My local Range does not provide nor maintain wind flags on our 50m rimfire range, so every shooter is on their own for flags that have to be set up and taken down each session. I wanted a system that is light, portable, flags packable in a small volume, and low hassle for quick set up and take down.
We have a heated shooting house here on our 50m range and we can shoot all winter out the window ports, so changing snow depths and frozen ground are variables. They plow a walkway to the targets leaving snowbanks in random places. The ground is frozen hard for part of the year when a flag stand stake is not going to work. I needed a stand base that can sit on grass or snow, and is adjustable in height for the changing snow depth.
Nordic Marksman sells a premium wind flag set from Sichtkraft for IBU/ISSF standards. Made of steel and aluminum, will last a lifetime, reasonable cost, well worth it, and I would have bought it in a heartbeat (and I would figure out a way to make a snow base for the uprights)...BUT... My Range's rules do not allow metal stands mid-range. So no can do.
So, it was DIY time. This is what I came up with so far and have been using these for a couple of years:
Stand showing cantilever style flag. The stand is made of 1x2 softwood.
Stand tipped over, showing the base. The 1x2 is not fastened and can slide down inside like this to adjust for snow depth. Snow gets hip deep sometimes. Also packs away better in my truck without base attached.
Polyethylene tubing (1/4" ID, 3/8" OD) for the cantilever arm. That tubing wants to curl, so I chiseled a shallow V notch in the 1x2 so it would stay snug and sort of straight with the zip ties. The electrical tape was to prevent tube slipping out. In this photo I just noticed that the bottom zip tie must have moved up a bit. I should slide it down.
I used fishing tackle stainless wire for the cantilever arm.
The wire is 0.031" diam. Alone this was too light and it would blow out of the tube. So I added fishing leader sleeve clamps as weights that can spin freely (uncrimped). Brass swivels and split rings for the attachment. Red 1.5" ribbon from arts and craft store.
Top is doubled over for more bite for the brass grommet. I added clear packing tape to the windward edge to stiffen it as a blade, and it seems to work well to spin the flag longitudinally. This spin stabilizes the direction, minimizing random flapping, although it does flap somewhat, so its not perfect.
The flags and arms store compactly in a plastic sandwich-sized food container.
Performance: Fairly good for my first attempt. But some issues:
The thin wire and weights are very light, and in strong gusts these flags will sometimes blow out of the tube. The fishing tackle wire length available was only 8 inches, not really long enough. To improve the design, I would like to find longer stainless wire for the vertical arm of the cantilever so it stays in the tube better.
Also, that fishing tackle wire is so light the flags can sometimes be confusingly active. An improvement might be heavier gauge wire to dampen down the movement a tad. I might buy the heavier wire Sichtkraft cantilever arm that NM sells, but they are currently out of stock as I write this.
Meanwhile I am searching for stainless straight wire larger diameter than 0.031”.
We have a heated shooting house here on our 50m range and we can shoot all winter out the window ports, so changing snow depths and frozen ground are variables. They plow a walkway to the targets leaving snowbanks in random places. The ground is frozen hard for part of the year when a flag stand stake is not going to work. I needed a stand base that can sit on grass or snow, and is adjustable in height for the changing snow depth.
Nordic Marksman sells a premium wind flag set from Sichtkraft for IBU/ISSF standards. Made of steel and aluminum, will last a lifetime, reasonable cost, well worth it, and I would have bought it in a heartbeat (and I would figure out a way to make a snow base for the uprights)...BUT... My Range's rules do not allow metal stands mid-range. So no can do.
So, it was DIY time. This is what I came up with so far and have been using these for a couple of years:
Stand showing cantilever style flag. The stand is made of 1x2 softwood.
Stand tipped over, showing the base. The 1x2 is not fastened and can slide down inside like this to adjust for snow depth. Snow gets hip deep sometimes. Also packs away better in my truck without base attached.
Polyethylene tubing (1/4" ID, 3/8" OD) for the cantilever arm. That tubing wants to curl, so I chiseled a shallow V notch in the 1x2 so it would stay snug and sort of straight with the zip ties. The electrical tape was to prevent tube slipping out. In this photo I just noticed that the bottom zip tie must have moved up a bit. I should slide it down.
I used fishing tackle stainless wire for the cantilever arm.
The wire is 0.031" diam. Alone this was too light and it would blow out of the tube. So I added fishing leader sleeve clamps as weights that can spin freely (uncrimped). Brass swivels and split rings for the attachment. Red 1.5" ribbon from arts and craft store.
Top is doubled over for more bite for the brass grommet. I added clear packing tape to the windward edge to stiffen it as a blade, and it seems to work well to spin the flag longitudinally. This spin stabilizes the direction, minimizing random flapping, although it does flap somewhat, so its not perfect.
The flags and arms store compactly in a plastic sandwich-sized food container.
Performance: Fairly good for my first attempt. But some issues:
The thin wire and weights are very light, and in strong gusts these flags will sometimes blow out of the tube. The fishing tackle wire length available was only 8 inches, not really long enough. To improve the design, I would like to find longer stainless wire for the vertical arm of the cantilever so it stays in the tube better.
Also, that fishing tackle wire is so light the flags can sometimes be confusingly active. An improvement might be heavier gauge wire to dampen down the movement a tad. I might buy the heavier wire Sichtkraft cantilever arm that NM sells, but they are currently out of stock as I write this.
Meanwhile I am searching for stainless straight wire larger diameter than 0.031”.
(rimfire messes with the mind!).
