TargetTalk

Greetings All,

I am a 3-Position Free Rifle Shooter who is now getting into Air Rifle. because I live in the San Antonio, Texas area and indoor facilities are indeed a rare find, I decided to make a shooting range (outdoor) in my back yard.

I have plenty of space in my yard for a 10-meter shooting lane. My question is, what is the best way (I know that term is subjective) to create an effective target frame AND pellet trap. I would like to make something portable that can be moved inside for storage, and then be brought out when I practice at home.

The target frame is probably an easy build, but the pellet trap is the harder question as I want this built-in to the target frame. Any help is greatly appreicated!! Thank you in advance!!

Air rifle pellets, being small and soft, flatten nicely without ricocheting when they strike a verticle steel plate (such as an air rifle silhouette target.) The most compact design I have seen uses 1/8" steel plating mounted to a backer (3/4" plywood) and encased in a frame (1 x 4 dimentional lumber.) The steel is on the back, the target frame on the front, and the spent pellets fall into the cavity between the two. If you mount some wheels (6" diameter or greater, lawnmower replacement wheels work well) on the frame, you will be able to roll it easily. Also mount some braces extending to the front or rear of the assembly that rest on the ground and prevent it from tipping over (i.e., the weight of the assembly rests on the wheels and these braces, sort of the way a wheelbarrow rests on a wheel and the supports beneath the handles. You tip the assembly onto the wheels, lifting the braces off the ground, when you move it.)

Good shooting!

The description above is approx the style of the CMP backstops. Somewhere on their site you should be able to find the plans. I think they were started by Col. Leo Lujan for the junior programs. hmmmm ... here they are: http://www.odcmp.com/Coaching/Construct ... tStand.pdf

another style is presented here: http://www.odcmp.com/Coaching/target_stand_plans.htm

If you do some searching on this very site you will find lots of useful information. Pellet traps were discussed in depth about 6-9 months ago (??) and there were certainly some good designs in amongst them.

Rob.

If you want a low-tech approach, I have found that a box of rags works really well (even a shoe box). The more you shoot into it the better it works as the pellets clump up into a solid mass rather than penetrating through.

A tip on the Lujan style stand.

Reduce the width so that you can use 24" cardboard ... you can still easily get 2 AR5/10s side by side.