DIY Air Rifle Target

[Badger74]

I had a play with my air rifle last week and decided to finally try and zero it in, if I'm to try and keep vermin down around my place. I could use my shotgun, but the youngest doesn't do loud noise at all.

Fed up with multiple paper targets that once have been hit a few times you cant see which holes are recent, or get up and change the target, I decided to look on the internet. Then I realised I would get hammered for postage and it would take several days to reach me, I decided to make my own. This is version 1:

Air rifle target V1 by chrstphrferg, on Flickr

The main square is about 55mm x 55mm and it was from a single piece of galvanised roof sheet hammered flat and the shape cut out. The bolt is screwed into a wooden stake, and the bolt is a transport retaining bolt from a new washing machine. It took a bit of a beating, and if I shot the cable tie, it fell down. So I decided to make version 2:

Air rifle target V2 by chrstphrferg, on Flickr

This is still about 55mm x 55mm, but the plate is now a longer sheet folded twice to make it 3 layers thick. This now withstands the pellets better and there is nothing more satisfying than hitting it and seeing it spin. I have one set at 23 paces and another at 30 paces. It works quite well.

Any way, my air rifle is a Webley Tracker .177. I decided to play with a having a bipod, but again I don't have one, so I bought a plastic clamp and devised one from reading about it on another forum somewhere that I cant remember. I'm not convinced it worked that well, so back to the drawing board.

Webley Tracker .177 by chrstphrferg, on Flickr


Thanks for looking.

 

[mrcharly]

I think anything clamped on the barrel might affect repeated shot accuracy.

Try a plastic milk carton, filled with sand, as a target. if you paint them black the shots should show up.

 

[MartiniDave]

Spring rifles really don't work well with bi-pods. As Mrcharly said, you need something firm but yielding. I favour a sock filled with either rice or sand, used as a mini sandbag.
Oh - rest the woodwork on the bag/sock, definitely not the barrel.

Dave

 

[Badger74]

To you both, I had read that elsewhere to be honest; it was something I wanted to try, but I found I had less control than when I held it.

 

[cbrdave]

I do like a bit of back yard tinkering, not that I'm tight with the money, your better off making up a bean bag type rest for prone shooting mate, also might be worth making up a solid back stop for those odd stray pellets, I used an old carpet sample pegged up on two uprights, also the best use of an argos book too

 

[Big G]

Nice rifle mate.. i had a webley tempest .177 air pistol in the '80s.. bought it secondhand.. it was advertised in the the local paper. i loved that gun.

It dispatched well over 100 rats.. at the local tip.

 

[Dave]

I got one of these. Pretty small, but spins very freely, and the crow always ends up on top again. Quite thick steel.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251483864966?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[Badger74]

The bipod is too big to use from a prone position, I did it to try it from a sitting position at a table so I didn't have to use my left elbow. I found that I had much more control holding it as normal, so I have dropped the bipod idea. This is my back stop:

20160419_085557[1] by chrstphrferg, on Flickr

The first target id by the little shrub, and far target is at the base of the little tree about 7 paces further on.

I used to have a Webley Nemisis in the 00's but gave it to my brother

Its where I got the idea from, but I'm to impatient to wait for the post to arrive!

 

[Joonsy]

for a target I used to use old spoons with the handle bent back down to form an eye and then cut off the excess handle. Put a bit of wire through the eye and the spoon will spin when hit. You can also put a bit of string through eye for same effect but then you have to fix the string both ends and pull it tight, with wire you can fix one end only to a post or something. Light spoons are better as they spin faster, you can get plenty of spoons in charity shops. I used to have a piece of wire holding different sized spoons. When zeroing in at first put something behind spoons to see where pellets are going, a cardboard box will do so you can see the holes pellets make when you miss target when zeroing.

 

[HillBill]

If clamped directly to the barrel, yes. The vibrations don't do a springer any favours. But if you line the inside of the clamp with a shock absorbing material such as some rubber inner tube, it works much better

I think anything clamped on the barrel might affect repeated shot accuracy.
.

 

[Badger74]

If clamped directly to the barrel, yes. The vibrations don't do a springer any favours. But if you line the inside of the clamp with a shock absorbing material such as some rubber inner tube, it works much better

Which is what I did, but I wasn't happy about it how I had less control. Thick I'll stick to normal and use a rice bag for prone.