Scrap steel for handgun targets?

Sadly enough, I can get large sections of heavy armor plate at scrap prices.
They're cutting up several cruisers and aircraft carriers down in the Brownsville ship canal right now... .

If using mild steel plate, use at least 1/4”. Thinner steel dents and slings lead back at you. Thicker plate is resistant enough that it splats and doesn’t come straight back (usually)

Tilos said:

Mild steel is not safe for anything but 22LR and the temptation to shoot that with something "bigger, just to see" could be fatal.

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I'd be very interested to read about a fatality from shooting mild steel. Could you provide a link?

I have never had a bounce back from a steel target in good shape using lead bullets. What you get Is seeing dust fly below the target from lead splatter and you will find very thin discs of lead laying below the targets. I’ve never shot a spotted, dented or warped steel plate and don’t intend to.

Visit a local auto repair shop, you can get scrap brake rotors for $1 each. Grab some big heavy ones and shoot em up. If they get busted up, go grab a few more. I work in the auto industry so that's where I get my shootin steel. But I don't pay for them so it's a target of opportunity.

bearcreek said:

I'd be very interested to read about a fatality from shooting mild steel. Could you provide a link?

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Why the interest in just fatalities, isn't all the injuries listed in this thread enough .
You're the one interested...you do the search.

Edit: here's a classic


I'm sure you're going to tell me what he did wrong.

Think they'd miss this hunk of battleship armor from the Washington Navy Yard?

(Originally destined for the IJN Shinano, which was intended to be the third Yamato class battleship.)

Tilos said:

Why the interest in just fatalities, isn't all the injuries listed in this thread enough .

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Because when someone makes a claim that I'm skeptical of, I like to politely give them the opportunity to back up their statement.

Tilos said:

You're the one interested...you do the search.

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I did. Can't find any. I think that's because you didn't actually know of any fatalities when you made that statement.

Tilos said:

I'm sure you're going to tell me what he did wrong.

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How would I know what he did wrong? We don't know what he was shooting at other than "iron" that the one guy mentions. Anyway, that has nothing to do with what you said since that dude didn't die.

Shooting steel targets, like so many other things involving firearms, requires common sense. If you rigidly mount any steel target, and orient it 90° to the firearm, expect to eventually get hit by bullet fragments. If you shoot them with steel core or solid copper bullets, you're going to ruin them.

I made my torso target from 5/16" mild steel and it hangs in a steel frame by chains. The chains are fastened to the target is such a way the target hangs at probably a 5° angle. This and the fact that the target yields slightly when hit, causes the bullet fragments to be directed downward into the ground.



I use a couple of AR500 targets simply because they were a size I wanted and were inexpensive.

FWIW, AR500 regardless of thickness is not completely impervious to strikes by projectiles. A really good read here-

AR500 Target Selection

35W

bearcreek said:

Because when someone makes a claim that I'm skeptical of, I like to politely give them the opportunity to back up their statement.
I did. Can't find any. I think that's because you didn't actually know of any fatalities when you made that statement.
How would I know what he did wrong? We don't know what he was shooting at other than "iron" that the one guy mentions. Anyway, that has nothing to do with what you said since that dude didn't die.

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If you think "could be fatal" is me making a "claim" you need to re-evaluate your comprehension skills.
I'm just not clear why you seem so hung up on (could be) fatal in my post but I'm crystal clear about adding you to my ignore list.
I know you'll have to have the last word here so I will only add you to my ignore list after I've read it, give it your best shot
Sorry about your skepticism, go troll someone else,

Whelen, I love that target. Is it called the “Johnny one nut”?

Tilos said:

If you think "could be fatal" is me making a "claim" you need to re-evaluate your comprehension skills.
I'm just not clear why you seem so hung up on (could be) fatal in my post but I'm crystal clear about adding you to my ignore list.

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I'm just not clear why a person would say that something "could be fatal" without having any evidence to that effect. It doesn't bother me personally, but I know there are people who actually believe things that they read on forums like this without bothering to check into the validity of the statements being made. So, when someone makes a statement that doesn't seem to have any basis in reality, I often ask them to back it up. If they can't, (or won't), we can be confident that they were speaking from ignorance. Ignore away, my friend.

becket said:

Can anyone think of anywhere like a junkyard, dump, particular manufacturer’s
Dumpster or anywhere else one may find scrap steel dense enough to use for .45 and down steel targets? Maybe even just lighter grade steel for plinking with .38 or .22 safely?
Just a thought...

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Where are you located? Folks may be able to tell you where to go for what you describe. If you were from this area, I could tell you precisely where to go.

7/8" mild steel plate. 100 yards and shot repeatedly over a year or two with high powered rifles. Plenty of craters but no penetration. My brother made the bold statement that if the 308 and mag rifles they were using couldn't penetrate it, than nothing could.

I informed him that I would cut through it on my first shot with 30-06. He didn't believe me.



I guess I forgot to mention that I had some AP rounds back from WW2.

Jeff H said:

7/8" mild steel plate. 100 yards and shot repeatedly over a year or two with high powered rifles. Plenty of craters but no penetration. My brother made the bold statement that if the 308 and mag rifles they were using couldn't penetrate it, than nothing could.

I informed him that I would cut through it on my first shot with 30-06. He didn't believe me.

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I guess I forgot to mention that I had some AP rounds back from WW2.

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That's silly. Speed is what cuts steel targets. That's why you can whack the snot out of 1/2" plate with 45-70s and slugs all day long, but isn't safe from a 204 ruger. Anything jacketed from 3600 to 4000+ fps will slip right through.

Mild steel and most high velocity rifle rounds is not a good combination unless you are not concerned about the life of the target. But to be safe the mild steel targets need to be out a good distance, 100 yards or more.

I've cratered 1" thick mild steel with 221 Remington (2500 fps or so) at 100 yards.

Buying a couple hardened steel targets should not be a drain on the finances and is greatly safer than using mild steel.

No need to chance shooting mild steel or some scrap hardened steel which may be odd shaped or difficult to hang safely. Our local Walmart stores carry cheap Allen branded steel targets which are supposedly AR500. I've shot them without issues with 762x39 and 30-06, however 556 made small divits at 100 yards. Their larger 3/8" x 10" gong only costs $30, while smaller targets are $12-15 each so picking up a few plates for handgun use is pretty darned reasonable. Hang them on a steel sheppards hook from lawn/garden makes a nice safe target for your practice.

No need to overthink this. This is a handgun forum and mild steel, provided it is of sufficient thickness, works fine.

35W

35 Whelen said:

No need to overthink this. This is a handgun forum and mild steel, provided it is of sufficient thickness, works fine.

35W

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Safety is relative. There are plenty of handguns out there which will pit/dimple mild steel. Granted, it's not as serious an issue as with rifles, but they do exist...and they don't have to be the magnum handguns.

However, I think that a lot of people don't realize that most of the "problems" encountered with this are very likely due to impacts with the target support structure. The steel angle bars, pipes, brackets, chains, and cables that make up their particular target stand.

Regardless...wear PPE and one should be plenty safe for the sport.

Me? With the cost of AR500 so low, I'd prefer the longevity and maintenance free aspect of using AR500 over mild steel.

Worn out rotary cutter blades, 1/2” thick x 4” wide x 15”-27” long make good targets and act very much like the AR500 plate targets I have. Farmers & etc. May have some lying around. Be sure to test from long distance first.