Car Wheels as targets

[WardenWolf]

If you can get a few old hard drives, they make nice targets. Even 7.62x39 will go clean through unless you hit the spindle. And if you do, the drive disassembles itself in a very entertaining way. 7.62x54R is even more fun, though.

 

[jaysouth]

"retired" washers and driers are fun to shoot.

For pistol only, pick up some railroad tie plates and hang them at 25 yards. Pistols only!

For bigger stuff, go to steel fabrication shops and get permission to go through their scrap piles. A welder in the club can work from there.

Electronics and dead vacuum cleaners are fun to shoot but leave toxic scrap. a keyboard shot with a .38/9mm will 'spew' keys in every direction.

 

[drsfmd]

"retired" washers and driers are fun to shoot.

For pistol only, pick up some railroad tie plates and hang them at 25 yards. Pistols only!

For bigger stuff, go to steel fabrication shops and get permission to go through their scrap piles. A welder in the club can work from there.

Electronics and dead vacuum cleaners are fun to shoot but leave toxic scrap. a keyboard shot with a .38/9mm will 'spew' keys in every direction.

Please tell me that you pick up every single bit of metal, every single keyboard key when you are done shooting. Garbage shooters are what get so many informal ranges shut down. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

 

[chaser_2332]

Most ar500 steel target retailers will ship in a flat rate box so shipping isn't an issue. Buy steel that's purpose built for shooting at and u won't be sorry. It's safer and will last alot longer.

 

[Robert]

Folks, keep it civil or I will lock this.

 

[Lost Sheep]

A chunk of grader blade is what a guy I met at our range used. He built a stand that angles the blade so anything hitting it goes downward into the ground. I did not have an opportunity to hear the sound of a hit, but he told me you can hear it from 300 yards.

The frame in which it is supported has all its surfaces angled to prevent ricochets from coming back uprange.

It is easy to hang paper targets on it, too.

Lost Sheep

 

[SkyDaver]

Just placed an order for a AR500, 6", 1/2" gong from shootsteel.com. $30, including shipping.

6" should be well within the capabilities of my Garand, small enough to be a moderate challenge for me, but big enough that it won't be overly frustrating. That's my prediction, at least

 

[tactikel]

We used to shoot 3/4" boiler plate (torch cut into foot square pieces) hung with bailing wire at 100 yards. Rounds would hit and angle down into the dirt. Even 30-06 AP would not completely penetrate. Spray painted them black for visibility.

 

[ECVMatt]

This:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/1...ed-gunshot-in-southern-texas/?test=latestnews

make sure that you are shooting at stuff that is a proper distance away from you or designed to be shot. Lots of stuff wrong with the above story, but shooting metal close up is a big one....

 

[danweasel]

When I was young and dumb (ok, younger and dumber) I got hit in the collar bone by an AK round that a friend riccocheted off a brake drum.

Felt great.

I do shoot junk but I have a "collection blanket" it's a large heavy Mexican style blanket that I spread out and hang over the back of my target stand. It makes clean up very quick and easy. I may be a hippy, but shooting trash is just too fun.

Responsiblity is the key.

 

[SkyDaver]

This:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/1...ed-gunshot-in-southern-texas/?test=latestnews

make sure that you are shooting at stuff that is a proper distance away from you or designed to be shot. Lots of stuff wrong with the above story, but shooting metal close up is a big one....

shootsteel.com recommends 25yds for handgun, and 100 yds for rifle, and I'm going to stick with that.

I'm also thinking of something for the back of the plate so that it hangs at a slight angle downward, relative to the shooting position. That, coupled with the distance, coupled with the slight downhill shooting angle, should help minimize the risk of ricochet.

If you're late to the thread, I've rejected my original idea of car wheels, and have a steel plate target on the way.

 

[RPRNY]

12" x 3/8" AR500 Gong. Rustoleum and a 2.5" x 2.5" center.

 

[meanmrmustard]

3/4" steel plate. Craters at 100 yards, but no blow throughs.

 

[AABEN]

Put up a dirt bank to shoot in to it needs to be about 6 foot tall and 4ft thick and 8ft wide sand will do good also.This way you can put post to hang your targets on no ricochets to worry about. If you use sand on the target side you can dig up your lead to reuse. Good luck

 

[27hand]

Steel

OP, I see that you are getting a plate as opposed to the wheel rims. Good idea.

I'm not sure if mcosman on this site still custom cuts and ships AR500 plates but he did good by me a few years ago.

I got these 3/8" by 8" rounds for $25 each + shipping.



I would not shoot any type of mild steel with rifle unless it is sacrificial one time use and quite a distance out there (150+++).

Handgun targets could be mild but needs maintainence to make sure no ridges are present which could possibly send pieces back.

These were all shot at about 15 yds and are a mix of 1/2" and 3/8" mild steel and some 3/8" AR500. As you can see, 9mm pistol cal carbines will severely dent 2" pipe. We stopped the use of magnums and pistol cal carbines when realizing that the damage was too much to safely shoot these.



The spring plates were angled forward to deflect as much pistol frags as possible. You can see the downward spatter outline on the 2" pipe.



This rifle fire at 1/2" mild steel was an experiment (from behind steel barrier) to see how much penetration there is for various types of 7.62 X 39 and the 3 rounds at right were .223 Wolf/ LC and Barnaul IIRC. Even the plastic cored German (top left & center ) stuck in the steel.



AR500 / 550 and armor plate is the safest to shoot at but I think the distances given by the suppliers is primarily a liability distance given.