The $6.00 Target Stand

In addition to my trainings offered at facilities like the United States Shooting Academy, I also conduct them at private ranges. These locations while usually convenient for the client hosting the event, often present various obstacles for me. Until recently one such obstacle was target stands.

I needed something durable,  portable, professional in appearance, and most of all, affordable.  The latter pretty much ruled out all of the commercial offerings so I new rather quickly a diy stand was imminent.  After much research I came up with a modified version of my two favorites.

This stand not only met my requirements, it was also extremely easy and quick to build. In fact, so much so I built 10 of them in under an hour!  Here's the details:

You'll need-

One  8'   2x4, one  8'   1x4, two   8'   1x2 furring strips, one  box of 3 1/2" exterior wood deck screws   * Wood or Gorilla Glue optional. Total cost = right at $6.00 per stand !!

Cut the 2x4 into four 2' sections. I bought my materials at Lowe's who will cut your lumber for free so I had them do the 2x4's.  Who was I to refuse! The rest I cut at home which went like this, the 1x4 into 20.5" pieces, and the furring strips into 5'6".

I centered a section of the 1x4 between two 2x4's. I used Gorilla Glue and the deck screws to hold it together.  I put 2 screws to towards each end of one side and 1 in the center of the other side. Since I was using 3 1/2" screws, they contacted each board very well and negated the need for more.

I then placed the remaining 2x4 sections on the ends and connected them with 2 screws each . You can see in the pic that the space left by the shorter cut 1x4 leaves a perfect space to place the furring strips.

The furring strips can be cut to any length, I chose 5'6" and thought they were perfect. They were placed in the spaces on the base. I used a rubber mallet to gently set them in.  I wanted them somewhat tight to reduce wobble and these were perfect.  Cut a section of the left over furring strip to drive them back out for transport.

I had these done in under an hour!

Broken down, I was able to transport all 10 to a recent class using my suv. They also fit in my much smaller Subaru hatchback! Once on the range, the stands performed perfectly. They didn't tip or wobble even during some moderate wind experienced that day. The furring strips held there own against some beginning shooters. I cut and brought extras should they have been needed. At $.98 a piece they're a quick cheap fix if damaged too severely. Breaking them down after class was a snap!

There you have it, a nice, easy, inexpensive target stand! Thanks for reading, stay safe!