Review: Range Rabbit MegaBase V3

December 06, 2016

If you compete in "practical" shooting, like IDPA or IPSC, you probably want to practice on the kind of targets you see in matches. You'll need cardboard, lath , staples, and a base. This review will focus on the base, specifically our MegaBase.

The MegaBase is a steel target stand that holds standard target lath (lath are wooden uprights, rhyme with math), or with the removal of a few bolts, you can use 1x2s. 1x2s are more expensive and heavier, but are easier to find in small communities. Our base also will hold a single 2x4 upright for 'tactical' targets, and I'll come back to that at the end. Holes at each corner make it easy for you to spike them in place (spikes sold separately).

Many people are used to seeing competition bases made from lumber, the classic 2x4 'H Stand'; we make ours entirely from of steel, for a few reasons:

1. They are built to last. If you use these bases at your club, people will be beating on them mercilessly. They get thrown in and out of trucks, piled randomly outside your storage shed, pounded with hammers, and used as levers to get the spikes out of the ground. Steel can take it.

2. You can carry six or eight at a time. Most people can only carry four wooden bases at a time, but your load of MegaBases is limited mostly by your arm length. Sounds like a silly thing, but at 8 AM on a Sunday, I want to get set up fast and start shooting.

3. Unlike wood, steel bases don't absorb shrapnel. If you shoot steel near your cardboard targets, the splash embeds in your wood target stands and if you have delicate skin like I do, the little bits of shrapnel can cut your hands.

4. MegaBases can support steel targets. A single vertical 2x4, cut to whatever length you choose, drops right in. If you have Steel Challenge targets, they'll fit on top; we sell a 2x4 Cap that sits atop the lumber and will mount any target with 4" hole spacing. We also sell a version with 8" hole spacing for larger targets. This base actually allows you to mount a steel target and cardboard target together, so you get the fun of shooting steel with the feedback of seeing where your missing rounds went!

In summary, MegaBases are a reliable and versatile foundation for your target system. Thanks for reading; I'll see you at the range!