Build a steel plate range?

[hossdaniels]

I've heard of other ranges having "gongs". I want some in my back yard. Anyone know what size(thickness) steel to use?

I only have a little over 450 yds to the creek bottom, so no need for monster sized stuff. What sizes would you use? Maybe 2" at 100, 4" at 200, 6" at 300, and 8" at 400 yards.

Also, how would you hang them? Chains?

 

[jpwilly]

EBAY...here you go!

 

[MisterPX]

Anyhting 3/8 tempered to AR 500 (Brinell 500) should suit you for anything besides 50 bmg.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Anyhting 3/8 tempered to AR 500 (Brinell 500) should suit you for anything besides 50 bmg.

agreed, many think it's the thickness that matters but it's the hardness that counts.

A high powered rifle will shoot through the same thickness of mild steel irregardless of thickness. The only difference thickness makes if wither or not you have a crater or a hole

 

[rcmodel]

Here are a bunch of ideas.
http://www.arntzentargets.com/products.htm

We have steel poppers and an 800 yard gong on my buddies farm.

We use chain on cable between fench posts set about 6' apart.
But be prepaired to repair it occasionally when it gets shot by a high-power rifle.

Old disk harrow disks welded into a sandwitch works until they get shot up pretty bad.

rcmodel

 

[hossdaniels]

Old disk harrow disks welded into a sandwitch works until they get shot up pretty bad.

Hmmm, I love freebies. Might try that one.

Would any welding shop have the 500AR steel? If not where do you get it?

 

[rcmodel]

I doubt any would have it unless they are building armor plated limos for Obama or something.

I would imagine it would have to be special ordered, and that wouldn't be cheap!

We just use any old steel plate we can beg, borrow, or *steal, and replace it, or weld it up, when it gets too shot up.

*Well, not really steal!

PS: You might check with the county road & bridge dept. and see if they have any old bridge girder splice plates? or whatever they are called, they want to get rid of.
Old snowplow & grader blades are made out of pretty good stuff too if you have a torch to cut them up.

rcmodel

 

[R.W.Dale]

PS: You might check with the county road & bridge dept. and see if they have any old bridge girder splice plates? or whatever they are called, they want to get rid of.

Splice plates would be completely unsuitable as one their full of 15/16" holes and secondly they're likely made from very very soft a588 or a572 steel, these plates will crater badly and in that situation become EXTREMELY dangerous to shoot

Trust me I build bridge girders for a living and have attempted to make targets from free scrap.

 

[WNTFW]

Hang the plate with an offset hook that way they angle away from you at the bottom and toward you at the top. It is safer and you can shoot them on a pistol range. The steel will get distorted so allow for that in your mounting.

 

[wacki]

Splice plates would be completely unsuitable as one their full of 15/16" holes and secondly they're likely made from very very soft a588 or a572 steel, these plates will crater badly and in that situation become EXTREMELY dangerous to shoot

Then build a charcoal fire in the back yard and harden the scrap metal.

 

[R.W.Dale]

build a charcoal fire in the back yard and harden the scrap metal

That simple huh?
You do that and let me know how it turns out.

www.metalman.com

 

[Revy2k]

Hmmm, I love freebies. Might try that one.

Would any welding shop have the 500AR steel? If not where do you get it?

AR500 is rather expensive, and you're not likely to find just any old place having some scrap remnant laying around. If you were to purchase it, look towards your local steel suppliers. I'm not sure how "into it" you're looking to go, but you're going to need at the very least a torch if you plan to cut it by hand. This will create a "heat zone" around your cutting path on the perimeter that may soften the material a bit. There are of course, better methods, if you had access to such as - Plasma, Laser, and Waterjet cutting.

I'm fortunate enough to work @ a Laser/Waterjet company, that does the AR500 cutting for target companies like MGM Targets and Arntzen Targets, and we rarely order more material than we need to complete the orders. (and on those rare occasions, that left over scrap goes towards a few more "popper plates" and "rounds" that find their way into my trunk )

If you're looking for something nice - perhaps consider just buying from a place like MGM? They have auto-poppers in the $100-$200 range that flip back up after each shot. Otherwise, if you just want to toss something together that you don't mind replacing every so often - Mild Steel will withstand a fair amount of abuse as long as you're 3/8" to 1/2" minimum, but do expect dimples(replace or flip around at this point), craters, cracks, and tearing. Also, nothing closer than 20yds with pistols and 100yds with rifles unless you like getting hit with bullet fragments.

 

[hossdaniels]

Thanks yall, I have a torch and a welder. So looks like I maight have to make something around here. Also have tons of old harrow disks. Might try that first since the good steel doesn't sound available locally. If it shoots up to bad I will look to the more expensive options. I probably have some scrap 3/8" steel laying around here, have no idea how hard it is. Might put it out a little ways and try that too. Thanks for the help!

 

[FullEffect1911]

AR500 is rather expensive, and you're not likely to find just any old place having some scrap remnant laying around.

Where can you get ar500 stock plate and about how much does it cost? Is it pre-hardened or do the target makers harden it after cutting? If these questions interfere with your job, by all means never mind.

I have a plasma torch and CNC table that I built for my college senior project. I would love to make my own instead of buying them.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

If the plates being discussed as bridge girder plates are the same thing as the tie plates my family has found discarded next to railroad tracks and used for decades, then I call BS on them being unsuitable for use as targets.

My family and I have hung those things from chains for most of my life and used them as targets for everything from .22LR to .338 RUM. They do crater and I would imagine at closer ranges could be dangerous, but we've never had a problem in tens of thousands of rounds with any sort of ricochet or deflection from 50 yards on out. And even though they crater, they last hundreds of rounds from hunting rifles including not only the aforementioned .338 RUM (250 gr SMK or Nosler Accubond @ 3100 fps from 30" Lilja) but also 7mm Rem Mag and .300 Win Mag. The craters produced by standard FMJ from AKs are small enough to allow nearly indefinite use, and even the 147 gr FMJ load from an M1A produces small enough craters to allow thousands of rounds to be fired.

These are actually our preferred targets because we find them so cheap, they hang easily because there are holes in the corners for the railroad spikes, and they are appropriately sized for COM. Tens of thousands of rounds over the course of several decades, not a single problem...

 

[Birdhunter1]

Old worn out circular saw or radial arm / table sawblades work pretty well too, yeah a bullet plows right through them like butter but it gives enough sound to know you hit it and if they're wore out you're pitching them anyway.

 

[rcmodel]

I'm not qualified, and never built a bridge in my life.

But I will say bridge plates are not dangerous in the least if you are shooting at them from 100 to 450 yards, as the OP suggested.

Yes, they will get shot up.
Yes, you will have to replace them occasionally.

But if you can get them free, or for scrap metal prices, they are completly usable.
And completely safe at any reasonable long range.

rcmodel

 

[R.W.Dale]

But I will say bridge plates are not dangerous in the least if you are shooting at them from 100 to 450 yards, as the OP suggested.

Yes, they will get shot up.
Yes, you will have to replace them occasionally.

I can agree with this with a couple of qualifiers.

From what I've found impact velocities of around 2000fps are fine but when impact speeds are over that threshold the steels performance degrades rapidly as you go faster. Now I've seen too may videos and read too many horror stories of what can go wrong when shooting a metal surface that isn't flat (cratered). I cannot urge you enough not to shoot such steel inside 200yds if it's surface has been compromised.

 

[FullEffect1911]

I cannot urge you enough not to shoot such steel inside 200yds if it's surface has been compromised.

I really have back that statement up. An overwhelming priority has to be safety. If you lose an eye, that low price of the inferior steel will not justify the lost of ones vision.

Mild steel (bridge quality) will deform when shot at. When it's deformed it will change the splatter pattern to something unpredictable. If you are getting hit by bullet splatter there is something wrong with the steel you are shooting.

 

[rcmodel]

If you are getting hit with bullet splatter at 100 - 200 yards, there is something very wrong besides the type of steel you are shooting at!

I have been a leading proponent here on THR in cautioning folks not to test ammo on steel at close range, due to the very real danger of splash-back, jacket frags, and AP cores coming back at you.

I have related more then once about personal friends losing an eye to a jacket frag, and shooting a hole in an old Ford with an AP core.

However, I was talking about close range, like under 50 yards or so.
Both instances I related happened at less then 25 yards.

I simply cannot imagine the remains of a high velocity rifle bullet ever coming back 100 yards, even with a very favorable tail-wind!
An AP core maybe, but lead jacketed stuff just ain't gonna happen.

There is very little left except vaporized lead and a few tiny copper jacket frags. We often find them on the ground within 10 yards of our steel targets, if we find anything at all!

rcmodel

 

[FullEffect1911]

I simply cannot imagine the remains of a high velocity rifle bullet ever coming back 100 yards, even with a very favorable tail-wind!
An AP core maybe, but lead jacketed stuff just ain't gonna happen.

I do agree with you that this is just not likely, I just don't like the idea of shooting mild steel no matter what. It just seems like bad juju.

As long as the point is made that close range mild steel is especially bad, then go for it at looooong range. Just make sure anything around the back stop or off to the sides is capable of being pelted by shards, though that should fall under normal range safety rules anyway.

 

[R.W.Dale]

For those of you who said any old steel would work jerkface11 and I performed this informal test today. I think the picture says it all.

The plate pictured was shot at 100 yards.The 6.5x55 load was a 140 grain soft point with an impact velocity of 2300fps this caused a crater 3/10 of an inch deep . The .30-06 was a 125 grain TNT with an impact velocity of 2800fps. The .35 Whelen was 250 grain hornady spire point with an impact velocity of 2300fps. 7.62x39 at 50 yards with 124 grain fmj made a 1/4 deep crater. This was a 7/16 plate of a588 steel. The same stuff many bridges are made of.

 

[sscoyote]

If u like freebies, call the local brickyard and see if they have any cinder block molds. When they get out of spec, they'll usually take them to a scrapyard. They'll probably give u some for free.

They'll have various sizes all the size of the edges of a cinder block. U'll have to burn holes in them as no carbon or steel bits will penetrate this stuff.

To suspend, get 3 pieces of rebar and 2 copper or galvanized plumbing T's. Pound 2 into the ground, place the T's on top of them and slide the 3rd. thru them parallel to the ground. Suspend steel with the little S-hooks u can find on the end of rubber bungee cords, or better yet the S-hooks that r closed on 1 end that r found on the end of cargo tie downs on top of cars and trucks. U can usually find these on the road as folks lose them all the time.

 

[Revy2k]

Where can you get ar500 stock plate and about how much does it cost? Is it pre-hardened or do the target makers harden it after cutting?

FullEffect, I'm not in the sales/purchasing dept @ my company, but the last time I asked (a year or so ago), they were buying 4x8 sheets @ around $3k. Material prices are lower now then they were at that time (from my understanding), so it might be at a little cheaper than that

If you were to purchase it, I'd contact a local steel supplier in your area - which for PA, should be a piece of cake.
And yes, it's hardened when you by it in plate form. It has a BHN (Brinell hardness number) of about 500 compared to "mild steel" with a BHN of about 120. Hope this helps paint the picture that [rcmodel] is trying to explain.

Just be safe in whatever you decide to do!