AR500 target keeps jumping off hanger?

[M1NM]

How about hanging with a couple links of chain?

[paratroop]

so the simple answer is to tighten the nut.

[edgerly779]

Put a spacer block behind lower quadrant at the angle you are using now impact is driving plate upwards. Not rocket science. Should be a hole not slot in hanger poor design by non shooter engineer.

[ShadowX]

Is the plate coming off the mount or is the entire mount/plate coming off the post? I was assuming your problem was the entire plate and the mount was coming off your post, not just the plate. I didn't realize the top of the bolt hole where the plate is mounted is actually a U slot until now. With a U slot, it would slip over the gap if there is an impact force that is in a vertical direction. With the plate angled, you will get those vertical forces as the bullet ricochet off of the plate.

I suggest you bend the mount until its parallel to the plate and before you bolt the plate in place, put in two part epoxy in the back. You want the plate to be solid and not slip off the mount hole. A spacer may not help you in this case and make it worse since its softer, deflects more and would slip off the mount easier. Only problem with epoxy is that may be damaged with shock load over time. Maybe a better material is a rubberized durable material like what they use in car truck beds.

Like Edgerly779 said, the hole should be a thru hole and not a slotted hole. That is a poor design without evaluating the forces on the bracket.

[edgerly779]

^^^^ What I said. Should have been a hole not a slot.

[ShadowX]

You want no gaps between the plate and your mount. Your current setup is very bad with those large gaps. I know the angle of the bracket is not correct because the plate is hitting the pole, but you have to either tighten down the bolt until the plate bends or bend them with a vise to the right angle before installing it on the post. Tighten down that mounting bolt hard. If its a 1/4 bolt, tighten it to 12 ft-lbs. If its a 5/16 bolt, the torque is 25 ft-lbs. If you have a spot welder, a nice bead of weld across the seams of the bracket would ensure it would not come off again. You can also weld a piece of metal across the U slot to not allow the plate to jump off also. It would become essentially a thru hole instead.

[MarikinaMan]

I removed the washer and will be torquing the bolts down.

The angle of the mounts is what attracted me to these. I can shoot them up close and it will splash bullets straight down.

I'll try the above solution. If it doesn't work, I'll get captured bolt hangers for long range shooting. These I will retain for short range work as they are easy to set up and break down.

[boopiejones]

If you have access to a welder, I would add a little tab to the top of the hanger so that you can leave the nut loose but it cannot slip off without completely unthreading it.

[Bansh88]

Zip ties or little bailing wire.

[ShadowX]

An easier way is to get two oversized fender washers that fits the bolt and epoxy them around slot on the bracket. Put one washer on each side of the U shaped hole. Now the slot will be a thru hole and the plate should not come off anymore. Use plenty of epoxy to bond the washers to the bracket.

[vinconco]

SOLUTION

Unfortunately there is NO WAY to keep that target on the hanger the way it is designed. I know because I designed a very similar system for my target line HANG FAST TARGETS. Larger high energy rounds WILL knock it off no matter what you do. The open ended slot the bolt slips over will not keep the plate on.

Here is the FINAL SOLUTION to your problem and it will work with your plate.
Notice that the mounting hole is closed so the plate can not knock off. T posts are available at any home improvement store for under 5 bucks and last longer than 2 x 4's with no splinters or embedded jacket fragments to cut your hands.

https://hangfasttargets.com/products/fail-safe-target-hanger

[dousan]

Tie wire
Or grind down mount and weld a small plate so it's a enclosed instead of hook and the bolt can still go thru

Piece of mild steel is cheap and if u suck at welded, it doesnt matter. Just make it stick

[Zamble]

What about cut the notch deeper, then heat and bend the bracket a little higher. That way it wouldn't jump out.

[vinconco]

What about cut the notch deeper, then heat and bend the bracket a little higher. That way it wouldn't jump out.

After much trial and error with the exact same problem I have to tell you....sorry..... it doesn't work. What happens is the bullet impacts below the bolt and the upward plume of spall impacts the bolt and lifts it straight up... and out. Another way it happens is a dead center head shot rotates the target plate up and out.

I made a video that shows a similar target on basically the same slotted mount (with the notch deeper and the slot bent up just as you described). I was trying to solve the same problem with knock offs and I was close but it would still come off at 100 yards with a 308. (the knock off happens around 3:50 in the video) That is how I came up with the FAIL SAFE HANGER.

This VIDEO shows the FAIL SAFE HANGER with a light 6 inch plate being hit with a 12 gauge slug and a 308 @ 25 yards. NOTHING can knock it off.

[hermosabeach]

The EPDM rubber strap would get my vote.

Down both sides of the post and over the connector bolt.


For those using the T- posts.... my creative option was buying 2 lightly used 18" hammer drill bits.

I already had a cordless hammerdrill.

So easy to drill the ground in 5-6 spots before driving in the T post.