Hang ‘N Hook Target Stand Review

 

Hang ‘N Hook Target Stand Review

By: Opie

Advertising is everywhere. All throughout your day a multitude of companies are vying for your attention and ultimately your dollar. The labels on your cereal boxes, the jingles on the radio and even the brand of computer prominently displayed on your favorite show is all advertising. While an exact number is tough to pin down, it is safe to say you are exposed to thousands of instances of advertising every day. 

Almost everything you do online is tracked, compiled, analyzed and sold to advertisers so that they can focus their efforts on the people most likely to buy their specific product. Being the typical online tacti-geek it’s no surprise that I would occasionally be shown an advertisement for a shooting related product. A couple of months ago a video popped up in my social media feed that I consider darn near perfect long form advertising. 

The 2 minute video was trying to sell me something called the “Hang ‘N Hook” Target Kit (see below). The spokesman speaks in a relatable country twang and cracks jokes in a rapid fire way that blends in physical comedy, sound effects and banjo music to sell a kit that lets you build a target stand with 1” conduit. The video shows the stand in action, the ease of setup and lays out what is included in the kit. Then it wraps up with a concise sales pitch that is likeable. I’m rarely sold on a product just by the advertising that is presented but the humor and charm sold me on the first viewing. That’s a rarity. 

So what exactly is this kit? It is made from ¼” powder coated steel and includes two brackets and four hooks. The brackets are designed so the 1” conduit goes through the top hole and the two angles on the bottom slip into smaller pieces of conduit that form the legs of the stand. The hooks ride on the conduit between the brackets. The stand looks like an anorexic saw horse but it’s sturdy. The hooks have a loop at the top that the conduit goes into and this allows you to hang your target and have it swing.

I spent $20 for the conduit from a big box store. I cut it myself lest I die of old age trying to track a worker down. I bought two, ten foot sticks and cut them collectively into one 80” section and four 40” sections. This allows one long beam for the top portion of the stand and four reasonably sized legs. 

The video mentions that the kit can be assembled in under 60 seconds and that’s no exaggeration. The very first time I assembled it in 45 seconds. Not only is the kit simple, it’s also light even including the conduit. I hiked a short distance to a backstop and the whole set-up was easy to pack in and out. If I was trying this with traditional plate rack or small steel silhouette I would have gotten a light workout in hauling the stuff in. The Hang ‘N Hook opens up more remote and suitable backstops if you can get there on foot. 

The first time out I used some 6” steel plates that have a single hole drilled in the center of the plate. I hung these from the hooks in the kit and proceeded to run drills using my Glock 26 and an old .22 semi-auto rifle. The plates moved and sang with every hit. It was a ton of fun – the only hiccup I had was the one time the plate spun and got hung up on the shaft of the hook. After a couple of hundred rounds the hooks began showing some signs of wear and the metal was getting chewed up. 

The damage, I feel, was self-inflicted. Yankee Thunder also sells a couple of small plate gong targets that are the traditional two-hole style with the hanging holes 45 degrees off the top corners. Obviously this would keep the target from spinning up the shaft and would likely cut down on the damage to the hook from the torqueing of the plate. Being cheap my solution has been to wrap the business end of the hook in a loop or two or duct tape to protect it from further damage.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I took the kit out again. This time I brought a six-pack of club soda along for cheap and clean reactive targets. I took some twine loops, hitched them through the pull rings and hung them from the hooks. It was fun sending showers of club soda up in the air. 

Then I put the 6” plates back up and rang drills with my S&W J-Frame. The tape negated any further damage and didn’t interfere with the movement of the plates under recoil. If you’re going to hang steel from the hooks the tape is cheap insurance. 

By and large I’m super happy with my purchase of the Hang ‘N Hook. I’ve had friends shoot the kit and they love how easy it is to setup and run different drills. For around $100 (kit, conduit and plates) I’ve got a four plate rack and that’s a heck of a value. If you’re intrigued and want to check out the Hang ‘N Hook for yourself head over to Yankee Thunder (http://www.yankeethunder.com) and tell them the folks at BlackSheepWarrior sent ya. 

2 thoughts on “Hang ‘N Hook Target Stand Review”

  1. I bought the Hang and Hook set with two 8″ steel targets. I’ve seen a post where there are attachments available to put on the pipe and holders to keep the pipes from falling off when you move the unit. I want to buy two of the smaller 4″ targets and hooks also.

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