What (and how far away) can I shoot at 3/4" AR350 plate?

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Lucky Strike

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My dad had a little scrap 3/4" AR350, just enough to get two 8" targets, and I was just wondering if anyone knew what calibers I could shoot at it (and at what distances) without messing up the targets.

I'm guessing it'll be just fine for lead bullet handgun stuff but am not sure about rifle....I see that most rifle stuff is made out of AR500 but I thought maybe at longer distances it might be ok but i'm not sure. I have a .223 but since I've only got the two targets I don't really want to do any test shooting and potentially ruin them.
 
Depends. If it's straight on, rifle rounds are gonna make divets. But if you angle the plates a bit, they should deflect most bullets with little more than a copper smear as evidence of impact.
 
Well we made them to hang from a stand so we put an attachment point on the back of them so they angle downwards like 20-30 degrees when hanging. I thought maybe with the downward angle, that they'll be free swinging, and that they're thicker then normal plate targets it might be ok for rifle but I'm not too sure since every rifle target I see is made of AR500.

If i did shoot it with my rifle it would just be with Remington UMC FMJ type .223 ammo from like 100+ yards away
 
I shot .223 FMJ at a piece of RHA plate about 15 yards down range. I got lucky, the large shard of copper jacket that came back only imbedded in my shin bone. It felt like a wasp sting and pulling it out of my leg with trembling hands kind of sucked, but a lot less than if it had wound up in my face, finger, groin, neck...

So my answer would be - not .223 FMJ at 15 yards.
 
do not shoot any steel with a rifle at less than 100 yrds.


i don't know for certain, but my guess would be that anything going over 3000 fps will do more than crater the face of it. probably won't make it all the way through, but i wouldn't be surprised to see the bullets stick in it

anything < AR400, i'd reserve for pistol rounds, or consider disposable


once you crater the face of it, do not shoot it with pistol rounds up close any more. or at least, turn it around and shoot the smooth side

always, always, always wear shooting glasses with an impact rating when shooting steel
 
Well we made them to hang from a stand
Click to expand...

The problem with "hanging" steel is that if it is swinging when you hit it, there is no way to determine just where the deflection is going to go.
We had a 300 yard "gong" at our range and had to remove it because there were shots escaping the range and ending up at the neighbors.:cuss:
 
that said, i still prefer hanging steel. just don't shoot it until it's stopped swinging
 
I wouldn't shoot steel at less than 100 yards for a .223. Our range has some heavy steel at 200. If you shoot with the .50bmg, don't shoot steel. There's video on YT where some guy nearly got his head taken off by the round coming back.
 
There is nothing wrong with shooting .50BMG at steel; you just have to use the right type of steel, mount it properly, and use expanded safety margins vs. what you use with smaller cartridges.
 
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