I hope this is in the right place, if not one of the mods please move it.


PVC Target Stands

Items needed for 1 stand if you want to make more just multiply the items

Handsaw
PVC glue and primer
2 - 1 ½” CPVC Tee fitting
2 - 1 ½” CPVC 90 degree elbow
1 – 10’ 1 ½” PVC pipes
1 – 8’ 1x 2 furring strips
2 – 12” pieces of ½ “rebar
Tape measure
Marker
5/8” forester bit
Drill


1. Mark the pipe every 2’ for the first 6’, then mark at 7’, 8’, and 9’.  When you cut the pipe you should end up with three 2 foot pieces and four 1 foot pieces.



2. To assemble the target stand you connect the two 1 foot pipes to the tee fitting


3. Connect one of the 90 degree elbows to one of the 1 foot pieces’ ensuring the vertical portion of the tee fitting is facing up.


4. Attach one of the 2 foot pieces to the 90 degree elbow


5. Repeat step 3 for the other side and you’ll end up with bottom portion of the target stand


6. Install the 2 left over 2 foot pieces into the tee fitting


7. This step is optional but I didn’t like the way the pieces moved so I decided to glue the bottom section of the target stand together.  I left the two vertical pieces that hold the 1x2 furring strip unglued, since I have a compact car, if you have a truck you can glue them.  Some people don’t use glue so that they can store the stand in a gym bag.


8. Using the 5/8” forester bit drill a hole in the front 2 foot piece and a hole in one of the rear 1 foot pieces.  This is done so that when you go to the range on windy days all you have to do is bang the ½” rebar through the holes to prevent the stand from flying all over the place.



9. Cut the 8 foot furring strip into two 4 foot pieces, after cutting the 4 foot sections I thought they seemed too high so I then cut them to 3 feet and that seemed alot better for me. YMMV


The finished product, to use the target stand just staple a piece of cardboard to the furring strips and then staple targets to the cardboard backer.


I built 3 stands at a cost of $29.22, your cost maybe a little higher if you need to buy the PVC glue and primer which usually cost about $6.00.  The price is not too bad at $9.74 per stand.  I need to thank Old Painless at the Box O' Truth for his target stand plan which I modified, his plans can be found here if you want to build his version.

I forgot step 10 clean the garage floor up so your wife doesn't get pissed off.

I wonder if I can use this as a project for my Tiger Cubs...

Nice idea. Definitely going to be making some of these.

I built a similar one that I can break down and put in my trunk to take to the range.  It's works great until your wife/GF/SO starts shooting the pvc because it's more fun than the targets

Be sure to have spare parts!

I was thinking of coming up with some way to hang a piece of 1x2 furring across the target stand, then drilling a hole through golf balls, threading a rope or chain through the golf balls and using those as reactive 22LR targets.  I just don't know how long the golf balls will last.  What do you think?

I would think golf balls would hold up to .22 but there's only one way to find out

At last weeks Concealed Tactics class they were using spray adhesive* to mount the targets to the cardboard.  I like this because no more staple stuck in your hand when adding more targets or breaking down at the end of the day.

7mm

*You can find spray adhesive under the "Photo Mount" & "3M 77" names at hobby stores & auto supply stores.

I forgot about that, we did the same thing in the military

Good work.  My buddy and I just made a collapsible target stand last night out of wood.  I spent ~$15 on the hardware and already had the wood laying around.  I thought about doing the PVC thing but wanted something a little more stable.  

How stable is your stand?  I might have to make some of those because they look a lot smaller and lighter than what I came up with.  The wood was free and it was fun making the stand so I can't complain so far.

FYI you will have to replace them fairly quickly....couple years depending on how much you use them....because the UV rays will turn the plastic brittle.  I have some and almost all of them have been replaced with metal.  

But, it works pretty good when they are working well.

Have some weight to throw on it when it's windy.

I don't know how stable they are as I have not gone to the range yet. I am going tomorrow so I will update you after the trip. As far as the sun ruining them I am only able to go to the range about once or twice  a month so if they last me a year or two I figure they were worth the $30 I spent on them. I purchased some other target stands for about $25 and they lasted a whole 2 range sessions so if these last more than that il be happy.

ETA:  I think I might wrap the target stands with UV resistant duct tape. I will update this post as I make modifactions to the design

Good job on the stands. The only improvements id make is to glue everything BUT where the long pieces of the "U" base go into the 90* elbow at the front of the base. That way you can break it down and store it flat. You could probably do away with the glue all together since your not going to have any pressure buildup. Hollow design also means that the tubes can be filled with any number of things including sand, rocks, or concrete to remain upriight.

By making them easier to store, you might prolong their life by bringing them back home.

If you find that the PVC isnt to your liking, you can apply the same idea using stronger, UV resistant steel pipe for the same effect.
Youd be surprised what you can build out of fittings and factory threaded pipe.

Nice job.

It is even better when you build them for your police department and the f-ing cops you work with and are instructing shoot the target stands on purpose.

My response was "Alright idiots, I think you need work on your shotgun skills and no we will not use the reduced recoil slugs.  I just happen to have an old box of the good slugs."

I went to the range today to try out the target stands, it was a perfect day to try them out as it was windy as hell.  I found that the 2 pieces of rebar on the bottom held the target stands steady but the vertical pieces that hold the furring strips kept popping out of the the bottom portion of the stand so they will need to be glued or I will have to come up with a quick disconnect for them.  I am thinking about just glueing them down which I will do after taking measurements of my trunk space other than that one problem the range session went well.

Would painting the pvc help protect it from the uv rays?

Yes it would I thought of that also

Could you put sand in the base to weight it down?  Or would that not be enough weight?

Probably not enough weight and would make it harder to take apart for transport.  A sandbag or other weight placed on top of the base would probably work well though.  Here's a pic of the stand I made.  I used oversized T's so it can accomodate different sized targets.  The next one I make will be a little taller and a little wider to fit B-27 style targets easier and I'm thinking I might go to the next size up on PVC.  I used 2 10 foot sections with no leftovers on this one.