Introduction: Shatter Targets for Air Guns.
Make 'shatter' targets for BB and air guns that are free and eco-friendly. Ok, that's free as in no money, just time, effort and a sense of satisfaction. These targets disappear in a most gratifying manner, leaving nothing behind but wooden splinters and sawdust. They break-up just fine with a 'half-power' Daisy Red Ryder at 20 yards and prevent the 'Did I hit it?' syndrome of paper targets for younger users. But I've got to admit I get a kick out of them just as much.
Step 1: Tools and Materials
Tools required:
Saw. Bandsaw is easiest/quickest.
Drill. Pillar drill is easiest/quickest.
Wax. Fresh wood is very 'sappy' and will clog a saw blade and coat the drive wheels of a bandsaw. Wax saw blade thoroughly and regularly to save a lot of cleaning later. Press a candle to either side of the blade while running. This is a tip I could have done with the first time I made these.
Materials required:
A stick.
Step 2: Why Do It?
This can be a good project for anyone with a junior shootist in the family, as they can join in the process at any point you feel them capable. The cutting (perhaps not), the drilling (perhaps), the drying (definitely).
From scratch, these probably take about an hour to make a hundred or so, I've not timed it. But cutting or drilling during odd moments when you find yourself out in the workshop with no idea how you got there or why,(am I the only one?) can soon make a stock of hundreds.
Step 3: We've Started!
Find any old or new stick from say 1 to 2 inches in diameter and roughly trim off any twigs and knobbles. There's no need to be too meticulous about it. This is just so the stick lays reasonably flat for sawing. Now start to cut slices. Slices should be one-eighth of an inch thick or less. Cutting straight across the stick produces the smaller, rounder size. while cutting at an angle, obliquely across makes larger, oval discs.
Step 4: Drilling.
Now just grab a small pile of those discs (say an inch) and stack them up. With a suitable bit in the drill, make a hole off to one side, but not too near the edge. I use a target box of double-thick ply with five 4-inch nails hammered through from the back into a cross shape. A quarter inch hole slips on the nail just fine even after drying when the holes may become mis-shapen or shrink.
Step 5: Drying Out!
Drying. Lay the discs out onto a wall in the sun if possible. After a while they will bow like little dishes. Turn them over and they should flatten out. An airing cupboard should do the job if the weather doesn't improve from what we in England have had lately. The dryer the better for storage, otherwise they may go mouldy or rotten.
Step 6: Now the Good Bit!
Hang them up somewhere safe and start shooting. You won't go back to paper targets.
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17 Comments
15 years ago on Introduction
Nice idea. I would probably make something similar but use salt dough to make the targets. Salt Dough is what kids quite often use to make little models and it is quite brittle so would shatter nicely if hit with a BB Pellet. Recipe for salt dough is: - one cup of fine salt - one cup of flour - about half a cup of water Thin discs should only take about an hour to 'bake' when put in an oven at 100 degrees C. For small bore shooting I have used mints taped to card board as targets.
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
i tried it and it worked thankyou for recipe i rolled them out with a roling pin then cut them using cookie cutters
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
Thanks for the comment. An idea might be to use your dough to bake shapes. I am thinking a stylised rabbit outline or similar. Shoot it's ears off before taking the head out. Just to add interest you understand.
13 years ago on Step 6
great idea. i like that box u made too
Reply 13 years ago on Step 6
Thanks for your comment.
14 years ago on Step 6
wow this works quite well :)
i dont have a bandsaw though :(
but i can pick up clay pigeons for free at my local shooting club =D
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
I must admit, I have never come into contact with an actual clay pigeon. Are they fragile enough to break with an air weapon?
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
yeah they break really easily, in fact when transpoting them home from the shooting club almost half of them broke. a 12 foot pound air rifle will go trough ( and shatter) 12 and make a hole through another 5. ( that was really fun to test, tested from 20 m)
14 years ago on Step 3
can we use a hacksaw instead of the saw you use
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
Any type of wood saw would do the trick. Try to get the disks thin. A hand saw would be take longer and you might end up with end up with one arm like Mike Tyson.
14 years ago on Step 2
no. you are not the only one. there's a definite attractive force inside that shop.
14 years ago on Introduction
How long do they take to dry out?
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
Only an hour or two, in the sun.
14 years ago on Introduction
very cool
15 years ago on Introduction
I thought lead and copper came from the ground to begin with. Hmmm....
15 years ago on Introduction
ver ver cool :) just remember pellets are made out of lead and they will fall to the ground, so make sure there are not herbs or plants underneath. You might want to put something to catch the pellets and bb so it doesn't pollute the ground.
15 years ago on Introduction
Nice idea, seconded. Wood crisps! A great idea. I'll have to make some for the range.