By Lincoln Wyatt — co-owner of Wyatt Targets. We've hung steel every one of these ways. Most of them taught us what to sell instead.
A steel target is only as good as what it hangs from. Here are the five ways people actually hang steel, ranked from "fine" to "why we built a company around option five" — with honest pros and cons for each.
5. Improvised: tires, pallets, sawhorses
Cost: free-ish. Setup: creative. Lifespan: one range trip. A plate lashed to an old tire or leaned on a pallet technically works — until it doesn't. Improvised mounts hold steel at unpredictable angles, and angle is a safety variable, not a style choice (steel should lean slightly toward the shooter to drive splatter into the dirt — see our distance and angle guide). Fun for a plinking afternoon; not a system.
4. Welded steel stands
Cost: $150–500+. Setup: heavy. Lifespan: excellent — if you baby it. Purpose-built welded stands are stable and look professional. Two problems: you pay target-money for the furniture, and every weld is a future failure point — one splatter-eaten weld and the stand's a repair project. They're also the heaviest thing you'll carry to the range that doesn't go bang.
3. Wood 2×4 stands
Cost: ~$30 lumber + hardware. Setup: a Saturday. Lifespan: consumable. The classic DIY: two upright 2×4s in a base, plate bolted or chained across. It genuinely works, and replacing a shot-up upright costs $4. The catches: you're hauling lumber, assembly lives in your truck bed, and misses eat the uprights fast when new shooters are learning. A solid choice — we just think there's a lazier one.
2. Gallows frame + chain
Cost: $100–300. Setup: semi-permanent. Lifespan: long. A horizontal bar between two posts, plates hanging on chain. Great for target lines and clubs — plates swing freely, chains are cheap to replace. It's what we'd build for a fixed home range. But it's infrastructure, not portability: post holes, a level, and a commitment.
1. T-post + hanger (our pick, and our product — so grade accordingly)
Cost: ~$10 post + a hanger. Setup: five minutes with a driver. Lifespan: years. Full disclosure: we sell this solution, so of course it's our number one. Here's the reasoning, and you can judge it: a standard farm-store T-post is the cheapest target stand ever mass-produced — galvanized, ubiquitous, and designed to be pounded into dirt. Drop a heavy steel hanger over the top and the plate hangs with the correct forward lean automatically, swings to bleed energy, and resets itself. No welds to break, no lumber to replace, no frame to haul. When a post finally gets shot ragged, it's ten dollars.
It's also the only method on this list where the whole setup fits behind a truck seat: post, driver, hanger, plate. Our step-by-step is here: how to hang steel on a T-post in five minutes.
The comparison, honestly
| Method | Cost | Portable? | Maintenance | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Improvised | $0 | Sort of | Constant | One afternoon |
| Welded stand | $150–500 | No | Weld repairs | Clubs with a welder |
| 2×4 stand | ~$30 | Truck bed | Replace lumber | DIYers |
| Gallows + chain | $100–300 | No | Chains | Fixed home ranges |
| T-post + hanger | ~$40 all-in | Yes | ~None | Everyone else |
Whatever you hang from: correct distance for your caliber, lead-core ammo only, glasses on. The full rules live on our safety page.
Ready to try the lazy way? Start with the Starter Steel Bundle (33% silhouette + hanger) or browse all hangers and mounts.
Safety: follow minimum distances, lead-core ammo only, eye protection always. Use at your own risk.