IPSC Hostage Target
We’re having WAY too much fun here! We call this new target the Hostage Target, even though you wouldn’t shoot at a hostage. It is really a head sized target behind a hostage, like a terrorist holding a grandma, or something similar, but we couldn’t come up with a name that didn’t project images of blood and brains, so we settled on the "Hostage Target".
We start with our standard 500 Brinell full size IPSC silhouette target which is 18" wide, by 30" tall. The body is 24" tall, the head is an additional 6" x 6", to get to 30". On the back of this, we welded two tabs that allow us to mount a removable 1" diameter solid round bar. We then have an 8" diameter target on a bracket that can slide left to right on the round bar. This enables the person calling the shots (no pun intended) to be able to expose any amount of the terrorist he that he/she chooses to, varying the degree of shot difficulty. The round can be positioned all the way to either side, or at any point in between.
The 8" round also has an adjustable bracket mounted on the back of it. Depending on which set of bolt holes you use, the 8" round will fall down and out of sight, or it will react, but stay up where it can be shot again. The "stay up" feature eliminates the need to reset the target after every shot. The fall down feature is great for competitions, where you want there to be no question as to whether or not the target was hit. In either case, frequent re-painting will ultimately tell the tale. There are two set collars included, so you can "lock" the target in place. This would be necessary if you wanted to be sure that all your shooters had the same shot to make.
This target utilizes our standard post and base combination, putting the top of the shoulder at 5’ tall. There is a structural tube base, with a structural tube post. The post telescopes on to the top of the base, and on to a tube mounted on the back of the target. You can shoot the post tube anyplace (except at ground level) and you will still be able to slide it off of the target. Usually, if the overlapping area isn’t protected, a misplaced round will dent both tubes, eliminating the possibility of sliding the outer one off of the inner one.
In passing, I need to mention that if you need different silhouette shapes, the most difficult part is letting us know exactly what it is you want. We do lots of custom cutting. While one of a kind is pricey, several units we can do relatively inexpensively. Give us a try. I’m betting you’ll be glad you did.