I stood beside the tracks and yelled Allahu Akbar, shook the AK I found in the park. I’m pretty sure I did all the right things. But the freight train wouldn’t stop and give me its money. So that didn’t work. Maybe I’ll try it in France sometime.
Since I was out, though, I decided to fix the rifle range.
The backstop for Ian’s rifle targets has always been comically ad hoc. Plus it weighs a ton, and picking it up is a chore I grew tired of. So between the wind and the floods, things were more of a mess than usual. Clearly time for some re-thinking.
I came back with the trailer and some tools, broke up the big thing we’d been using as a backstop, and loaded it up for later conversion to Global Warming…
Then I pounded in some t-rails and properly fastened up a pallet for a smaller backstop. I’ve got some oldish OSB that’s still in good shape, so later I’ll screw it on for something proper on which to staple targets.
Straightened out the chains on the metallic targets but didn’t paint them; that orange paint fades in the sun so quickly I mostly only paint them when I know the range is going to see use by somebody besides me.
I wish there was something besides plywood to use on our range target holders. It’s gotten so expensive that the range manager leaves it up until it is like cheesecloth – and beyond. It’s almost impossible to staple anything to it and I’ve been bringing sheets of cardboard instead… at least I used to be able to staple that to what’s left of the frames. Someone was out there last week shooting BIG stuff, and there isn’t much left of the target stands either now. I need to construct some target holders from PVC for my classes. If we are careful, they can last a long time.
If I may intrude….@ML – target stands. 1 1/2″ X1 1/2″ and whatever wall thickness you find between about .093″ (3/32) and .125″ (1/8) square steel tubing. 3 pieces for each side, each 8″ long, welded together: one in the Y axis (front to rear) to hold the foot, one in the X axis (left to right) to hold the distance spacer, the third vertically (Z axis) to hold a vertical post. 1.5X1.5 will accept standard 2X2s, or 1X2s with a short piece of 1X2 as a spacer (you might have to trim the corners with a pocket knife). To hold the wood in place drill holes in the square steel tubing and use double headed nails. Getting real fancy, you could drill larger holes and weld nuts over the holes and use bent bolts. Pro tip: bigger bolts are better – more surface area.
The X axis piece goes on top of the Y axis piece about 2″ back from the front, the Z axis on top of the Y axis piece and against the front side of the X axis piece in that 2″ space so the bottom of the Z axis piece is the top of the Y axis piece.
4 pair will nest in a milk crate (or tie them togther with a few feet of rope), 32 inch 2X2 work well for front to rear feet (you get 3 per 8 ft 2X2, so two 8 footers handle all 3 pair); whatever length 2X2 you want for left to right allows vertical spacing from 1 foot to 8 feet, and a vertical 1X2 with a length of 1X2 spacer holds whatever you want to use as targets. For classes I use panels cut from refrigerator boxes – usually about 72 inches X 24 inches, mounted in landscape format – and staple paper plates to them.
Pro tip: very lightly score the fridge box panel with a knife across its width and it’ll fold in half to fit a car trunk. To make it rigid again staple a short piece of 1X2 across the top edge across the fold, for real rigid add one to the bottom.
They’ll work on any soil from sand to granite, don’t blow over in most winds (if they do a weight on the feet will fix it) , arrive with you and leave with you so you always know where they are and who is using them.
Don’t have room in the trunk for an 8 ft (or 6 ft) 2X2 for the X axis? Cut it in half and use a 12″ long piece of square tubing as a splint. Don’t forget the double headed nails.
It was funny reading this post about refurbishing a range backstop. I happened to be at our range today. At all the positions where targets get hung up, the backings that targets are stapled to were Liberal campaign signs. I had a great time shooting at targets stapled to campaign signs of the political party that caused so much trouble in the Canadian firearms community. So Joel and ML if you can find any plastic campaign signs they make dandy target backings.
Thanks, Nosmo, but I couldn’t even lift something like that. 🙂 I’ll be doing good to lift the PVC stands. Another instructor makes them for his classes and has offered to help me. Just got to get with it.
As for the campaign signs, MJR… I have never seen any “liberal” signs here. The NE corner of Wyoming is seriously “conservative” to start with, even though lots of RINOS manage to grab the reins of government. If I ever did see a liberal campaign sign, I suspect it would already be too full of holes to be useful. LOL
Dang ML you are not trying hard enough. :^) There has to be some democrat signs around at election time. you just need to go on a road trip. See some friends, visit some new places… Up here they make them from plastic wafer board and they do make great target rests when mounted to 2X4’s and every time you squeeze the trigger there is a warm feeling.
Right now we are in the middle of 2 elections, federal and a provincial by-election. For the first time in my life I plan on not voting because the choices are all so bad.
Honest, MJR, I don’t remember ever seeing a Democrat campaign sign here. Would have to travel to Cheyenne – about 200 miles – to have any chance at it. Not worth the gas. 🙂
I have not “voted” for probably 30 years or more. Doesn’t matter a whole lot who’s wearing the jack boots on my neck. They are all bad, every time, because they all want to control our lives and property. The lesser of evils is still evil.
ML I hear you and slowly I am coming around to that line of thought. My vote, 1 out of millions, will not change a thing. Unless the top 5 or six layers of bureaucracy get booted along with the losers things stay the same or get worse because the elected don’t run thing the un-elected do.
I’ve had the campaign sign for a school board candidate face down over a composting worm bin for a few years now. Don’t think they won in the voting end of things – but they’re up to a fine job at the task I found for ’em.