When building a slinging target, there are always two things to consider: the stability of the target and the weight of the target. Especially for people like me, who don't own a car and have to walk at least 1 km to reach their slinging spot, it is necessary to have something which is easy to transport and can be set up alone. Therefore I invested this Sunday to build a cheap, lightweight and stable slinging target.

The central point in constructing a target is that it should able to withstand the enormous power of a slung bullet. As I also wanted a light one, the usual approach of a thick wooden plate combined with a steel plate as center point was out of question. Further at my slinging range there are no trees, so Ulrica's type of target (http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1322244172/0) was out of question.

My decision fell for the setup shown bellow.

It is built out of what I could gather: parts of an old bed, an old curtain, two posts and some screws.

The important point is, that the cloth isn't nailed to the wooden frame. Instead it is held in place by a wooden bar which lies above the front and rear part of the top frame. This wooden bar lies inside a tube at the top of the cloth. The cloth itself passes between the two parts of the top frame. Therefore I can use very light and thin cloth.
The whole target is held upright by a string attached to the top bar. The string itself is attached to the wall at ground level. For this also an iron nail could be used.

The performance of this prototype is already quite satisfying. It is, as requested, light (less than 5 kg), decomposable into smaller parts and cheap. It is also stable enough and does not fall if it is hit. Until now, no damage of the target was observed. The used ammunition were tennis balls filled with water (weight approx. 150 – 170 g).

The main drawbacks are that some shots are not stopped efficiently. Some shots just pushed the cloth away and continued their travel. Further this cloth sometimes tangles up with the shot. Also shots from very short distance (2-3 meters) with straight or slight upwards momentum sent the cloth spinning around the top bar. Although from distances further than 5 meters I had no problems with the net tangling up or spinning around the top bar.

Now I want to improve this target by “sewing” a center spot out of a thin wooden or aluminum plate to the net. Further I want to make iron “shoes” for the posts. Maybe I will also exchange the net by a stiffer cloth.

The final test with rocks will follow as soon as I have time and nice weather .

As I had a look at the index and could not find any target threads I collected some here:

http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1157245492/3#3
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1175349049/6#6
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1241874342/15
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1322244172/15
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1214692009/0
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1303696596/0

Assembled, from the backside:

That is an excellant target.  To stop your tennis balls, have you tried a brace at the bottom of the cloth?  It should help with the folding.  Just tie a horizontal dowel to the bottom.  It probably won't stop rocks, though.  When I was first starting, I used 12mm marbles and a very short sling.  I hung a poly tarp up and used it for a backstop.  I threw at 10 meters.  At first, it worked fine when I managed to actually hit it, but as I practiced more and became more proficent, I started punching the marbles through the tarp.  I backed up and that cured it for a while but pretty soon, I was punching holes in the tarp again.  Eventually, I destroyed the tarp.  A piece of thick carpet would be very heavy, I thought about a piece of nylon net with small holes and doubling it over but I made a wood and metal target, which, incedently, I have pounded into splinters from clay glandes.  The metal portion of the target is a metal piling cap and is about 12mm thick, I haven't damaged it but I have had to replace the mounts for it several times.  Rocks are harder and denser, I don't think you can build a portable target that can stand up to the constant pounding.

I have to drive about 20 miles (30km) to get to a river that has rocks in some gravel bars, once I get there I have to walk about 2km to get to the gravel bar.  Once I get there, there are lots of rocks and lots of stumps and snags out in the river to throw at.  I gues the point of my rambling is if you really want to sling, you will find a way.

I had a pice of netting that was very similar to that but more heavy duty (used on the outside of a trampoline at one time). Very light weight, stopped tennis balls all right, but after the first few shots, rocks went right through it.

I now use a piece of carpet that's abour 3' by 4' with a 1' bulls eye. It rolls up pretty tight and it works way better at stopping rocks.

Here's my last carpet back stop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEuVnZq2BMA

I just tie 2 ropes to the top corners and the weight of the carpet holds it down.

So, I had some time to try it with stones

I was shooting from different ranges between 5 and 20 meters with stones ranging from 50 g to 200 g and the net was not damaged at all! It did not matter if I hit it right below the top bar or in the middle or at the lower corner.

Then I tied a center spot to the net and there was my damage First of all I damaged, as expected, the center spot. But I also shot through the net as you can see in the picture below. It is interesting to note that the net was only damaged above the center spot.

So I think I solved the damage riddle. If there is some weight below the point were you hit it, the net will be tightened and the force of the impact will act perpendicular to the net, resulting in a much higher stress onto the cloth. If there is no weight below the hitting point, the force of the stone will be more distributed in direction of the fibers of the cloth as the cloth folds itself around the stone and therefore the net does not rip. You can also draw a "force diagramm" to explain this.

Why did the poly tarp rip: I think this tarp is too stiff and therefore it is like shooting at a solid target. Further cloth is more "dynamic" as any synthetic material.

Why did the trampoline net rip: This net is attached between two poles. Therefore the force of the stone acts perpendicular to it.

So what will I do: I will not use a carpet (too heavy and I don't have one around).
I will not use a brace at the bottom of the cloth, as I don't mind if the cloth folds.
I will replace the net by a little heavier cloth (old bed sheet).
I will hang up the center spot by two strings from the top bar.

About the woodpiles: This is only about 1/4 of the whole stock. This reserves are enough for 2 to 3 years. In summer we use solar power for the hot water and in winter we have our wood stove. So if there is a bad weather front for 1 week, the shower in the morning gets pretty cold 

Mhh, good point. I haven't thought about air resistance...
On the other side the air resistance takes away energy, which the net/sheet does not have to absorb...

Well, I will know in about one hour as I already seewed it and assembled the target again. If it does not work, I still have enough net to make two to 3 more targets...

I also tried 3 different types of nets as a backstop. A shade net,a construction safety net and a dense net,also used in construction. One is very thin,and with big mesh size,others thicker, smaller mesh size. If the wind is blowing and the net gets tensioned,as mine is tied with to horizontal ropes on the upper and lower end,the clay balls rip through.
Once i've hung a very small piece of thin metal plate,the size of a mobile phone,and about 0.1mm thick. This small weight also made close shots to pass trough as it put some tension on the center.
After this i tied a paper sheet with a bulls eye drawn on it,so it doesn't have weight,and the problem was solved.
Today i was slinging at my toughest netting,and it held up to round clay balls,even slung from my 1.1m sling from 20.
Yesterday it was slightly windy and i used biconical clay ammo with my short 0.7m sling and all (4) ripped through,even with gentle shots.
So my conclusion is: the backstop should be lightweight, strong,and big mesh size,that still holds ammo.
OR it can be a tough canvas,or carpet too. The two work in different ways.

I would just paint a black spot on the middle of the sheet.

Great idea, Teg!