A new take on steel resettable targets

[Michael]

One of our forum members (wlbryce) has been working on a simple low maintenance resettable target. This is a prototype of a life size sparrow. When hit the entire target falls over then springs back to life..... but there are no springs involved. Logan uses high powered magnets. I shot the sparrow with a .22 caliber 30 FPE air rifle. Again this is just a prototype, but I thought you all might want to check it out and give him some feedback.

 

[pheelgood]

Nice!

 

[KzooRichie]

Cleaver idea, looks neat and well made.

I'd keep negs to myself if not asked, but.... how is this an improvement over a spinner? There is a lot more into this than a simple spinner, presumably a lot more cost as well. 

Wylbryce, if you're looking to market these. (Assuming I'm correct) What do we get out of the extra cost? Also, the legs and tail look like misses would trash um. Best of luck!

 

[Michael]

"KzooRichie"Cleaver idea, looks neat and well made.

I'd keep negs to myself if not asked, but.... how is this an improvement over a spinner? 

I like the fact that its life sized & you can mount it anywhere (like a tree branch or light post, etc.). 

 

[Rchr]

Awesome target, looks beautifully made.
The only thing is that it pops back up to fast, if you don't hear the impact you don't know if you hit it.
IMHO: If it could be made so that when the target is nocked down it would slowly pop back up after a couple of seconds it would be better. My .02¢ 

Definitely a lot better than anything I could of made.

 

[Mentolio]

That is a really cool action target, with a clever use of "earth magnets?" Concern: doesn't repeated impact weaken the magnet? If so, I wonder how many hits the target can take before needing a rebuild? KzooRichie: I'd say "better" than a spinner if only that it returns to the same position instantly, without "sway" (sway not being a big deal, really). Nicely done, just keep a can of spray paint with you for touching up, once it gets so shot up it becomes difficult to tell if or where you hit.

 

[Ian13]

I just got some from cabelas and they are nice and easy to set up plus you never reset them they also spin when you hit them

 

[KzooRichie]

I almost mentioned that it is too fast, however there is a hidden benefit in that. This is based on my shooting of a silhouette target the often bounces up quickly like that.

It encourages me to follow through and keep my eye on the target. Might not work for everyone. 

 

[FeatherV]

Interesting concept I wouldn't be opposed to buying one.
-Jimmy

 

[Killzone]

I like the idea. I'm thinking it might be nice to have the legs become counter weight and the magnets hold the target vertically. Hitting the target makes it rotate horizontally and the counter wright would bring it back a bit slower until it get into the magnets field and snaps it into position and holds it there. It appears the target does not go down enough to disappear and you see more of the pellet impact. If the target rotated a full 90 degs it would appear to flash and be more obvious that you made a hit. I hope this was constructive.

 

[KzooRichie]

I like that idea Killzone....I've heard a blow can trash a magnet. I've never hear of it happening, just remember the teacher saying don't drop them, you can ruin them.

Your idea kills two birds with one stone. See what I did there... ;-p

 

[Michael]

I agree it would be nice if it didn't return to position so quickly.

Can anyone explain why a magnet would lose its strength after repeated impact? Does the impact knock electrons right out of it or what?

 

[KzooRichie]

I did not know for sure that blows ie dropping a magnet could damage it. I heard it enough to believe it. Google fu confirms it's true, but the risk is with permanent magnets, not rare earth magnets which I presume this target uses. "And the reason is this: In a magnet the electrons in the atoms are spinning in the same direction, which gives a magnet its magnetic domain-north or south-and creates a magnetic field. 
If the electrons are spinning every which way, the domains are scattered and the magnet is not magnetized. 
Dropping, hitting, or heating a magnet will disturb the magnetic field-the spin of the electrons goes out of alignment and becomes random. (If you heat the magnet, the electrons start moving more quickly and can vibrate out of alignment with the domain.)"
Source. http://www.answers.com/Q/Why_does_a_permanent_magnet_weaken_when_you_drop_or_heat_it

 

[Alan_Gage]

My experience simply playing with them for the fun of playing with them (I have a bad case of fiddle fingers) is that they're physically brittle and will break apart after being dropped repeatedly. Whether or not they're all similarly affected I don't know, some may certainly be better than others.

Alan

 

[KzooRichie]

Brittleness is a weakness in ceramic magnets. Ceramic magnets are relatively cheep and powerful, but brittle. Rare earth magnets are so strong it's remarkable, but small and costly. They are so small that dropping them won't cause much of an impact.