Jul/Aug - uspsa

A Better
(Cheaper)
Rifle Target
Used bulldozer "ripper teeth" easily
withstand rifle fire, and are often available for
free at your local heavy equipment dealer. The
pock marks left on the right-hand tooth were
created by .30-06 ARMOR PIERCING ammunition.
5.56mm ball doesn't make a dent.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY SETH NADEL,
CL-89
uSPSA rifle shooters are constantly
searching for the perfect
reactive rifle target. Despite
the efforts of our best
target makers, their products all have
one negative factor — cost! No matter
how reasonably priced, someone still
has to come up with the long green to
compensate the maker for his work
and the expensive steel that he used as
raw material. I have found what I think
could be a near-perfect rifle target, in
that:
A. It is available in a variety of sizes
nationwide.
B. It is almost impervious to rifle
rounds, and best of all,
C. It is usually FREE.
The item I found is called a "ripper
tooth" in my part of the country. Ripper
teeth are hardened steel guards that
are placed over the teeth on backhoes,
dozers, and other pieces of heavy
equipment. In the smaller sizes they are
the removable teeth themselves. When
they wear out the teeth have no other
use (until now) and most heavy equipment
shops have a scrap pile out back,
where a variety of sizes can be found.
When I say hardened, I mean these
suckers are HARD! I test-fired mine
with a variety of rounds, starting with
.224 55-grain ball, then 7.62 NATO
ball, and finally some hot .30-06 ammunition.
I even, with some trepida-
tion (and safety precautions including
hiding behind cover and wearing a
kevlar helmet) fired on the teeth from
50 yards with .30-06 armor piercing
rounds. The result was a barely discernible
pin mark on the surface from
the tungsten carbide penetrator inside
the bullet. I have since used my targets
for more than a year, with a steady diet
of .223, 7.62X39, .308, 8mm, and .30-
06. The only damage to them is some
light scarring of the surface from using
.30-06 AP rounds.
I use my targets two ways: hanging,
or free standing. The hollow types of
teeth come with holes drilled through
them as the attachment points for their
original use. I hang mine off a piece of
chain, so they can swing freely when
hit, yet will self-reset in a moment.
[Hint: keep some extra chain and S-
hooks around — it is amazing how of-
Editor's Note:
When we received Mr. Nadel's article,
one of our staffers walked down
to Loggers and Contractors Supply
Co. here in Sedro Woolley and asked
if they had any worn out
ripper teeth. Sure enough,
they had several, and gave
us one out of their scrap
bin. Nearly impervious to
AR- l 5 fire, the teeth do
represent a cost-effective
way to practice with the destructive
.223 cartridge.
ten I miss the four-inch-wide target,
but hit and cut the chain!) They are
heavy enough that they do not swing in
the wind, at least in the spring winds up
to 60 MPH at my place. If you stand
them on their wide end, they flop over
nicely when hit, requiring a trip downrange
for a reset. It is possible that if
you were to mount one solidly, so it
could not move, you could crater or
even penetrate it, but that would do
away with one of the best features —
the hit indicator mode (falling or
swinging around).
The best part of these targets is the
price — most heavy equipment shops
consider them scrap, and will let you
have them just for hauling them away!
For the price, they are an outstanding
practice rifle target — one of the best I
have found yet!
However, because these parts are
worn, they have very few flat surfaces.
USPSA encourages shooters to use
great care when choosing and setting
up the teeth in order to avoid ricochets.
(Try suspending them from a
steel bar running through
the attachment hole, so
that any ricochets and
splatter will be directed
down.)
Do not use them at close
ranges, and set them close
to the backstop in order to
contain edge hits.
July/August 2002 • FRONT SIGHT 27