Last year, a good friend delivered a 24″ x 24″ piece of thick AR 500 steel from a local vendor. Nick and I had taken a tour of the vendor’s factory and casually mentioned that if a piece of steel ever fell off a truck, we’d be happy to take it off their hands. We both promptly forgot about it until said friend sent me a Skype message to let me know that he had a large piece of steel riding around in his truck killing his gas mileage. That gift quickly became a problem as it did not have a single attachment point to hang it from anything . . .
I managed to solve that problem with a ratcheting tie down strap and two C clamps. Unfortunately, I needed to build a frame to support the whole thing, and my options were mostly wooden. The problem with a wooden frame is that it gets chewed up pretty quickly by errant shots. Enter The Last Stand Target System which helps connect pieces of rebar into a very functional target stand system that can easily be moved, repositioned, or otherwise modified to the user’s liking.
Full disclosure: I’m really bad about reading directions. The LSTS requires six pieces of 1/2″ rebar, and I only bought five. The sixth piece helps stabilize the beam your targets hang from, and mine was certainly a bit wobbly thanks to my mistake. You live, you learn, you read the directions. Maybe.
Assembly of the LS is a snap. Simply push your “leg” pieces of rebar through the slots, and pull outwards to lock them in place, then thread two (count ’em…two) pieces of 1/2″ rebar through the top. Once set in place, feel free to hang whatever you want from the main beam. Height of the target can be adjusted by moving the legs up and down inside the plastic pieces. And since they can move independently, you can also use this to create a stand system on uneven terrain.
Once my target was hung, I was happily ringing steel for hours without any issues. I didn’t manage to shoot the plastic pieces but they look to be made of the same material as those fancy self healing targets you see out and about. I wouldn’t shoot them a lot, but an errant bullet isn’t going to end your day of shooting. As for the rebar, it’s rebar. Shoot at it. Unless you score a direct hit with a magnum round starting with a 3 or above, I doubt you’re going to kill it. And even if you do, a replacement can be had almost anywhere for about $3.00.
From a stability perspective, I was quite pleased with the LS system. It creates a very stable A-frame that held up to lots and lots of .223. But I know you expect a full review. So I kicked the plate while screaming,”This is Sparta!” and it just laughed at me. So I feel comfortable recommending it for your heavy hitting magnum calibers.
Rating (out of five stars):
Overall Rating * * * * *
This is a solid little system. It’ll run you $39.99 + shipping ($6 to Texas) for the two blocks of plastic and another $18 or so for the rebar. It’s definitely not the prettiest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on, but based on my experience, I’d say it truly is the last target stand system you’d ever need to buy.
Cool.
Looks promising, but whats gonna happen when that target plate gets to swinging?
You get a strip off an old tire and rig it to just touch the bottom of the target to act like a friction stop.
Push the bottom of the target to the rear.
Hammer a stake into the ground just in front of the target.
OR IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IT PERPENDICULAR TO YOU
Hammer a stake into the ground just behind the target.
What happens? The plate swings. What else? I have this and it is quite stable. In fact, the more weight you have hanging from it, the more stable it is. Also, as designed, you are suppose to run two rebars across, not like the single one shown in this review. User error. The author didn’t RTFM.
I’d like that hunk of steel! That’s a sweet long range target.
What can you do – not do in metalworking AR-500?
Would oxy/acetylene ruin the temper? How tough to drill is it? Etc, etc…
And Tyler –
I’ve seen some folks sit the plate inside an old truck tire as a means of controlling the splatter and then rope the tire to a cross-beam. What are the downsides to doing that?
Does the tire dampen the ringing of the steel? That would be a huge downside for me.
It probably would dampen out the ‘ring’…
Only if there is water in the tire
Interesting. Somehow I knew it would be overpriced. Forty six dollars delivered for approximately $1.10 worth of material, no thanks. Now $12.50 delivered and I might be interested.
Same, the price is too high for me too. Love the idea, but not as much as I love $50.
+1
Plus one more!
You guys know what is really cheap? – a sheet of paper.
I truly wish I could offer them for $12.50..but my actual hard costs to produce a set is actually higher than even that figure… The material and machine time are very high for this type of thermoplastic and the wall thickness creates very long cycle times (and only 1 at a time).. But…It does make for a damn strong part that will serve you well…
Internet hi-five for addressing public comments. Thanks Greg!
Well done Greg. Maintaining a presence when your product is being discussed is EXACTLY the right move from a marketing perspective.
And because of him standing up, I just placed an order.
Greg I have bought this. I’m actually going to buy another two. I have been to a few gun shows and for a frame plus AR-500 plate it’s well in the 100 dollar area. Your stand has gone thru at least 1000 rounds. Mostly 5.56 but and a dozen or so .50 Beowulf rounds. Your stand can take a 5.56 really nice. I’m going to try a .308 because my .50 beowulf at 200 yards knocks it down. The set up I run on the stand is Ar-500 plates. 8 inch, 7inch, and 6Inch. My other two setups will be similar. 1 with three 4inch plates for pistols and the other will be 8,6,4 inch. This stand works great and a few of my buddy laughed when I pulled it out. Now they have their own. I would recommend it. It’s cheap trust me. I’ve looked.
If you gave free shipping and did it on ebay or amazon people would be all over this! Myself included
WOW! What a bunch of cheap bastards on here. Seriously you buzzards it’s only fifty freakin’ dollars!!!
You must be the one guy in ND who’s not a cheap bastard. 🙂
– Kris in ND
LOL! I know a few others who aren’t 🙂
Right? That’s less than the wife and I burn in ammo on our regular trips to the range. (2 or 3 firearms each and 100 rnds per). Dinner out and the off to the range? That’s what we refer to as “Date Night”.
Received mine and they are a very nice and substantial. If it wasn’t 5 below zero . . .
I finally got to take my stand out an use it. Love it! Portable and easy to setup.
As for the targets swinging, that’s what they do. The target settles down in a matter of seconds with no outside forces.
Looks like a good deal. I see metal equivalents well over $100.
Evening gowns with sleeves are nice for ladies which can be pursuing modesty of their dress put on. A good
chiffon or Georgette dress having lace fleshlight
sleeves is just simply the factor for a formal affair or just as special occasion clothes.
Some good shades shall be wine drinks, maroon, royal blue, aubergine and emerald green. Do not mixture prints with the assistance of evening dress with fleshlight sleeves as that can look really hideous.
my site herve swimwear, Arlie,
Comments are closed.