action steel target questions

[fishblade2]

I have a few questions action target's steel. I am particularly leaning on getting the hostage target but I want to use it for rifles too. Should I get 500 steel or 550 in the hostage target? Does anyone know how much the 550 steel is compared to the 500 target? I wanted to also get some information on the distance and caliber size recommended to shoot this steel with for the 500 and 550. I want to know the distance for the 500 and 550 being shot with a 223 rounds, 7.62x54r (mosin round), 12 gauge shotgun, 308, 500 smith and wesson and 338 lapua. Please give me some actual stats that would be safe distances to shoot and not just the same stuff I here action targets states. I just want to know exactly which steel will be the best for me. Lastly is there any exceptions to shooting steel? For example I heard from an individual that shooting the steel from any distance with army surplus rounds have armor piercing bullets and would be damaging to the target. Is this true? If so what are some of the main rounds? Is the 7.62x 54r one of those rounds? also what about in particular the 500 smith and wesson. How far should I shoot the steel from? Thanks for all your help!

 

[Gunner11]

We built a range a while back using 550 steel gongs at 100 and 300 m, at 100 m fmj 223 have left little craters hunting rounds leave no impression at all. 270 and 308 hunting rounds also appear not to damage the steel. One guy drilled a neat hole in the 300m one with a 55cal Boys anti tank rifle for show but Ap 303s just cratered it. A 300wsm punctured the 100m and deformed the 300 slightly. Our targets are 12 in discs, and based on these and other tests 100 m and 10 mm thick is as close and as thin as you can go.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

3/8" Ar-500 will last you five lifetimes of shooting if you:

Do not shoot SS109 or any other steel cored ammo at it.

Do not shoot it closer than 75 yards with centerfire rifle, or magnum (heavier than .44 mag)

Do not use .243 or .270 (or High sectional density/high velocity rounds) on it, and

Do not use slugs on it.

it'll last you two or three if you ignore all but the last one. Slugs will ruin even armor at that thickness almost immediately.

 

[fishblade2]

what about shotgun lead shots? Not slugs. between the both of you I am already getting mixed answers on the .243. What if I shoot it with .243 rounds pass 100 yards? Will it still be fine? Is the steel core rounds your speaking of an example of the mosin nagent round? What about if shooting the ar550 steel instead of the 500?

 

[Gunner11]

Try using a strong magnet on the moisin ammo, no one here shoots it but if it's steel cored surely it would stick to the magnet. It's a pretty powerful round on a par with the 3006 So steel cores may do some damage at close 100m range. A guy did use some Russian 308 short (7.62x49) Yugoslav fmj that had steel cores, we found them at the base of the gong at 100m when cleaning up. No apparent damage to the targets though. Our guys with 270s normally shoot 300m leaving a pretty little lead splash shaped like a star on the surface. They probably also shoot the 100 but no one has commented on any damage.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

Buckshot Is harder on plates for some reason than handgun ammo is, but it should be fine for ar500. Buckshot will trash a mild steel plate in an afternoon.

As far as .243 and .270 goes, I'm just relating my experience. mostly with targets at shorter range than 300 yards, and with high volumes of fire.


I second the magnet testing recommendation, but i disagree that the steel cores only do damage at 100.

 

[Krzyshng]

I own one of their Evil Roy 8in circle plate in AR550 steel and if I recall correctly the PT Hostage only comes in 550. I mostly shoot handgun at it because I don't have the space. According to AT you're good to shoot any round that travels less than 3000 fps at 100 yds+. Most recommend 150 yd minimum for 5.56 to avoid cratering. Avoid shooting anything steel cored or AP, an example of that would be the M855 SS109 http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/AMM223-5.html

Disclaimer: As far as the 7.62x54r, I do not own a Mosin nor have I shot one. The 550 steel will handle .308 win just fine given proper distance which is comparable to 7.62x54r so you shouldn't have any problems. However what type of ammo you have might change that. Softpoints would be the safest bet if you want to avoid damage, regular FMJ should likewise be ok, but I believe most if not all surplus ammo does have a mild steel core. From my experience with the RWS 9mm ammo, which has a mild steel core, it will leave an ever so slight indentation. At handgun velocities its just cosmetic damage, I'm not sure what that translates to in a full powered rifle. Here's a video with a guy shooting it at a supposed AR500 target: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIA3RjZpdJU
In the description he says it barely does any damage to the steel. You can draw your own conclusions from that. Ideally you'd want a separate target for close up and long distance work, that way any deformations wouldn't pose a risk to you. In any case it shouldn't punch a hole through it so you could always just take a shot at it and see if the results are acceptable to you.

Personally the only non-handgun stuff I've fired at my target is softpoint 7.62x39 at about 30 yds and 2 3/4" 00 buckshot and 1 oz slug from maybe 25 yds. The slug did leave a minor dent so I won't be doing that anymore.