I'm with Sam. We shoot a lot of steel from as close as 7 yards. The .22 is the worst by far,
I disagree. The 22LR is the safest round to shoot steel close up.
More so than most other rounds, the 1,100 FPS 22 bullet, on a solid steel target hit, fragments into dust and very small pieces.
A few minutes ago I shot these 10 different brand 22 LR rounds and a Remington short, from 4 yards. As can be seen the bullets splatter. Sometimes this splatter can hit the shooter. A couple fragments hit me from these 11 rounds. The size and velocity of the splatter doesn't come close to breaking the skin or hurting at all. (but glasses, of course, are mandatory)
On the left is some of the splatter from these 11 shots. The splatter being on the ground under the steel plate.
On the right is typical hunks of lead from slower velocity 45ACP and 38 Special. Also at the base of the steel targets.
This last picture is of the area under the steel targets.
All manner of hunks of 38, 9mm, 45ACP, .380 and even .32 can be found here.
What can not be found here is a bullet or even a sizable piece of a 22LR bullet.
Even though well over a thousand 22 bullets hit these steel targets, for every hundred rounds of all the center fire rounds put together, a fired 22 bullet has never hit anyone or been found on my ranges (except in the dirt berm of course).
I suspect that any serious splash back from 22LR (and others) is caused by pock marked steel that should have been replaced.
Like I said earlier, I do not make recommendations about anything.
Shoot steel or don't shoot steel, makes no difference to me.
Personally, I just hope I'm around long enough to shoot steel targets with another few hundred thousand rounds.
