I was inspired by this video to make clay target holders for shotgun practice. Instead of a pair of pliers, I used a 3" vise from Harbor Freight, a mallet or hammer to square the bends and a bolt cutter to cut the wire. I used 9 guage wire which is stiff enough to stay upright while holding a clay pigeon. The height of the stand can vary but I made them about 18" tall.
Start the first bend half way from the top of the vise jaws to the bottom.
Make the first bend and use a mallet or hammer to square the bend.
Don't worry if it's bent a little too far. Position the wire in the vice so that it's rotated 90 degrees. Bend the wire and square it off with a mallet.
Rotate the wire 90 degrees again and with the first set of bends touching the bottom of the vise. Bend the wire and square the bend with a mallet.
Rotate the wire 90 degrees in the vise and bend it.
This is the last bend that makes up the stem of target holder. Place the wire in the vise so that the end of the wire and the longer piece are both in the vise or the end piece is just touching the vise jaws.
Bend the wire perpendicular to the rectangle.
You can clip the stem to the holder to the desired length. The finished holder should look like this.
Here's how they look in use.
