There are many people, both men and women who enjoy target shoot for accuracy and these take many forms and use a variety of shoot pieces from pellet guns, to high power rifles, bow and arrow, crossbows, hand guns and even air soft guns. Our challenge was to try to make a portable target stand that could be used by any of these mediums, perhaps with a slight bit of modification. The other challenge was to make it from common lumber and to build it in such a way that if any of the frame took too many hits, it could easily be replaced, and this is what we came up with.
For those who are lucky enough to be a member of an organized shooting range, most ranges have their own target stands and backing, but there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of unofficial target shooting ranges where each shooter must provide their own target backing. This portable stand helps solve many of the conditions that endure at non-official shooting ranges.
The materials for our stand are pretty easy, a couple of 1x4s, 2- 2x4s, a couple of short 2x6 scraps about 2"+ long, a 1/4 sheet of Coroplast or Plaskolite plastic sheeting in your choice of color, all of which are available at any hardware or building supply store, and for the storage try, a couple of sheets of thin plywood, even doorskin material would probably work well, or you could even use more Corpoplast - that will be used for a storage tray for unused target sheets.
The first thing is to cut all the wood to size. I recommend cutting the 1x4s at 54" in length as this will give you a bit of room at the bottom for attaching and positioning the feet. There will be three inserts that will span the sides, 2-2x4s and, 2 - 1"x 1-1/2", and these are all 19" wide. The center inserts will be fastened with 2-1/2 or 3" pan head screws that will make the whole stand rigid when constructed but also easy to replace parts if/when needed. The legs are best made with 2x6 material because it weighs more and will make the stand more stable once erected. I made my 2x6s - 28" long.
You will also need 4-3/4"x3/4" rails for the upper part of the stand that will be used to help keep the Coroplast in place and don't forget a couple of sheets of plywood that will be used for storage underneath the target area. Those sheets of ply can be very thin, or you could even use more CoroPlast.
Assembly
Putting the stand together is very straight forward. First position the upper 2x4 so that the top of it crosses at the 2' mark. This means that the Coroplast will rest on it when dropped down from the top. Position the 2 smaller pieces in the top so that the Coropplast will be able to drop down and finally position the lower 2x4 at the 26" mark below the bottom of the middle 2x4. This will make sure you have enough room to get the storage tray in and out.
Next you will want to glue, or just simply attach with nails or screws, the rails that will hold the Coroplast in the upper chamber. I glued mine, but screwing or even just nailing is probably sufficient. Attaching the legs is well described in the video, no tricks there.
The only thing that does bare some conversation is the storage tray. I lined the one I made with some thin wooden strips to help ensure the loose target sheets would not slip out then secured the top and bottom of the tray with velcro strips, that are also available from most hardware stores and can be purchased with a peel-n-stick backing. This product works well, but on unpainted wood, it is best to also secure the velcro with a couple of staples until the sticky backing on the velcro has a chance to really grip the wood, which it normally does over a few days.
The only other option might be put a carry handle on one side of the main frame, but other than that, the target stand is done. I used 1/4" bolts with wing nuts for the bottom legs, makes them easier to tighten down and easier to take off to put the target stand in it's storage position.
Copyright - Colin Knecht
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