I'm always thinking about trying to find an interesting target to test my shoot skills. Somewhere I ran into the idea of shooting a used saw blade. I wanted a target that would test not only my Field Target skills but also something that would stand up to a 47 ft/lbs hit from a new Wildcat. It also had to withstand the weather, as I planned to leave it outdoors. Well off I went to eBay and I found 4 used 7 ½" circular blades for about $4.00 each. My first attempt was to use a piece of 2x8 that I had lying around. I figured that the thickness of the wood could stand up to the misses. But, once I got it built I realized that some washers around the kill zone would be the way to go. Now this was made with 70-90 yard shots in mind, so the KZ's were 2 and 3" holes. My local Lowes just does not carry that size washer. Well McMaster Carr had them. The bad news was that they are about $4-5 each. Lucky I only wanted 3. The build is straight forward, as shown in the photos, but here are some notes that might help;
1.The 2 and 3" washers are bears! Very heavy and I'll need a really good set of bits to get through them. I had to cut the lower 3" washer so it would fit. The smaller washers are from Lowes and were fairly easy to drill.
2.I used stuff that I had lying around and used ¼ x 20 threaded rod. I used lock nuts and washers to secure the blade in the middle so it would stay put.
3.Getting the holes lined up for the threaded rod in the 2 pieces of wood was accomplished by clamping and drilling them together.
4.The 1st target I made had 2 x 8 lumber on the front and bottom. With the washers this was overkill so the next ones I used plywood on the front piece.
First target with those really big washers. They will take a lot more than 47 ft/lbs
Field Target version. KZs from 3/8" to 1"
T
The rear of the target
Center view
Medium long range 1" and 2"
I gave the blades a face lift by sanding them down and priming.
1.The 2 and 3" washers are bears! Very heavy and I'll need a really good set of bits to get through them. I had to cut the lower 3" washer so it would fit. The smaller washers are from Lowes and were fairly easy to drill.
2.I used stuff that I had lying around and used ¼ x 20 threaded rod. I used lock nuts and washers to secure the blade in the middle so it would stay put.
3.Getting the holes lined up for the threaded rod in the 2 pieces of wood was accomplished by clamping and drilling them together.
4.The 1st target I made had 2 x 8 lumber on the front and bottom. With the washers this was overkill so the next ones I used plywood on the front piece.
First target with those really big washers. They will take a lot more than 47 ft/lbs
Field Target version. KZs from 3/8" to 1"
TThe rear of the target
Center view
Medium long range 1" and 2"
I gave the blades a face lift by sanding them down and priming.