The DDay 001 and 002 Field Targets

This has been a fun project because I am getting to do some things I've always wanted to do but never took the time up until now to try.   The first is welding..... but what to weld???? ( Maybe how to weld is a better question????)  A field target????  Yeah!!!!!   An all metal one....even better!!!

So, after a lot of sketches, thinking about things I like about different targets and how they work, I came up with the DDay 001.  Essentially, the target is a hybrid of a Troyer and Pounded Paddle design...more Troyer than Pounded Paddle,   but without the hinges and wood....an all metal target.

After several burns to the hands because I keep forgetting that it takes welded metal a LONG time to cool down,  the DDay 001 was born...Then after a period of testing, I  improved upon the design with the DDay 002..... My goal with DDay002 was to miniaturize a field target because I like the idea of getting the targets down to a smaller size.  The DDay 002 turned out just like I wanted, and this is the prototype for my future targets.   The targets will not be for sale as I plan on making them for awards at the WLOPA shoots, Christmas presents, etc.

DDay 001 (Left)   DDay 002 - Right

The DDay 001 - my first attempt at an all metal target.

DDay001 - Front and side view

OK - so you've figured out that I can't weld.... Yeah I admit my welding is beyond bad, but it is getting better with practice as you will see by the time we get to target design #002.   The important part of the design is that the frame is made of of two welded pieces of angle iron, while the door hinges used in Brad Troyer's wooden targets have been replaced by welding the target face and paddle directly to two steel pivot rods that rotate in the joined angle iron frame.  Also, you can barely see the bungee cord that is attached in front of and below the pivot point of the face plate.  This allows some tension when the target is 'cocked' which causes the target to fall when the paddle is hit and falls away from the cylindrical sear that sits on top of the paddle.

In testing the target, I learned two things.   First, that the angle of the steel sear rod that is attached to the face plate and engages the paddle did not have enough upward angle to it.  This combined with a paddle that leaned forward just a little to much from vertical caused the target not to function reliably when the paddle was hit with pellets fired from low power guns.  The solution to this problem was to mount a small shoe at the front base of the paddle that contains a set screw.  The set screw is then adjusted so that the paddle could not go past vertical.... problem solved!  But this created another problem in that it prohibited the face plate from falling flat on a hit to the kill zone.  Consequently, I took the set screw device out and reworked the mechanism as described below.

DDay 002

With the experience of DDay 001,  my goal was to shrink the target to about half of a normal field target size,  build a mechanism that does not need adjustment  devices, and to standardize all components but the face plate..  Originally, I thought I would have to incorporate a paddle vertical adjustment shoe into all of the targets like I did with the DDay 001, but in an 'ah ha' moment, realized that this could be easily accomplished by adding a stop bar behind the base of the paddle.  Once this stop bar was welded into place, if the paddle still leaned too far from vertical, then a little metal could be welded to the frame below the base of the paddle to force it into an upright position.... This took a bit of trial and error, but the fix seems to work fine. Although the paddle level adjustment screw is a nice idea and also solves the vertical alignment problem, my goal was to develop a target that once finished would never need further adjustment to function properly..So, the adjustment screw just had to go.

The following are some photos of the DDay 002 that helps to document the building process..

The key components that build the frame of the  DDay 002 are two pieces of 1/8" thick angle steel - 1 1/4" (Home Depot) that are drilled to accept  two 1/4" steel rods.   The size of the base is standardized by the base template and hole alignment piece that is shown painted in white.  It is important that the holes need to be far enough apart so that the face plate does not engage the paddle when both are falling as this would lock the mechanism and not allow it to completely fall or easily reset.

Before welding the two halves of the base together, the steel pivot rods are temporarily inserted into the base halves.  This forces everything to stay in pretty good alignment until the first weld that joins the base halves together is completed.

The face consists of a piece of 3/16" thick steel cut to shape with a plasma cutter (another very interesting tool that I am just learning to use - I really like the idea of converting metal into the 4th state of matter!!!!).  In DDay 001,  I was thinking about standardizing the kill zones at 1 3/4" so that I could use Bingham Brothers reducers, but it was a bit of a hassle cutting the hole.  And, given that everyone seems to eventually use reducers to decrease Kill Zone sizes anyhow, I opted for a 3/8" hole.  That way if anyone wants to increase the KZ size down the road, all they have to do is drill it to a larger size. 

In addition to the KZ hole,  a 1/4" hole is drilled at approximately a 5 degree upward angle near the top of the face plate to accept a 1/4" steel sear rod that will engage the target paddle.  Also, a 3/16" hole is drilled at the bottom of the faceplate.  This hole will  be below the axis of rotation when the target falls and will contain the bungee cord which forces the target to fall when the paddle is hit. Note that I purposely make this rod longer than needed as it will be cut to length when its relationship to engagement of the paddle is determined at final target assembly.  Better to have it a little too long and trim it down to size than having to rip out the weld because it is too short! (Benn there, done that!).

As there are no cotter pins that hold the pivot rods in place, it is necessary to snug up excess space with washers before welding the face plate and the paddle to the pivot rods.  When welding the face to the pivot rod, it is important to leave a small gap between the base of the frame and the bottom of the faceplate so that the face will freely rotate to a fallen position when a pellet passes through the kill zone and hits the paddle. With the paddle, it should be welded to the pivot rod so that when it is upright, it engages the base frame of the target.

First welds completed on the face plate which positions the sear rod and attaches the face plate to the pivot rod.
Mike Miller - it is a better weld than it looks in the picture.  Especially after removal of the slag and grinding.

Before welding a paddle to the rear pivot rod, it is a really good idea to determine the length of the paddle that is needed at the vertical position.  When cutting the paddle, I purposely cut it a little long, just like the paddle engagement sear,  as it is easy to grind it down to size once welded to the frame.  This can potentially save a lot of time as a paddle that is too short will mean that the whole paddle pivot assembly will need to be cut out and replaced to achieve proper engagement of the sear and the paddle when the target is fully assembled.

After experimenting with DDay 001,  I realized that keeping the paddle from traveling too far beyond vertical when the target is cocked is vital to proper target function.  After a lot of thought, I hit upon a simple design.  It is a piece of square bar that is welded at the rear base of the paddle immediately below the pivot rod.  This arrestor bar assures that the paddle cannot travel very much past vertical when the target is cocked and the sear engaged.  If the bar placement and weld is not quite  right and the paddle continues to go too far beyond vertical when the mechanism is cocked at final assembly, this can easily be corrected by just adding a small bead of weld metal to the target frame base right under the paddle's bottom edge.  Also note the washers on the paddle pivot bar that take up slack space and prevent the pivot bar from coming out of the base.

Final steps in the assembly are attachment of the bungee cord which creates tension when the mechanism is cocked.  Another hole is placed somewhere in the face plate through which a reset cord is attached, and finally the reset cord is attached to the paddle.  Although I built a tab inside the front cap of the base for the bungee cord, it was positioned in a manner that resulted in some rebound tension when the face plate fell.  This caused the target to only fall part way back when the paddle was hit followed by a little rebound springing up..  This was solved by  repositioning the bungee cord through the front end cap in the above target.   The trick with this is to make sure that the end cap attachment point of the bungee cord is level or slightly above the attachment point on the face plate when the target has fallen.   This allows the cord tension to be adjusted so it is nil when the face plate has fallen, but provides enough tension when the target is cocked to assure that it causes the face plate to fall over completely when the paddle is hit.

After a little more experimentation, I decided that the bungee connection could be further improved and protected from damage by any stray pellet hits that could cause the target to fail.  So, I added a new upper connector plate and snaked the cord up through the plate and through the face plate.  This assured appropriate tension while protecting the bungee cord from any stray pellet hits.   Also, because I like the idea of an end cap perch, I attached one to the front base of the target.

This is the basic design I will be using on my targets moving forward as it is simple to produce from standardized parts and is adjustment free once the paddle arrestor bar and final paddle vertical adjustments are made.   So if you are interested in getting a DDay 002, come on out to a WLOPA shoot and participate in one of our FT events....or remember my birthday, and maybe I'll remember yours!!!!  LOL

Front and side view of the DDay 002 - primed and ready to paint

The final target - a little over 4" tall.