds of hits before finally breaking. FAR more sturdy than a chain.

I'd show a picture but everything is on worthless Photobucket , so no 3rd party hosting.

Go to the JC Steel site....they make the same rebar brackets. Mine are simply heavier.


I went with wood because it's cheap and light and portable.

But I like the conveyor belt idea

You can upload and share here if you like: ImgBB — Upload Image — Free Image Hosting

Or just post the photobucket link. Id love to see it
 
We shoot steel at my gun club with some of the larger 1/2" ar500 plates weighing in at 60-80 pounds. They have been using conveyor belting for years. Bang holes in it with a hole punch...affix with 5/8 or 3/4" grade 8 bolts and they literally last for 2-3 years...with constant abuse.

ONLY issue....the thick conveyor belting IS tough to cut. I prefer the lighter belting used in Ag machines or the belting used on round, hay balers. Easy to cut with a razor knife, easy to punch a hole in it too.

In my pics thats light belting. I went a bit nuts with how I mounted it. As I wanted a tight fit so we could run 2-3 plates, yet when hit....they wouldn't eventually moved into each other. So I did the tightly fitted piece at top. A mucho easier design; a hole on each end of a 4"x24" piece of belting. LOOP it over the stand, secure it to the plate with a bolt.
 
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Shepherds hooks for plants or bird feeders..........works great.

I can't take credit for the idea; saw Hickock45 on YouTube mention it years ago.

Mine cost $ 7.00 and have been used for a few years now.

The ground is WAY too hard out here, sometimes rock.
 
It's taken me a bit to respond to this post as I got over my divorce from Photobucket and embraced Google Photos.....

Here's some steel I've been shooting at for three years now, mild steel that I can only shoot with pistols or pistol caliber carbines. I plan to update the steel with AR500 stuff so I can shoot .223 and .308 into it.

This is the first stand I made, self standing from leftover 4X4:

lW45x8d2FFg-vXBpNMNokxdKn0N35MH0Hsi5pAXMi1iDcmDMfKTr9zeev2tJgU6YhgtHxahsuHcPfHDcjcF2Wn80YbBWKxNllc_b1Pt2Vo4-435quhA2efd4-dmMr5JXv3fVfSiliZL4saqoVt8BFhfedt7T1MBjJoug4z9URzZwXB9mD0ufWYlwmKya_VyNxkilkMKDN9yiIS3L_GP9O9rz9FZsCk9EDubgFps0oDSu6DR4QStGjeu2Xg7NJS9lNwZOuXg76QsbKFZMUcnSB_-tnLw_gW3IE400V7lH3SR7HfshYTZZCjBDEND8A3LZvUUGZaAyg3ualtKjBYuJMTfUy3waa7v7YBtLK023WImlgbc4XI7gTLTcCF0UZ_IOzDvLL1whFTdMpnWeJycwYX8PRbOKEZUC-iYXoL2UtepcRbEENOJwIhToRo2XJXtQGLwFxoIJEUcUJHEwXYS2a5-urOYVhYh_H2DgiM-iwRx6aGSM8n1G5zHZWwT-9Tx7H_IwZA9fCBG0GphwzCGtZRdNxhbzMsUgBs6v3y4imL5J-YpA3g-uwOoNZoGtXekC5_Q4rL4byO9pQbARymsTKxBdU_HPHVuWWdti_9J_WGo7w7x7vifB_oQ=w851-h638-no



This one made with leftover landscaping timbers. I put some cut up coffee can metal on the upper crossbar to absorb bullet splash. This picture shows the layout of my range, this target is 70 yards from my shooting point, the back stoop of my cabin. The farthest target is 140 yards from the cabin. You can see the rise of terrain serving as my backstop:

JGIZQotaltoj_tJtof0twFkRCKVnUHz7dDE7djefF-tRimwE1N2ztuUlfBnrMSJw90jnOxQvebprBFmU5mcpBTiWxNN9G5RCFZTZwQMggdq6DGyitXyRL2ZEk_OOdX9qAPb_d6V3BdwJSx66oWBXnvD4L4iGnK2mZXiblc03K0TFH4z0PrR12OOOvQM9PO9P34KkbcHZoJwRmQ7oiAw36mfS43AJ6VpTgcvQxIJwL-d7E2JnP5ANgb7f21_NgwdnH7j6Y7q0pPAe0OuTgdjpBjcgZb_46bk_HlVpbjjPeex0X-0NoYbmRFcM8bTquegcaDflyuSttg9y6sgr73EJzfbzWCzH2bTk190pFfGCrh2J7SZUOybcCwHp8543Ov3G-HRyuTIX3k5nwiQAGogGVQB2shUfrBxUVnTbUnmtFx_Ra4zRJpJz40N-0JRtUOq4bezoVhPjNO5gyWRAz06IWU8lGeVbXkGNeRNG4z61Lh-oGnNwS_Ts65sODMIfZXoS4BK8Dgz9FuME6dLf29W4DwwcXOAsr6a-U7snZk1EnsCd9w82v54ZgOQp2qE7L_bMyTjcmJdU8LDZ9mf4VvBoM-RYSH1r3nWIgsc0tENC76xG7FQfIPkkqzM=w851-h638-no



This one I've had for about ten years, a swinger I had made at a welding shop. Comes apart for transport, this one is mild steel as well:

YnnUwKGKbPk39yFDLpXV6Z5VUfPH6ER1h0i5D1K8eeaKTiBAmQ5U0I9AVUN8uH81PljXxvpLvqu-I5LFYTlkK1wPXyemNVERFzcoM3n0K7Do4U4yT7f8Rf6r3ZHMA242rp6fCiYuwvAF6673bqyVhj9Hnp-ZLnZ5OtM-hIs2n8Fi4BtGKqUZhFq0qD4X8WH53ltt_u5GTW2wy_BocbB3Ll79n46wA5TmonqsUSGDsP1Rjw912p_p4i-o2VyDwzj7Zi-EgAEdVnXjv96cNF42CkA7PArzNYa5FZ6FQU_kGe_EmHZdbjaZSkpn1dTcSh3JTtZFQSw7kLgQ2GRXSA67n06foJjBssl_-7f6Z20XPEpVawnaGx1BtmM8SHLiL2VEHmHGwuCyATxGJbJqwWYsQSGQX-HZX-RcfuRfTWhDlE7DwDvjS1ObDNIoFN1z3kOvK3RsSc_9TvKD1gOCN5YDl15aw0VT-TVzQPmwO_39SQqheiAKlLe9d8ESnt0F1C4OgGQV7ynFGvMkWPNTH9AxhRUJ3rIxjJ9QhFkhVTmV1_WZ7l9htBR24ytjpg3kzsPRz0RQY-o5tOmzokVNxUZaTR9NDP_vApzjuyyP8762w-42gTy0eZSheqE=w479-h638-no
 
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So this works great for long range rifle. I am very happy with it. Very cheap. 20 bucks for the stand setup and another 75 for the steel so $95 total.

I wanted to follow up on another steel project.

I was looking for something to practice pistol with. Better than using wood stands and large targets. Something reactive.

I found a vendor on Amazon that sells 3 " small ar500 steel targets for $39 shipped.

5"x8.25" is small and PERFECT to practice. It is about size of COM. They have single holes.






So I went to lowes and found the sheperds hook plant holders (on recommendation of TheHobbyist) that work great for this. At first I thought the ground was too hard but I bought one and tested it and proved myself wrong immediately.... of course I have to do it in non rocky areas like washes. So THANK YOU for the advice.

They sell different heights. I bought the 48" ones because my shooting area 10 min from the house is in a small canyon so I can place them at different elevations. Plus 48" fits perfectly in the back of the Rhino. They were just under 6 bucks each with my 10% vets discount.






They are lightweight, and easy to transport and for $120 bucks total I have 6 of them so I can do some steel challenge practice on small size targets. I throw them in back of rhino and go wherever in the desert. All I need is a hammer. And the stands are cheap so if I shoot one up I just replace it. VERY portable.

Here they are setup:





Here I am working the 442 after I got it back from Mr. Ford to test the trigger out, slow fire ( this one really highlights my busted finger):

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVfdgvIrong[/ame]

and here I am with the Glock 26:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59pGY0okemU[/ame]


I am very happy. No more hauling out 4 -6 wooden stands, cardboard targets, and the accompanying tools such as stapler and targets unless I am doing chrono or sighting in. The kicker is they are so lightweight I can carry all size on the hooks one handed.

Just wanted to share.
 
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Shepherds hooks for plants or bird feeders..........works great.

I can't take credit for the idea; saw Hickock45 on YouTube mention it years ago.

Mine cost $ 7.00 and have been used for a few years now.

See my post above. Thank you very much for the idea. I thought wrong :D
 
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Nice set up. Similar to ones I made.

Just be careful if you shoot jacketed bullets the copper jacket will become embedded into the 2x4's and its sharp.
 
Nice set up. Similar to ones I made.

Just be careful if you shoot jacketed bullets the copper jacket will become embedded into the 2x4's and its sharp.

Yeah it does. I just wear gloves. Pull the rhino or truck right up to it and toss it in and out. I really like that it's cheap. I may go to the t post in the future if it becomes too much a nuisance.


As far as the pistol targets go, I like these because they are only 5" wide x 8.25" long which makes for a smaller target and you KNOW you are making a COM hit when you hit it.

The larger 12" + ones you can hit but you could be hitting way off target. The smaller ones force you to make smaller hits.
 
For .22 steel set ups with a frame and some large hooks.........

old cast iron frying pans work great.

That is why garage sales are sweet................
 
For .22 steel set ups with a frame and some large hooks.........

old cast iron frying pans work great.

That is why garage sales are sweet................

I have seen a few setups like this. The little ar-500 8x5's are so cheap I just bought a dozen
 
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