Idea's For Walls

[Al Capizzo]

I'd like to get some ideas as to what you all are using as walls and vision barriers. Trying to find alternatives to plywood and 2x4's. We've got to move everything to a trailer when the match is over and that stuff is heavy.

I saw Springfields DVD of the World Match and they were using some sort of close mesh netting with PVC pipe. Anyone know where to find this type netting?

Any other ideas?

Thanks,

Al

[EricW]

No clue on the netting, but the local club uses wooden frames with what resembles black landscaping fabric. Very light, but acts as a true vision barrier.

[Guest qstick]

In matt Burkett's video it appears that they are using orange "snow fence" being held in place by 2 x 4's. That stuff is available at a Lowe's or Home Depot pretty cheap and might work out.

Good Luck,

Zach

[Flexmoney]

I shot a match a few weeks ago that had wall that were made light. (wood frame, plastic "wall" material).

We had high winds that day...this stuff wanted to take off like a kite.

If you make something that acts like a sail...make sure it is secured well.

[Tom Mainus]

Al,

What we use at our club is a combination of both. We have some wall sections that are made out of 2x2 and we screwed 4x8 sheets of plywood to them. Very durable but like you said, they are heavy. Most of these walls are the ones that we have cut various ports in to shoot through.

The other type of wall we have is the same frame as the plywood ones. but instead of the plywood we have stapled the orange snow fence to them. They are extremely light and easy to carry. We drill holes in the bottoms for stakes. Then we drill holes in the tops as well. We made a bunch of rebar braces to hold them up. We bent the top to slide through the holes, and welded a washer to the bottom to stake them down. The only draw back to the snow fence is you have to be gentle when handling them as not to pull the fencing from the frame.

Hope this helps,

Tom Mainus

[Mo Zee]

I'd like to get some ideas as to what you all are using as walls and vision barriers. Trying to find alternatives to plywood and 2x4's. We've got to move everything to a trailer when the match is over and that stuff is heavy.

I saw Springfields DVD of the World Match and they were using some sort of close mesh netting with PVC pipe. Anyone know where to find this type netting?

Any other ideas?

Thanks,

Al

Al,

You might be fimiliar with the material. It is actually called shade netting. Used for car shades or anything outdoors that needs to avoid direct sunlight. When it was put together , all that was needed was PVC like you mentioned and the shade netting was sewn around each pvc pole. This was great because not only was it light but very cheap. The only problem came in when they were biulding the bases for them to be seated in. Not sure what they used, but I am sure you can use your imagination for that. Remember if that is the route you are going to go make sure that the bases are very very strong...

Regards

Mo Zee

Johannesburg

South Africa

[Phil Dunlop]

Al,

we use a similar set up over here, using steel pipe with hangers mounted in a plastic umbrella stand filled with sand.

We make up a frame out of light steel pipe and weld on brackets at each end, to attatch them to the upright and then staple shade cloth over them to form the wall.

They are light, versatile, cheap and easily stored.

P.D.

[Thomas Moore]

depending on the stituation i would use the orange snow fence if see through the wall didn't matter, and it lets the wind blow through. if vision is a concern then i would use the blue tarp material.

[Al Capizzo]

These are great ideas! Thanks for the replies.

Al

[Wildman]

Orange snow fence stapled to 2x2 frames, up to 10 feet long. We tie them to steel fence posts driven to meet stage requirements. Great in the wind, and allow the RO to check the range before running the next shooter.

[shred]

Best wall material ever: Surplus "Vote for Me" election signs. Big ones.

Completely opaque, super light, easily modified via Spyderco and free! (honest folks will call the campaign office and ask if they can take down the signs after the election-- they always agree)

The actual material is called something like "Cloroplast" and is also available in 4x8 sheets in various colors for a few bucks a sheet if there aren't any elections coming up.

Screw a frame of furring strips around the edge to add stability and rigidity if needed.

Clubs that have soft enough ground zip-tie these to fenceposts driven into the ground. We have some collapsible wall-stands from Lecks that work well if sufficiently weighted.

[BDH]

Currently we use 2 x 2's and plywood, and as everyone has said, these are heavy, and have to be braced well in wind. The next batch of walls we build will probably be with the orange snowfence. As Wildman said, the wind goes right through them, AND when you have a stage with lots of wall segments, it is easy for the stage RO to check to see that the stage is completely clear.

One caution when using the orange snowfence is you need to be careful if you have a target that is partially covered, or swings behind this type of wall. The issue is that a shot 'could' go through an opening in the mesh, which could cause some scoring issues (especially with a swinger). Of course solutions to this are to either use a solid wall in place of the mesh at this position in the stage (best), or to hang a no-shoot on the mesh to take away a shot through the wall (okay, but far from perfect).

I do like EricW's suggestion of the black landscape material, because it acts as a complete vision barrier (although, you give up the benefit of being able to see downrange). Maybe a combination of the orange mesh and black landscape materials would be a good fit. Where you need the true vision barrier, use the black.... where you need a wall, but would like to be able to see downrange, use the orange mesh.

Sounds like a wall building day in my future.......

[dajarrel]

BDH,

Because you can shoot through the orange stuff, we typically use it as a soft cover and allow or built the cof to encourgage shots throught it. If we want hard cover we use black poly sheeting which gives complete visual blockage plus shows a bullet hole if shot through. Both the orange stuff and the black poly can be built on a 2x2 frame if properly braced and most of the time be reused afterward. When we shoot indoors, we just use the magic duct tape and drape the sheeting from the target tracks to make lanes or walls.

BTW, it sure is fun to watch the open gunners with thier fire-breathers shoot through the orange fence material or a port in the black plastic. (sometimes makes it ruff on reusing the plastic )

Dennis

[BigDave]

Two topics of caution:

Snow Fence - is brittle when cold under a staple gun (actually shatters). Plastic Cap roofing nails would likely be a better alternative for attachment

Black Plastic - it too acts like a sail and can be very tricky to attach without it being too tight (and prone to tear under wind load) or too loose (and prone to acting like Old Glory in the wind)

Plywood is by far the most durable. Has anyone tried to use 1/4" plywood or luan? What about builders grade, photo finish paneling? Those would be lighter than the 1/2" stuff. All are pretty cheap too.

[BDH]

Because you can shoot through the orange stuff, we typically use it as a soft cover and allow or built the cof to encourgage shots throught it. If we want hard cover we use black poly sheeting which gives complete visual blockage plus shows a bullet hole if shot through.

Dennis, sure this works well for soft cover (although, we generally use black plastic sheeting for our softcover). I really like the idea of the orange stuff for hardcover walls, because it allows the RO to see downrange. I highlighted the issue of having to be aware of potential shoot throughs on swingers, etc. because this actually happened last year in Bend.

Snow Fence - is brittle when cold under a staple gun (actually shatters). Plastic Cap roofing nails would likely be a better alternative for attachment.

BigDave, excellent point, and I completely forget about that issue!! Of course, unlike you Hoosiers, it isn't normally 30 F, snow, sleet, hail, rain, etc., during our matches! Maybe the idea of the orange snowfence is more for the Southern clubs. As far as attachment, roofing nails are probably better for attachment than staples, although if I remember the walls we used in Bend correctly...... I think they built 2 x 2 frames, stretched the snowfence over them (probably tacked it with staples) and then screwed 1 x 2's over the 2 x 2's, trapping the snowfence inbetween.

[scooterj]

Most of the clubs in the southern Louisiana area use luan ply-wood screwed to a 1"x1" square tubing frame. Feet for the walls are 6" wide x 18" long 1/4" flat bar or sheet metal with either 3 or 4 pieces of larger square tubing welded to it (one foot can be used to hold more than one wall) holes on each end of the feet allow them to be staked to the ground. When 2 or more walls are together at right angles, wind is not usually a problem.

We repaint the luan every year or so and store them in a shed. Some have been around for 6 or 7 years. Ports can be cut and covered with a no-shoot if not needed.

[JFD]

Our last MD started a new wall building project last year and I plan to continue it this year.

Our lightweight walls are PVC frame made to fit blue tarps. He bought some kind of bungee cords to attach the tarps. I'll have to locate the bungee cords, but basically they are 2 plastic knobs attached to a short length of elastic cord. A tire or concrete block(s) takes care of any tendency to take flight during high winds.