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Thread: Portable Target

  1. #1
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    Portable Target


    Partiality inspired by eddiesindian at least choice of materials. I had the need for an easily portable simple to setup target. So I picked up some plates on my way home. Stopped at the nieghbors and after extensive rumaging this is what we came up with. Simple design, portable, easy setup and breaks down for transport or storage. Like eddiesindian we had a little fun besides.

    We of course used only Savage Shooters approved materials & technologies. Ok so it was.more like a vise, hammer, arc welder and just maybe there was an acetylene torch and 1 or 2 small children's involved. And I swear we only stole 1 piece of rebar from his brother-in-law!

    Now we'll be all set for this weekend to get the kids shooting out to 300 yards or so.








  2. #2
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    Looks good! I need to build something like that.

  3. #3
    Basic Member Stockrex's Avatar
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    Why bend the vertical legs?

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    Stockrex, I think the legs are "repurposed." I don't think he bent them, he just found something like an old power take-off unit and used parts of it.

  5. #5
    Basic Member Stockrex's Avatar
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    Oh ok, fantastic I am going to pick up old metal framed chair and use the frame .

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    Yep each item used has a story or memory associated with it. But I won't bore you with those.

  7. #7
    Basic Member eddiesindian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stockrex View Post
    Why bend the vertical legs?
    Why you ask?.......thru hard work and night after night of designed engineering I say...ololololo.
    Id say the bend came out for the better. Any miss,s arent prone to start hitting/wearing the legs.
    Life is tuff.....its even tuffer when your stupid
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  8. #8
    Basic Member eddiesindian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sixonetonoffun View Post
    Partiality inspired by eddiesindian at least choice of materials. I had the need for an easily portable simple to setup target. So I picked up some plates on my way home. Stopped at the nieghbors and after extensive rumaging this is what we came up with. Simple design, portable, easy setup and breaks down for transport or storage. Like eddiesindian we had a little fun besides.

    We of course used only Savage Shooters approved materials & technologies. Ok so it was.more like a vise, hammer, arc welder and just maybe there was an acetylene torch and 1 or 2 small children's involved. And I swear we only stole 1 piece of rebar from his brother-in-law!

    Now we'll be all set for this weekend to get the kids shooting out to 300 yards or so.







    Great job dude!.......thats what Im talking about.
    I get bored punching holes in paper (which is only done for load development)...theres nothen better than the crack of a solid hit on a metal target.
    whats the plates size?......4"x6"?
    Life is tuff.....its even tuffer when your stupid
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  9. #9
    Basic Member eddiesindian's Avatar
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    I just had a friend drop off 16ft of 3/4' thick round stock bar..........gezz.....this is almost as addictive as shooting
    Im gonna findmyself building more of these.....but what the heck!........keeps us out of trouble and out of bars (I guess)
    Better watch it it sixonton......build one...then it leads to another--then another---then another----

    Life is tuff.....its even tuffer when your stupid
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    Mercy!!! I'm pretty sure I can stop at 3. But I've thought that before too! You may have raised the bar a little high for me. Having all them smooth lines and pretty makeup on them there purdy maidens!

    Like.now I miss having.satalite TV they had some cool targets on that Top Gun show. But it was so insanely slow I never watched when it was available.

    We actually have an old shooting gallery. Don't use it but might have to consider replicating it. Just a simple.framework with a flat chain with cast iron bunnies, ducks and.squirrels. uhg! No this idea would.take way to much time/space. Not to mention I haven't seen 22 shorts for a good year!

    Keep.that creative genius stimulated! Those targets and a place to shoot your buddies will be.coming by with a lot more!

  11. #11
    Basic Member eddiesindian's Avatar
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    lolololo...One thing that you have to consider is that Ive been making these for a while so Ive got a good running start.
    I have 4 others that arent pictured.
    The one advantage I have is that I have "some" access to metal scrap. I work at a Ford Dealership so theres always metal scrap laying around. My next venture is building a multiple swinging target system thats going to have 5 swingers on it. The plates will be welded to a simple "T" handle. The T handle slots onto a channel plate which will have cut slots for the T handle to slot into. The channel plate that the T handle hang from will be welded to the back of a railroad track beam which stands on 50gallon barrels stacked about 8ft high. The railrd track beam set up is part of the local shooting range which the regular long range shooters place small steel silouttes ontop of the track. problem being is that after every round they have to set up the silouttes again, that gets old quick in my book....so Im plannning on building 1--5 swinger set up, have the range boss have a look, if he approves then Ill build 4 sets of them. All the long range shooters have deep pockets. Doctors/lawyers etc... so they,ll gladly pay for the build.
    Life is tuff.....its even tuffer when your stupid
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  12. #12
    Basic Member barrel-nut's Avatar
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    Portable Target

    " The one advantage I have is that I have "some" access to metal scrap. I work at a Ford Dealership so theres always metal scrap laying around."

    This part is huge considering metal prices these days. I built one portable 10" x 10" swinger several years ago. I sourced the 1/2" X 10" x 10" metal plate from a local industrial metal fab shop. I think they charged me around $50 for it. For the frame, I used scraps that I got from a local ATV dealer a long time ago. Manufacturers used to pack ATV's in disposable metal crates that utilized a lot of 1 1/4" square tubing steel and various other useful bits. They'd give that stuff away back then, and I hauled off several 16' trailer loads of it to use for deer stands and various other projects. Now they've switched to using reusable metal crates, so the gravy days are pretty much gone for me. I still have one ace in the hole, though, in the form of a tractor and implement dealer that also uses disposable metal crates. But theirs tend to be much larger, heavier, more complicated, and rarer due to the much lower volume that the tractor dealer sells compared to the ATV dealer. But now and again I pick up some goodies from him too. If you think I'm cheap for picking through scraps like this, get online and price 1 1/2" heavy gauge square tubing. Or better still, go down to a big box hardware store and pick up a 4' piece off the rack. I was shocked when I first found out how much money they were throwing away. They gave me literally thousands of dollars' worth of the stuff. And they were happy to do it. Amazing, to a poor boy like me.

    Looks kinda rough because it hasn't been used for several years. About a year after I built it, our range installed plates at every berm from 300-600 yds, so I haven't used it since.
    Last edited by barrel-nut; 05-22-2014 at 11:57 AM.

  13. #13
    Basic Member eddiesindian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by barrel-nut View Post
    " The one advantage I have is that I have "some" access to metal scrap. I work at a Ford Dealership so theres always metal scrap laying around."

    This part is huge considering metal prices these days. I built one portable 10" x 10" swinger several years ago. I sourced the 1/2" X 10" x 10" metal plate from a local industrial metal fab shop. I think they charged me around $50 for it. For the frame, I used scraps that I got from a local ATV dealer a long time ago. Manufacturers used to pack ATV's in disposable metal crates that utilized a lot of 1 1/4" square tubing steel and various other useful bits. They'd give that stuff away back then, and I hauled off several 16' trailer loads of it to use for deer stands and various other projects. Now they've switched to using reusable metal crates, so the gravy days are pretty much gone for me. I still have one ace in the hole, though, in the form of a tractor and implement dealer that also uses disposable metal crates. But theirs tend to be much larger, heavier, more complicated, and rarer due to the much lower volume that the tractor dealer sells compared to the ATV dealer. But now and again I pick up some goodies from him too. If you think I'm cheap for picking through scraps like this, get online and price 1 1/2" heavy gauge square tubing. Or better still, go down to a big box hardware store and pick up a 4' piece off the rack. I was shocked when I first found out how much money they were throwing away. They gave me literally thousands of dollars' worth of the stuff. And they were happy to do it. Amazing, to a poor boy like me.

    Looks kinda rough because it hasn't been used for several years. About a year after I built it, our range installed plates at every berm from 300-600 yds, so I haven't used it since.
    Thats about what Id like to see our range do as well. I know they more than likely wont let me put permanet swingers due to a**holes distroying them in no time flat, but I do believe they,ll let me weld channel plate to the back of the existing raidrd track (atop of 2 50gallon barrels about 8ft high)so that all long range shooter have there own swingers so all they have to do is slot them into the channel at back of the railrd track. The angle iron wont get damaged because its going to be at the back of the railrd track as to avoid hits. Every long range shooter will have in there possession there own swinger. Bottom line?....It needs to be easy set and forget. It will be the shooters responsibilty to pick up his/hers swingers.
    Thats a real nice swinger you built there.....thats the kinda of swinger that seperates the average shooter from the expierenced shooter. Its high above the ground so there no splash to help in calling miss,s.....well done!!
    Life is tuff.....its even tuffer when your stupid
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  14. #14
    Basic Member eddiesindian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sixonetonoffun View Post
    Yep each item used has a story or memory associated with it. But I won't bore you with those.
    same here...........I know where the piston ris pin came out of along with where the pitman arm and cylinder head bolts along with the trans shift shaft rails and the rear diff. u bolts..........somebody stop me!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Life is tuff.....its even tuffer when your stupid
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  15. #15
    Basic Member barrel-nut's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by eddiesindian View Post
    Thats a real nice swinger you built there.....thats the kinda of swinger that seperates the average shooter from the expierenced shooter. Its high above the ground so there no splash to help in calling miss,s.....well done!!
    Thanks, Eddie. I kinda had to build it high, because our range is flat as a pancake, and the grass grows like crazy when it rains a lot and they can't mow because of the mud. Sometimes it gets outta hand, and a low target would be hiding behind 600 yds' worth of vegetation lol.

  16. #16
    Basic Member eddiesindian's Avatar
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    between the one that sixoneton and the one barrelnut built and the one i built, I can gaurantee that each one has its own distinct sound when the round hits
    Life is tuff.....its even tuffer when your stupid
    {John Wayne}

  17. #17
    Basic Member barrel-nut's Avatar
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    That's true. I love shooting steel. Hard to beat that satisfying ring when you really smack it.

  18. #18
    Basic Member eddiesindian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by barrel-nut View Post
    That's true. I love shooting steel. Hard to beat that satisfying ring when you really smack it.
    true. kindalike getting a suprise toy from a box of craker-jacks.
    Last edited by eddiesindian; 05-26-2014 at 07:17 PM.
    Life is tuff.....its even tuffer when your stupid
    {John Wayne}

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