Ideas for making a clay pigeon holder.

runawaygun762 · Oct 31, 2014

I really suck with the shotgun and am going to spend a ridiculous amount of time fixing that this winter. I really like the MGM clay pigeon holders, but can't afford them just yet. Does anybody have ideas on some DIY holders? I have been using pieces of angle iron that work well in terms of being durable and good at deflecting shot for no ricochet, but they don't hold the clays very well. I have bought a bunch of 1 x 2" sticks with the idea that they are easy to replace, being 60 cents for a 5' section and each section will take a few hits before I have to cut away splinters to even the end off again.

I will be looking around for a metal shop that can make me some of the 4" steel knockovers and rebar stands, but that'll come a bit later I think.

jtischauser · Oct 31, 2014

1/2" rebar with a 3.5" long piece of rebar welded across making a T. Pound it in at an angle.

I love me some MGM Targets and their clay holders work well. But the best clay holders are actually the GT Targets. It's a loop welded to a round bar that tou hammer in. Clays don't have to balance or hook on the stand. You drop one in.

runawaygun762 · Oct 31, 2014

That GT stand looks great and at 100 bucks for a dozen, wow. Do they stand up pretty well?

jtischauser · Oct 31, 2014

David Marlow said:
That GT stand looks great and at 100 bucks for a dozen, wow. Do they stand up pretty well?

Not to a lawn mower they don't!

The only thing that has damaged either the MGM or GT I have is shooting them at under 3ish yards. That shot column is like a foot long slug at that distance!

All targets are cheap compared to the cost of clays and/or ammo.

drmitchgibson · Oct 31, 2014

Man, those GT clay stands really do look great.

Wall · Oct 31, 2014

The star they make is pretty fun.

charger arms · Oct 31, 2014

I found a stack of older electric fencing post. I need to cut the end short and tack weld them into a cross. Should set me back 10's of cents to make.

wgm2011 · Oct 31, 2014

I don't have access to a welder so I had to figure a different way to do it.

Pickup'd some 3' lengths of 1/2" rebar from Home Depot. Got some cheap muffler clamps from Amazon.

Viola, clay pigeon holders that show no wear and tear after a year of use.

The most time consuming part was putting a point on one end of the rebar with a grinder,

Bill

jtischauser · Oct 31, 2014

Flatland Shooter said:
I don't have access to a welder so I had to figure a different way to do it.

Pickup'd some 3' lengths of 1/2" rebar from Home Depot. Got some cheap muffler clamps from Amazon.

Viola, clay pigeon holders that show no wear and tear after a year of use.

The most time consuming part was putting a point on one end of the rebar with a grinder,

Bill

Seriously? No pic?

dennishoddy · Nov 1, 2014

Bogus unless you have pics and a part number.

I was mulling several things in my mind until this simple solution came up.

What diameter muffler clamp did you use? 3"?

MG23 · Nov 2, 2014

I was going to do the 1/2 rebar with the T welded on it, but would like to see this muffler clamp deal.

wgm2011 · Nov 2, 2014

I used the cheapest 2-1/4" clamps I could find on Amazon. I think I paid 68 cents each for a lifetime supply (around 20). I'd forgotten that the clamp by itself will not tighten down far enough to hold onto the 1/2" rebar. I took a 1x2 target stick and cut it into 2" long pieces and used it as a spacer.

Here are some on Amazon even cheaper.

http://www.amazon.com/Nickson-Industries-NIC00026-Heavy-Muffler/dp/B0039VAML4/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1414968385&sr=8-18&keywords=%22+MUFFLER+CLAMP

Bill

p.s. I'd be glad to post a picture but have no clue how to move one from my cell phone to the forum. High tech ain't my thing.

Burk Cornelius · Nov 2, 2014

Electric fence posts sounds good. The rebar seems like it would bend when you drive it in the ground

toothandnail · Nov 2, 2014

Burk Cornelius said:
Electric fence posts sounds good. The rebar seems like it would bend when you drive it in the ground

FYI: Many elect fence posts ARE made with rebar.

dennishoddy · Nov 2, 2014

Rebar is the junk steel of all steels. The Electric fence posts are a better steel if you have to weld on one, not to say the rebar can't be welded with the right rod.

wgm2011 · Nov 3, 2014

By staying with shorter lengths (3') of the 1/2" rebar I've not had a problem bending. And in places we have had some pretty hard ground.

If I needed some taller stands, I'd consider larger diameter rebar.

At several local (Texas Gulf Coast) clubs, folks have made plate stands out of rebar and a small flat plate about 3/8" thick. I've not done any welding in years but someone out there has found the right rod for the job. I don't recall ever seeing one of these break.

Bill

Troy · Nov 3, 2014

I made mine out of 4' 1/2" rebar. I don't have access to a welder so I drilled a hole about 3 inches from the top, threaded it, screwed a bolt in tight. I thougth about the hard ground I might encounter so i used a grinder to make a point for driving them into the ground.