Homemade dueling tree

[Sconnie]

Stumbled onto the dueling tree videos on Youtube a week or two ago. I know the shooting club that I belong to will never allow those but I mentioned to one of my neighbors what I saw.

He is a big hunter and his family owns farm land. He had not heard of a dueling tree but watched the videos and immediately announced his intent to make one. He has access to all the right equipment and in a weeks time he had his dueling tree ready to try.

It will need some tweaking but that is half the fun. We did not do the competition stuff but it was fun to shoot at. Man, gotta work on my off hand shooting. He designed it for .22's. I used a 6 shot model 617 and he had a Ruger Mark 3.

He did make it extra hard. The target paddle was only 2 inches in diameter and we were about 30ft away. Later I looked up the Cadillac model from Action Targets and noticed that their specs list the target paddle to be 4 inches in diameter. That would have made it much easier and a lot more suited for competition. I will have to let him know and perhaps he can cut a new set.

If you haven't seen the Youtube videos or had the good fortune to see it in person, check it out. Most of the vids are of higher handgun calibers but the concept is the same.

 

[1morethan8]

Like this!? Love it...

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmr4Byu6XQw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmr4Byu6XQw[/ame]

 

[Sconnie]

Yea, just like that. That looks like so much fun. Accuracy, speed and the adrenalin from the competition. A great training and enjoyment combination.

 

[BC38]

Pretty neat. Doesn't look too hard to make. The only question is how do they dampen the swinging action of the paddles so they just swing 180 degrees and stop on the opposite side - instead of bouncing halfway back and ending up hidden behind the post?

 

[chief38]

I love building and constructing my own stuff but in this case unless you plan on making these in quantity it probably just doesn't pay. You would need a welder, the hardened steel, a method of cutting and shaping it, and of course the time, place and tools to do this. The price of around $450 that a ready made one cost might seem high until you go out and buy all the materials and tools to make the one unit.

If I had a personal Range I would buy one in a heart beat but the Range I belong to will only allow paper targets.

Looks like LOTS OF FUN!!!

 

[Sconnie]

There is definitely a balance and weight issue. But on the commercial ones that I have seen online they indicated that the main frame is pitched forward at an angle to help it all fall into place. In some of the videos that come up when you search for dueling tree review they show the unit sitting at a fair angle forward to keep gravity in the mix for bringing the target around versus hanging up behind.

A homemade model brings a lot of trial and error. If it had been me and I owned the land I would just buy the Action Target product. Actually, products. I would likely do the rimfire because it is cheaper but I suspect I would have to have the standard size for even more fun. But my neighbor is a guy who enjoys the challenge of making things so I get to sit back and enjoy whenever he says, let's go shooting.

Old Hickock45 shows his standard handgun tree from Action Target off. I think he needs to secure it a bit better to avoid any wobble he can but it was working fine for him. Just him shooting but I have to say, he can shoot. He should make a competition video too. I would love to have his range setup. It is amazing that this "good old boy" has nearly 1.5 million subscribers.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBpTP4depWc"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBpTP4depWc[/ame]

Not sure if it is needed but, I have no affiliation with or financial interest in Action Targets.

 

[BC38]

I love building and constructing my own stuff but in this case unless you plan on making these in quantity it probably just doesn't pay. You would need a welder, the hardened steel, a method of cutting and shaping it, and of course the time, place and tools to do this. The price of around $450 that a ready made one cost might seem high until you go out and buy all the materials and tools to make the one unit.

If I had a personal Range I would buy one in a heart beat but the Range I belong to will only allow paper targets.

Looks like LOTS OF FUN!!!

Yeah, if you didn't have the tools that would be a problem. However, I already have a chopsaw, 2 hand grinders, 2 wire feed welders, 1 stick welder, an oxy-acetylene torch, a plasma cutter, a drill press, a die grinder with a compressor to run it, and 3 or 4 hand drills. And I know how to use all of them

All I'd need to buy is the steel - and I already have some of it too...