There's been a lot of discussion about standardizing targets so that the world of slingers can get a better sense of realistic expectations about accuracy and also perhaps have some friendly competitions.  I have been looking at how to develop a lightweight and portable target that approximates the standard 1.2 meter square target described by Vicente at:
http://slinging.org/index.php?page=balearic-sling-competitions---vicente  

Of course, if you have a truck or a big back yard, you could make one exactly as shown and have at it.  But some of us apartment dwellers who drive Smart Cars and the like would have trouble with a full size wooden contraption with a gong.  So, I went to Home Depot (any building supply store would do) and bought a few things, cobbled them together, and went out to test it.  Jan 18 will long live in my memory as a quantum leap in my understanding of the sling - and lessons in humility.

First, the target: just buy two 10-foot lengths of 3/4-inch PVC pipe, preferably the heavier of the two standard weights (PVC conduit is also acceptable), and 4 PVC elbows for connectors (cement is not required).  This is very cheap stuff, by the way - we're probably still under $4.  Get some rope, wire, or bungee cords for hanging it from something, and you are good to go.

Cut the PVC into four 45-inch lengths, add the elbows to connect them, and you'll have a square frame that approximates Vicente's target (the elbows add length, so the frame ends up about 47.2 inches which is exactly 1.2 meters).  You can cover it with fabric or tarp material, but you don't have to, and you can make a tripod to give it height, but that is also optional.  You can also hang it from a tree - or the outside of a tennis court fence, as I did.  Measure your distances of 64 and 96 feet, and you're ready to shoot.

Lessons learned: it is WAY different throwing at an elevated target than a bucket on the ground.  And a lot of skill goes out the window if you change from a habitual throwing distance.  I did really badly!  But now I know what to expect BEFORE I get to Mallorca and make a fool of myself in the Balearic Islands.  Practice, here I come!

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It would be nice if you could include a photo, helps visualization.

BTW,  your comment about it being different to sling at an elevated target has been my experience also. I find it quite a bit harder to hit a target on the ground at 10 m than the same target at head height. I guess it's largely a matter of what you're used to.

Nice one :-)
Yeah pics please.

I've built two very different types of balearic target - neither is particularly man portable.

Above, in my previous posting, I added a picture of the materials required - again, the tarp is optional but can be used to cover the frame, if you wish.  Makes a nice smack sound when you hit it.  It can be folded over and secured in the back, as illustrated in another picture (below), using the tarp grommets and bungee cords or rope.  The 5.5 feet x 7.5 size turned out to be perfect.  Would not recommend larger.  I now attach a picture of the finished frame.  If you wanted, you could add a 50 cm circle of plywood for the center gong, but that just adds work and weight.  It is easy enough to see where the projectile goes (assuming you are using a tennis ball, like they do in the Ballearic competitions now); you can thus mentally decide if you would have hit the gong and gotten the extra point or two.

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Thanks for this thread.  I've been wanting to make one but haven't been sure where to start.  

Thanks to you, I'll take the lazy route and sit back and learn from your mistakes and triumphs instead of making my own. :)

I´ll make one of this someday.

picture of it it in situ would be good too.

You don't have to use a plywood disc - just finda large cardboard box, cut 2 18 inch circles, glue them together and hang in the centre of the target :-)

Here's a photo of the frame set with the center at 63 inches.  It's simply hanging from a couple of short bungee cords.

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Here's the frame covered with a tarp (5.5 x 7.5 feet), which is simply folded over and secured in the back with bungee cords, as will be shown in another picture.

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This photo shows how the bungee cords are used to hold the tarp to the frame.  The use of bungees allows easy dismantling for travel.  Note that the smallest bungees generally available are 12-inches (and I used two). These are too long "as issued."  To shorten them, I just pulled the cord through the hook part and tied a knot in it - very easy.  The longer cord is a 24-inch.

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Great idea, 4accord! Thanks!

How does it hold up? Have you hit the PVC pipe yet?

Yes, I've hit it a few times - but am only using tennis balls and the heavier Chuckits, and they lose a lot of momentum by the time they cover the 64 and 96-foot distances.  If, worst case scenario, the PVC were damaged (which is unlikely unless you use rocks), it's such cheap stuff, it would hardly matter.

Good stuff. Thanks!

if you're hitting that at 96 feet - I'm impressed :-)
lot harder than it sounds.

Try hanging a cardboard disv in the centre, should be easy enough.

Like the idea of hanging it on a fence - very ingenious :-)

Have taken the target to another level.  By adding 39 1/2-inch legs and using T-couplers instead of the lower two elbows, you can create a self-standing frame that allows for some options in how you can set it up - hanging, connected to a pole or fence, standing on stakes set in the ground, or anchored with ropes that are connected to tent stakes.  The photo below shows the materials needed (the couplers were 33 cents each and I had to buy one more 10-foot section of PVC for 83 cents).

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I also followed C-A's suggestion to use cardboard to make a center disk.  I used two pieces of heavy cardboard cut from a box.  As an easy way to make a circle, I used a piece of paper pinned (yes, that's a blowgun dart) to the center.  I then measured 25 cm, put a mark on the paper, and "followed it" around a circle.  This results in a circle 50 cm in diameter, or 19.7 inches.

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It may not be absolutely necessary to use two pieces of cardboard, but it does give added strength.  I glued the two together and reinforced the edges with packaging tape (optional).  I then punched two holes for suspending from the target frame with coat hangers.

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Here's what the whole shebang looks like for carrying to your practice area.  It is lightweight and portable, which is the whole purpose.  Setting up takes one minute or so - very easy!

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Once assembled, it looks like this, and the disk is suspended so that the center sits at 63 inches off the ground.  Of course, using bungees to hold it to a fence like this does not allow the target to swing, which may add to the wear and tear on it (if cardboard).  The cardboard is not likely to last forever, as it will slowly get pretty beaten up.  But it's not hard to replace every so often.  I might go to plywood as a more durable solution eventually.

Whether the tarp can be fitted around the frame now is something I didn't try to establish, as I wouldn't want to cut it and it really isn't required - this also cuts out the otherwise largest expense of the project.  Without the tarp, I think the whole thing can be done for under $5 plus two small bungees or ropes.

Overally, I would say this is a very workable, low cost, solution to the challenge of providing a portable alternative to Vicente's wood and metal target.  For practice purposes, it performs really well (much better than I do)!

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"The cardboard is not likely to last forever, as it will slowly get pretty beaten up."

Not if you are hitting it as often as we weren't...   :o

I have thought of making one of these out of ply wood with its own tripod just waiting to get the money for the lumber and cuting a hole in the center this would have a large sock like tube on the back to stop the balls that hit in the hole but then i have a truck and good size back yard ;D ;)but i do like how yours is cheap to biuld and very easy to move  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

:o

I like it!

I have been talking to MadSlinger about putting together something very much like this.  We might need a couple of different target types for the sport we've been playing, but, this is quite the awesome setup for accuracy practice/competitions..

Thank you very much Caldou for shooting this one my way!

AAAGGHH!!!

Scooped again!!!!

I am currently making an almost identical target, except I foolishly decided to use a cheap ($8) canvas dropcloth for the backing and to sew it on. I'm trying to make it so that the target captures the ammo. Then I got sidetracked making a nice stone bag from the remnant fabric and some braided jute. I haven't done the PVC yet, but plan to make it freestanding with a base (the place I will use it is indoors, has a concrete floor and a cinderblock wall with no easy attachment points).


BTW, well done.  Simplicity is the hallmark of good design and engineering.

What's a chuckit?

A "Chuckit" is a heavy tennis ball, used as a dog toy but not so easy for them to chew through.  You can get them for not much at Wal-Mart and pet shops.  The density makes them a better sling ammo than tennis balls...but the best sling ammo of all for recreation (aside from rocks and lead and steel bearings which are truly deadly) are lacrosse balls.

Hi.
Haven´t been here for quite some time..

I had this thread about my portable balearic target up long ago:

http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1322244172/0

Maybe that can inspire someone?

Brett wrote on Feb 14^th, 2013 at 11:20am:

I am currently making an almost identical target, except I foolishly decided to use a cheap ($8) canvas dropcloth for the backing and to sew it on. I'm trying to make it so that the target captures the ammo. Then I got sidetracked making a nice stone bag from the remnant fabric and some braided jute. I haven't done the PVC yet, but plan to make it freestanding with a base (the place I will use it is indoors, has a concrete floor and a cinderblock wall with no easy attachment points).

I tried to make a PVC balearic target for such conditions, only smaller by a little margin (1m instead of 1,20).
The first 3 designs of the little doodle here don't stand well. Especially if you have a system to catch ammo.

You may want to go for the bigger one, but I didn't find (yet) the right coupler (3 ways, with one at some strange angle...), so I went down an other way, only keeping the diana size on a tripod :
http://caldazar.free.fr/img/slings/awards/tripodtarget_mini.JPG
http://caldazar.free.fr/img/slings/awards/facetarget.JPG

I didn't read this one well enough since I missed the "standing on stakes set in the ground, or anchored with ropes that are connected to tent stakes." part when I had to use it in a public forest, but the tripod still Ok ^^

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These are great ideas for targets! I have just been slinging at this poor tree that is at a good distance from the place where I go to sling stones. Other than that I sling tennis balls at a soccer goal from about mid-field, which I miss more often than not.  :-/

Cavemanzhi wrote on Feb 15^th, 2013 at 12:51pm:

These are great ideas for targets! I have just been slinging at this poor tree that is at a good distance from the place where I go to sling stones. Other than that I sling tennis balls at a soccer goal from about mid-field, which I miss more often than not.  :-/

Surprising how easy it is to miss such a large target huh?  It's just like that third shot in my last vid.  I was only like, 20 meters tops from the backstop.  Still launched that stupid tennis ball into some poor person's front yard... LOL

I believe that slinging causes concentration of the air around the target.  The motion of the arm and sling moves the air forward in waves and that caues turbulence due to the reflection of the air waves when the wave front encounters the target, causeing severe deflections in the flight of a thrown object. That's why you get those wild shots and that's why it's so hard to hit with a sling.  ;D

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. 8-)