Advice on Steel Plate for Target?

[ZombiesAhead]

Hello,

Recently, me and a buddy built a collapsible wood-framed target stand that stands about 6' off the ground for shooting paper. We use it at a range that is essentially just a big field with a barricade at 200 yards.

As fun as it is to shoot paper, we are sick of running 100 yards to go look and see what we've hit (especially when checking the sights on rifles). We shoot anywhere from 7 yards out to 100 yards.

I've been thinking of adding some thin, replaceable metal that we can hang from the frame (essentially it's like an artist's easel) so that we can hear our shots hit the metal.

Is this a dumb idea? Will we have copper jacketing flying back at us? Should we choose something thin that bullets will penetrate and we can replace or something thicker? Or will that cause ricochet/shrapnel to come back our way? Should we restrict our use of a metal target to a certain distance away from our shooting position?

I've shot at steel targets with 9mm at a pistol range before and been hit with copper jacketing so I'm wondering if there's a smart way to do this.

Calibers we shoot (let me know if any of these SHOULD NOT be used with a metal target):
.22lr (rifle/pistol); 9mm (carbine/pistol); .38sp(+p); .308/7.62 NATO; 7.62x39 russian; 5.56 NATO/.223; assorted 12ga slugs/buck/bird

 

[wally]

Buy purpose built, armor plate steel targets. If the material is not hard enough it'll develop poc-marks that will focus the splatter back from where it came greatly increasing the risks.

I shoot mostly steel plates with handguns. I seem to get tagged by splatter the most often with .22LR, the more powerful rounds really knock the plates down and the fragments fly mostly radially. but with .22s the plates fall slowly and more splatter goes straight back.

Good eye protection is a must, if you do it enough you will get a small bruise or cut eventually, but as long as your eye protection is good its no big deal.

--wally.

 

[jnyork]

The previous advice regarding the armor plate is good, you shouldn't try mild steel. For what you want to shoot, you will need 1/2" thick, more if you can get it. Even then, dont be shooting any steel-core ammo in those milsurps or you will ruin your target. 7 yards is a total no-no, 50 yards minimum for safety and to keep from thrashing your target. Easy way is to go to your local steel supplier and get them to cut what you want out of a scrap of AR400 plate, wont cost you all that much, then weld up whatever you want for a stand. Steel plates are fun, just use a little common sense and you'll do fine.

 

[ZombiesAhead]

That's great info on real, armor-plate type steel. I will probably go that route ultimately as I improve the stand. For now though, what about this:

I was at Home Depot recently and saw super-thin (to the point of being bendable by hand) steel (maybe even aluminum) sheets about 12" x 12" for a few dollars - I can't remember what they were for but they were near the chain section.

I'm not sure how thick they were, but to give some comparison, they were thinner than the typical heat shielding you find around exhaust components on a car.

What if I used some super-thin steel and just hung a new sheet every 30-40 rounds? Would there be any danger in that? All I want is to be able to hear/see the impact of the round - I wasn't planning on setting up any hinges for knocking down plates or anything professional like that...(although that would be cool eventually)

EDIT: I guess the reason I am leaning more towards some sort of steel/aluminum that would "ping" and swing and allow the round the pass through is because I feel like for powerful rifle ammunition we would need some super-thick steel to prevent poc-marks and most people seem to be using handguns to shoot steel...I like the thick-steel idea, I'm just wondering if this direction would work.

EDIT2: Holy %$# AR500 steel is expensive! And at 3/8" I would still need to take it out to 100-150 yards for it to hold up to .308 and .223.

 

[jnyork]

Sounds like your idea with the thin sheets may be just the thing for what you are wanting to do, if you just want to drill holes in something. I was thinking of the heavyduty stuff most people use that clangs but doesnt get holes in it.

PS, why dont ya just hang up some 1-gallon fruit cans on a string, get 'em from the local restaurant.

 

[rcmodel]

Very doubtful you will be able to hear hits at 100 yards on thin sheet metal.

Maybe with slow pistol bullets, but rifles will not even make them twitch, let alone make a noise you can hear that far away.

Check a farm supply or implement dealer and see if you can get some used disk harrow disks, or old plow shears, or something like that.

http://www.discplough.com/product1.htm

They are very hard and will at least make a noise.

Bullet splashback is not going to be a problem at anything over 20 yards or so.
Most splash with lead pistol bullets go out sideways from steel they can't penetrate.

Rifle bullet jacket frags are too light and have too much drag to bounce back very far.

rcmodel

 

[ZombiesAhead]

I guess I was a little sticker shocked looking at some of the larger AR500 pieces.
http://www.arntzentargets.com/products.htm - this guy comes THR-recommended and has a 1/2 size IPSC target in AR500 for about $50 plus shipping.

rc - I think you are probably right about not even noticing hits with thin sheet metal

Sounds like I'll just hang a few big aluminum cans off the frame - I imagine they would jump a little even with a fast-moving .223 and it makes more sense than sheet metal. Not sure why I got ahead of myself before thinking of this.

Ultimately, I think I will put some money down at Arntzen's site although I will keep my eye out for old bulldozer tracks, etc in the meantime.

 

[Otahyoni]

Whats the danger and minimum distance for shooting something like a plow disc? I work on a farm and we have all sorts of worn out discs and such. I shoot .223;.22;.40S&W;.45AUTO. Last 2 are handguns.

 

[ZombiesAhead]

Most of the research I've been doing this afternoon seems to suggest that handgun rounds can be shot at solid blocks of metal as close as 10-20 yards while rifle rounds should be kept beyond 50-75 yards.

See https://www.saluteproducts.com/faq.php - they suggest 10 yards for handguns and 100 yards for rifles!

What is the main danger? The copper jacketing? I imagine 100 yards is a little conservative if you're wearing eye protection and decent clothes.

 

[Nobody's_Hero]

Have you looked into reactive targets?

 

[harrygunner]

I've felt splatter from fellow pistol shooters on metal targets about ten yards away. I've also seen a person's skin penetrated by copper jacket fragments when the metal target was about seven yards away.

Personally, I like the thick metal plates with a hinge brace at the top of the plate that causes the plate to NOT hang vertical to the ground.

The top of the metal plate is closer to you than the bottom. This way, bullets are directed toward the ground instead of back to the shooter. Crude diagram:

                                     o  <- top bar of target stand
                                    /   <- hinge
shooter                             \
                                     \  <- metal target plate
                                      \

 

[EHCRain10]

Ive got two of the rifle plates from http://handgunsports.com/default.htm and they are great,
low priced, very strong (ive shot 12ga lead slugs at 25yards with no splatter and no damage to the steel, just repaint after each session to prevent rust) i dont know how strong the rifle plates are rated up two but i have used 223 FMJ and 308 SP without trouble

 

[doc2rn]

Harrygunner is right an angle on the plate will improve downward deflection. Have you thought about spinners?

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

Most SASS metal targets we shoot hang at about a 10 degree angle. The lead bullets go straight down.

 

[Furncliff]

"""As fun as it is to shoot paper, we are sick of running 100 yards to go look and see what we've hit (especially when checking the sights on rifles). We shoot anywhere from 7 yards out to 100 yards."""


..............................

 

[Starter52]

I once belonged to a club that had hollow tube steel targets. They rang like a bell when hit.

They were made by cutting both ends off an old air/scuba/welding tank, leaving a 24"x8" body. Two holes were cut near the top to attach chains to swing the target from a frame.

The round shape made them ricochet-proof, and the steel was indestructable. They lasted for years.

 

[Otahyoni]

I once belonged to a club that had hollow tube steel targets. They rang like a bell when hit.
They were made by cutting both ends off an old air/scuba/welding tank

Taking safety precautions of course, that sounds like a great idea!