[dtalley]

I am wanting to build my own Cowboy Action Shooting Targets. I am just getting started in the sport and have only gone to a few shoots to watch. I want to practice some before the Dec. shoot. How thick of metal plate should I get to build my targets with???:confused:

Thanks for your help

[Jim Watson]

Most I have seen were 1/4" or 5/16"; a few 3/8".
CAUTION: Comemercial targets are pretty hard steel. Garden variety plates will get dented and dinged by even cast bullets and present a hazard of spitting lead back at you after more or less use.
I suggest you practice on paper. Cutouts of whatever shapes your club uses
against a large blank backer will be safer than scrapiron and will also let you see where your misses go.

[Father Knows Best]

+1. There's more to it than just thickness of the steel. The hardness also matters, as does the mounting method and angle. Targets should me mounted without bolts or anything else on the face that create strange ricochets. They need to be angled in such a way as to help direct bullet splash. If they are too soft, or are used with rounds that are too hot, they will get dented and pockmarked, and those little dents can create dangerous ricochets and bullet splash in unpredictable directions.

I don't recommend that novices try to make their own steel targets. Either practice on paper or buy them from someone who knows what he is doing. Perhaps ask your local club who makes their targets for them, and see if you can get some from the same source. Be prepared to spend $$ for decent steel targets and stands.

[dtalley]

Thanks a bunch. I tried 1/8" but it dented pretty well and after several hits in the same spot it punched through. I have a good downward angle on my holders to direct the lead down to the ground. No bolts everything is welded and the front is plain. I consider myself a pretty good fabricator and noticed that the ones at the local range are homemade and not all that special. I just didn't get close enough to their targets to see how thick they are.

[standles]

By the time you rebuild/repair the mild steel targets a few time sit would have paid for you to purchase the armor plate that the professional target manufactuers use.


Take a look at MGM targets on the web.

You can still save a few dollars buying the precut plate and building the stands yourself.

Steven