Why you want cheap repairable target stands.

I went to the range this morning to try out my new Ruger P944 - .40 cal pistol. After firing a few rounds, I went to get my target and realized one shot (possibly 2 shots) was a little to far to the right. See left side of image below.



Here's a close up.

Here you can see the bullet hole in one side of the pvc pipe.

The good news, it's easy to repair. Just cut a new piece of pvc pipe and replace it. And we're back in business. =)

How to make cheap target stands.

I was looking for a way to make a target stand cheaply. So I came up with a method using PVC pipe. Below are the materials and steps to build 2 stands. All these materials are available at your local Lowes or Home Depot. Cost is about $10-12 total.

Materials:
3 - 10' 3/4" PVC Pipe
4 - 3/4" PVC Elbows
8 - 3/4" PVC Tees
8 - Zip Ties
Scrap Cardboard

Tools:
Hacksaw

When I did this, I had the guy at Lowes cut the 10' pipe in half so it would fit in my car. They also were sold out of the elbows, so I bought 4 tees instead.

From 4 of the 5' pieces of pipe (60 inches) cut one piece 26 inches, and one 20 inches. This will give you 4 - 26 inch pieces and 4 - 20 inch pieces. You should have 4 pieces left approx 14 inches long.

From the last 2 of the 5' pieces, cut them into 4 equal sized pieces, approx 15 inches each.
Use the 20 and 26 inch pieces and the tees/elbows to make a frame that's 26 inches high and 20 inches wide. The elbows go on the top 2 corners, and the tees go on the bottom. Once you have the frame, put the 14 inch leftover pieces in the bottom, so now you should have a frame with 2 legs sticking down. Attach a Tee on the bottom of each of these legs, and then attach the 15 inch pieces to the Tee's.

Then take a piece of cardboard approx 28x22 inches, and using 4 zip ties, attach it to the frame. The cardboard should be the same size as the frame so it's edges use the frame for support. This gives you a nice back for your paper targets. You can attach targets using tape or a staple gun.

Your final result should look like this:


Here is a closeup of the tee connection

Here is the close up of the ziptie holding the cardboard in place. The tie goes through a small hole in the cardboard.

Variations:

You could also use heavy duty paper clips to hold the targets, by either zip ties or string to connect them to the frame. I just found the cardboard to be easy to attach and then staple paper to it.

I put 3 inch deck screws out the bottom of the legs to use as stakes. Unfortunatly the range where I live has really hard dry dirt, so they didn't work. Using sand bags or some other weights on the legs will help it stand up to gusts.

I recommend not gluing the piping together. This allows you take the stands apart so they store easily, and they fit easier in your vehicle.

One other thing I plan to do, is turn the upper corner Tee's so I can attach horizontal pieces on each side. From these I can hang cans on a string for a little extra fun.

Enjoy and be safe...

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