Satisfying cheapie target.

Here's an el-cheapo target I made that's actually pretty fun to shoot. I took an old yard sign (plenty of those around lately) and put some thrift store spoons on it. These were light weight spoons, so I bent the handles around the wires. Next time I'll drill heavier spoons and use wire ties. It's gratifying when I whack a spoon and it goes spinning around the wire. I know it's nothing earth shattering but its simple, cheap, and fun.
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I tried something similar a few years back, but I found that the spoons could sometimes send the pellets right back at you. At the very least I would turn that target around and shoot at the convex side (back) of the spoons. But it still doesn't take much to deform the spoons and the next thing you know a pellet is going to wiz by your head.

I ended up buying some small AR500 gongs from amazon and making my own spinning targets.

 
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I tried something similar a few years back, but I found that the spoons could sometimes send the pellets right back at you. At the very least I would turn that target around and shoot at the convex side (back) of the spoons. But it still doesn't take much to deform the spoons and the next thing your know a pellet is going to wiz by your head.

I ended up buying some small AR500 gongs from amazon and making my own spinning targets.

Thanks for the warning! So far, that hasn't happened, but I sure don't want it to. I may be rethinking this. My thought was that the give of the spinning spoons would prevent ricochets. I'm wondering how the gongs are different from the spoons in this regard?
 
Thanks for the warning! So far, that hasn't happened, but I sure don't want it to. I may be rethinking this. My thought was that the give of the spinning spoons would prevent ricochets. I'm wondering how the gongs are different from the spoons in this regard?

The AR500 steel gongs are hardened and will not deform or pit when shot. It's the concave dents or pits that happen in thin soft steels that create a concave shape that can sent the pellet right back at you.

It's one of the reasons that it's not recommended to shoot mild steel gongs (with a firearm), no matter how thick the steels is. Since it's soft, the surface will pit and can send the lead back at you.
 
The AR500 steel gongs are hardened and will not deform or pit when shot. It's the concave dents or pits that happen in thin soft steels that create a concave shape that can sent the pellet right back at you.

It's one of the reasons that it's not recommended to shoot mild steel gongs (with a firearm), no matter how thick the steels is. Since it's soft, the surface will pit and can send the lead back at you.
I never would have thought of that. Thanks for the information. I guess it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye.
 
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We put self tapping screws into empty 12g CO2 cartridges, and then using a little steel wire tied that to a horizontal beam they would spin around.

Our .22 2012 FX air rifles eventually chewed a hole in those CO2 bottles, and often before the steel wire gave way, which i think is kind of amazing.
Like this :)