Are steel targets safe?

[Hokkmike]

I am looking at buying a DO ALL resetting target for .38 - .44 handgun calibers, probably from Natchez Shooting Supply. The instructions (warning) with the product gives a recommended minimum shooting distance of 30 feet. My questions are: Is this distance practical? Are these targets safe to use? And do any of you know if the targets will hold up?

Thanks for your input!

 

[rcmodel]

30' sounds like a reasonable distance to me for lead pistol bullets.

I have seen jacketed pistol bullet frags cut off small tree limbs 20 - 30 feet from a steel target. But pistol bullet splash & shrapnel is usually more directed at right angles away from the target. Not so much right back at you.

Rifles are a whole nother matter!
They are fast enough to crater the steel, and if they don't make it all the way through, the crater squirts the frags straight back at you!

It's VERY Dangerous to shoot at steel with a CF rifle at close range.


rcmodel

 

[John4me05]

I have been led to believe that if they rotate on a axis and are angled back (from top to bottom) they will be safe as the bullet will strike and the rotation will absorb most of the energy and direct the bullit downward after impact... Provided they are rated for what your shooting at them i would believe they are safe

 

[M2 Carbine]

I've been shooting at these same several backyard steel targets for something over 25 years.
I've been hit by small bullet pieces a number of times but ever hard enough to even sting.

I limit the bullet velocity to 1,100 fps and I don't stand close (5 yards) when shooting low velocity bullets (under 700 FPS).
The high velocity bullets will splatter as dust and very small pieces off to the sides of the steel but low velocity bullets will remain in a large chunk and flies back at the shooter many times.

Not to say that a bullet could not and has not flown back from steel and seriously injured a shooter but the chances are so small I dismiss them.
Now, when I shoot in a few minutes I'll probably get cut by a bouncing bullet.

 

[BamBam-31]

You gonna chrono the cat?

 

[kd7nqb]

DISCLAIMER: The below information was told to me at a gun show so therefore is probably wrong, but it makes sense to me.

I steel plate that does not move is much more dangerous than one that swings or falls, if the plate swings or falls then most of the energy goes into that. It makes sense but I am a political science major and NOT a math or science guy.

Also as far as chrono'ing the cat, gives a whole new meaning to FEET per second.

 

[Chuck R.]

I use steel at my place:

Pictured are a couple of my Arntzen 2/3rds IDPA silhouettes. One of the biggest issues with steel targets is the construction/type steel used. The softer steel will dimple over time. The dimples and craters allow for splashback. As time/cash allows, I've been buying commercial AR500 armor plate targets, and after 3 years of shooting them they're still in great shape. Mine are rated for 7.62 at 100 meters and 5.56 at 150, handguns anything goes.

I've mounted mine on portable stands that have a downward angle, my one permanent stand has a spring setup that allows target movement and rings like a bell when hit at distance.

Regardless of what you do, you can/will still get some splash back, that's where the eye protection comes in.

Chuck

 

[M2 Carbine]

BamBam-31
You gonna chrono the cat?

He was helping me run the cords.

He does like shooting.
I do a good bit of evening laser practice and you know cats with lasers.
I have to put him up when I shoot because he heads for the targets looking for the laser dot.


This might be interesting about the backstop steel.
Most of the steel plate I use is the steel that's used in building oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. It's not real hard but not soft either.
Shortly before I landed my helicopter on this platform, a seperator blew up. Something went up through this 1/4 inch steel plate on the heliport. Most pistol rounds won't even scratch this plate.



Not the same deck but the same chopper. Whatever went through that deck would have gone through my bird easily.

 

[wally]

I shoot thousands of rounds a month at steel plates. As long as the plates don't get pock-marked from using too much gun for the armor rating of the plates they are safe if you do your part and wear good eye protection and insure *everyone* in the area does too.

You will get hit by splatter eventually. Occasionally it will draw blood or make a bruise but its way easier to get hurt worse in a softball game. I find .22 tags me more than anything, probably because they barely knock over the plates.

General rule 10 yard minimal distance for handgun rounds, 50 yards for rifles and rifle rated plates.

--wally.

 

[M2 Carbine]

And do any of you know if the targets will hold up?

I forgot to answer.
I have the DO ALL target dueling tree.
I'm not crazy about this particular swinging mechanism but I think the steel targets will last for many years.

 

[Hokkmike]

You gonna chrono the cat?

With all respect, I think a calendar would be the best way to measure the speed of that cat. Like ours, he is living the good life!

 

[Feanaro]

I've never been hit by a steel plate nor known anyone that got beaned at a steel match. I have, at least three times, been whacked at an indoor range that uses a steel baffling system for a bullet trap. This happens to others and one boy got it in the jewels.

Based on purely anecdotal experience, I rate steel plates purt darn safe. Not so much this particular range.

 

[peacemaker45]

If you're shooting lead bullets, then pretty much anything is safe. At SASS matches, we shoot pistol targets as close as 4 or 5 yards without trouble. Jacketed stuff is another story. It tends to break into big nasty chunks.

Wear eye protection, a long sleeve shirt, and jeans, and you'll never have problems. Otherwise, a bit of splatter might catch you, and it'll do about as much damage as a shaving cut.

~~~Mat

 

[dmftoy1]

+1 for never having any problems. (I do 85-90% of my shooting at steel) I'm using AR500 plates rated for rifle's at 100 yards (for pistol and rifle). I didn't know about the pock-marking causing problems so I'll have to keep an eye on them. One thing to caution you on would be using Mil-surp ammo. Picked up some 8mm Mil-surp because I wanted the strippers and now I've got an 8mm hole through one of my gongs!! (I'm guessing it must've been steel core)

The cool thing about steel is when you're shooting one of the big heavy slugs . . .it'll actually spin the big heavy things. (love 45-70's and .50 S&W's for this) You can also recapture your slugs on alot of them as they're about the thickness of a half dollar and laying at the base of the target.