Looking for target material advice

[TexHill]

Hi guys,

My work was recently getting rid of some shirt displays and I thought I might be able to use them as target molds.




My only issue is I don't know what pourable material to use. I would like to use something that is semi-permanent in nature, fairly easy to get and use, and won't break the bank. I thought of making home made ballistics gel, but it won't stand up to the Texas heat. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[leadsender]

I wonder how a urethane foam would hold up to repeated impacts. It should be fairly easy to get as well

[Reagans Rascals]

make a reverse mold from clay, and then use that to mold some steel targets. There are inexpensive DIY's online for making small home foundrys. Using propane torches and concrete linings in a small tank about the size of a propane tank.

You could then just melt scrap steel and fill the mold.

A little intensive, but I myself find it to be an entertaining and educational process.

If you opt to go with something other than steel, I'd just use rubber. Get some shredded tire rubber, the kind they use at playgrounds, and use that.

Either way, I'd still make the reverse mold of clay first. Once you have the clay or sand mold you can fill it with anything you want.

[CumbiaDude]

If you had a vacu-former of the appropriate size, you might be able to make some thin plastic pieces....

[pmarc]

If you had a vacu-former of the appropriate size, you might be able to make some thin plastic pieces....

Or, one could "pull-form": heat plastic sheet until pliable, press into mold. Kind of how people make kydex holsters around guns.

[Hmac]

Or laying fiberglass strips or sheets with resin on the inside or over the outside. Paint it up, and subsequent holes could be patched pretty easily with a little more fiberglass.

[CumbiaDude]

Or, one could "pull-form": heat plastic sheet until pliable, press into mold. Kind of how people make kydex holsters around guns.

Yeah! Take that thing and make a concrete mold (or something that is solid against heat - maybe the original piece will even work) then lay some plastic on it and hit it with a heat gun! It'd only take a few min and you could make a zillion of them out of plastic

[D-R]

How about pourable concrete casting urethane? Tough as nails, and not *too* expensive.

[Redmanfms]

make a reverse mold from clay, and then use that to mold some steel targets. There are inexpensive DIY's online for making small home foundrys. Using propane torches and concrete linings in a small tank about the size of a propane tank.

You could then just melt scrap steel and fill the mold.

A little intensive, but I myself find it to be an entertaining and educational process.

If you opt to go with something other than steel, I'd just use rubber. Get some shredded tire rubber, the kind they use at playgrounds, and use that.

Either way, I'd still make the reverse mold of clay first. Once you have the clay or sand mold you can fill it with anything you want.

Shooting at a compound convex/concave steel surface is really bad ju-ju.


I'd go with urethane foam as other have suggested. It is pretty durable, not terribly expensive to replace when finally worn out, and is a very easy material to work with, without the need for sand molds and foundry equipment.


ETA: Vacu-forming plastic targets is a really neat idea too. Should be pretty cheap.