One thing our range doesn't have is electricity. Is anyone here familiar with moving targets that either don't need AC current?

Note: Our range is also classified as a wildlife refuge, so groundhogs don't count.

H. C.

Henry,

I think some ranges use "pedal power" for moving targets. You'd need an old bicycle (use the bare rim as the drive pulley?), some pulleys and rope, and a berm for the "peddler" to sit behind. Like the old clothesline rig.

I shot in a 3D archery match and they used gravity for the moving target (wire stretched at an angle on a hillside), you had to shoot while the target was located between two particular points, so the speed was the same for all competitors. Then they just pulled it back up the cable and did it again for the next guy.

Good luck and have fun,

Bill

saw this one on a show about police snipers.

toy RC truck.
string, balloons and helium.

for added effect put two diffrent color balloons on and only try to hit one color. they did this to simulate a hostage and captor they had to shoot the red balloon without hitting the yellow one. tehy did this because buget cuts didnt let them get the "real" moving target trainer.

UNSTABLE I SAW THAT SHOW TOO.. NEAT CHEAP IDEA.

I heard about a guy who would tie balloons to a radio controlled 4X4. Sounds like it would work.

Whoops, didn't see your post, Unstable.

I had started building a "charging buffalo" target. I may go back to working on it. The engine that pulls the water balloon is the most difficult part of the design. My first try was bicycle based. I wanted to have the same speed each time so the aparatus could be used for an unbiased contest, if desired.

A water balloon hanging from a pulley would be pulled along a clothesline toward the shooter. I had made a wooden pulley to replace one of the pedals on a discarded 10-speed bicycle. The bicyle hangs from the roof beams of a covered firing line, and a weight hangs from a rope wound round the wooden pulley. When the tyreless rear wheel of the bicycle is released, the weight begins to drop, and the rear wheel of the bicycle begins to pull the water balloon toward the shooter. Optionally, the shooter could play PH, and the water balloon could be reeled in toward his "client".

I have found it difficult to design a way of holding the bicycle still enough that the rope doesn't lip off the wooden pulley. I am considering something else altogether. I may just take the handle off acheap fishing reel and reel in the water balloon using a cordless drill. The fishing rod is all set up with eyelets, and I can play with the drill speed and drag settings so the water balloon moves fast enough and the reel doesn't catch fire. I figure I only have $4 of rummage sale money at risk with this design, and no more days of frustration trying to hang a bicycle steady on a demountable setup that is easy to haul back and forth to the range.

There are several "games" I thought of.

The shooter could release the rear wheel with his firing hand, as if he and the "buffalo" had seen each other at the same time and the rifle needed to be mounted while the charge was starting.

Two balloons could hang from the pulley, and the shooter could fire at one, at which point an assistant could release the rear wheel. Depending on how good his first shot was, the shooter has one or two charging targets to deal with.

Any of these (except maybe the PH/client setup) are likely to raise the eyebrows of range safety officers and other "old women".* A completely rational person does not want to be standing within range of somebody trying to dodge a 45 mile-and-hour water balloon and shoot a rifle at the same time. It's possible a fence of chicken wire to break the balloon would keep the shooter from getting bruised and spread out the water so that dodging is futile in any event.

Air balloons would probably be acceptable, but the clothesline pulley is apt to get shot here and there, since the balloon will be right behind it. Maybe just enough water in an air-filled balloon would keep it hanging low, but it wouldn't be heavy enough to knock out the shooter or his "client".

I like the RC 4-wheeler idea a lot. I hadn't seen that one on TV. Did they use helium balloons?

H. C.

*Robert Ruark,It Takes a Gentleman to Approach Another Gentleman"

yeah they used heilium.

I could use my RC truck.. its kinda slow... only does 30MPH

for the balloon idea, you could try a old car starter and a car batt. it will be heavy but you can run it many times without worrying about the charge of a cordless drill dieing on you.

We used to put a piece of cardboard inside an old car tire then roll it down the hill. It really gets to bouncing when it hits the rocks. It makes a great deer sized moving target. You have to have just the right area for this to be safe though. Sort of one hill in front of another type of situation so that there is a good backstop for the bullets.