School me on steel dueling tree in and outs and safety please

inkd said:

On my 3/8in AR500 target I regularly shoot FMJ 9mm 115/124 factory ammo and 230gr 45acp FMJ at it from a distance of about 30 yards and have not had any problems with divots in the steel. I've not had any back splatter cause I'm shooting from the second floor of my apartment at a downward angle.

At about 50yds, I've had .223 FMJ ammo either go right through or put in craters that were damn near all the way through.

At IDPA matches at Sanners Lake, I've been splattered when shooting steel at about 20 yards, not sure what ammo was being used cause I was the RO.

According to the "shoot steel" website, targets may be used for handguns and rifles up to 308Win. Handguns should be used no closer than 10 yards and rifles 100 yards.

I have no idea about the angles, I know some of the static targets have a downward facing angle but I didn't think the dueling trees had them since they have a little "give" in the target from swinging.

I'm not sure if this helped at all? Sounds like you have a nice project going though.

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AlanInSilverSpring said:

I can't find the directions right now but what I had was for welding a piece of tube on the inside of a piece of angle iron, with the target on a straight piece of round steel that simply slips into the tube, so it easily flips around when hit. This means that the tree has to be tilted slightly forward so the target doesn't simply bounce back where it started, thus giving you a target that gives and is tilted downward, thus virtually eliminating any danger of splatter.

If you go this route they also suggested slightly rounding the edges of both tube and target to lessen friction.

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Laddertowr said:

the legs on my base are 2x4's on the back leg I added a 4x4 block on the tail end of the 2x4 which caused the tree to lean forward..... So stand a 2x4 on edge and put a 4x4 block on top.... So there is about a 7" difference.... never had any issues with my tree..... to tired to figure out the angle so my WAG is 20-25 degrees...BTW my legs are 30"

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CSHS said:

Here's my thread from last summer. My best advice is to buy/reload a ton of ammo, you'll need it. It's a blast.


https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=210116

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AlanInSilverSpring said:

I can't find the directions right now but what I had was for welding a piece of tube on the inside of a piece of angle iron, with the target on a straight piece of round steel that simply slips into the tube, so it easily flips around when hit. This means that the tree has to be tilted slightly forward so the target doesn't simply bounce back where it started, thus giving you a target that gives and is tilted downward, thus virtually eliminating any danger of splatter.

If you go this route they also suggested slightly rounding the edges of both tube and target to lessen friction.

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44man said:

Ok, so if I wanted to make another for 223 day at 50-75-100 yards it would have to be 1/2” plate? Thicker spine and pipe to absorb the extra power? To keep from ventilating the paddles?? Is there a bigger chance of getting hit with shrapnel???

We are looking for fun targets down range that we don’t have to run down to look at after every shot or two. Any other suggestions for targets that rest that are fun and safe?? We can make pretty much anything.

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44man said:

Ok, so if I wanted to make another for 223 day at 50-75-100 yards it would have to be 1/2” plate? Thicker spine and pipe to absorb the extra power? To keep from ventilating the paddles?? Is there a bigger chance of getting hit with shrapnel???

We are looking for fun targets down range that we don’t have to run down to look at after every shot or two. Any other suggestions for targets that rest that are fun and safe?? We can make pretty much anything.

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inkd said:

I think I would definitely go 1/2in for 223.

How about a silhouette target with holes cut in the chest and head, with round paddles on hinges mounted inside the holes? So you hit the paddle, it swings out and you can shoot it again to swing it back in place.

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tjohn55 said:

My humble range.



tj

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44man said:

That definitely has my interest, I gotta figure out the mechanics now!

Thanks


OK, I think I have that one figured out and another also, the hostage silhouette with swinging target that swings from left to right beside the head of the silhouette.

Now I have to gather up some 1:2” plate and other supplies!!

Thanks mds , lotta good ideas here!!

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Ranchero50 said:

I found that having a down angle on the target face of about 20 degrees deflects shrapnel back towards the ground instead of directly back or back and up.

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DSBartender said:

BRILLIANT! Is it possible to share your target build? It may help the group.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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44man said:

I will take pictures as soon as I get some of the targets outta my head and standing in the field. I just changed the mechanics on one of the silhouette targets in my head, lol.

I am waiting on three sets of paddles. They were to be delivered yesterday but stuff is always late coming to my house for some reason.

And of coarse I will have to get directions on how to post pics, and if they work correctly maybe some of the somd guys might wanna ride over and try them out.

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inkd said:

IIRC you were asking some questions about suppressors a little while ago? Well, I may or may not have a few that could use some exercise

It may be a good way to check out the function of your targets and see if these cans are the direction you want to go.

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44man said:

Indeed I was asking about suppressors and as soon as we get this dueling tree complete I will pm you.

THANKS!!

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44man said:

Ok, so if I wanted to make another for 223 day at 50-75-100 yards it would have to be 1/2” plate? Thicker spine and pipe to absorb the extra power? To keep from ventilating the paddles?? Is there a bigger chance of getting hit with shrapnel???

We are looking for fun targets down range that we don’t have to run down to look at after every shot or two. Any other suggestions for targets that rest that are fun and safe?? We can make pretty much anything.

Click to expand...