Steel targets safe ?

[kyron4]

I was thinking of getting a 10" AR500 steel gong for the range. How safe is this useing FMJ 5.45x39, 7.62x39 ? What about steel core 7.62x54R and 8mm Mauser ? Is it better to hang by chains 90*or angle back some to defelct down ? Can you hear the hits 100m-200m away with muffs on ? Does having the gong closer to the ground make it safer ? Realy want to make sure it's safe more than anything. -Thanks

 

[MtnCreek]

Steel core will damage the plate. At 100 yds, 55gr fmj’s from an AR will put slight divots in them. I typically shoot at ~300 +. At ~500, I can still hear (barely) bullet impact from a 55gr / .223, but there is very little movement in the plate. At 800yds, the plate is still struck violently with a 208gr / .300wm, impact is heard and visible through the scope (actually it’s visible, then heard ).

I hang the plates from chains. Grade 8 bolts through the front of the plate with the chain, washer and nut on the back of the plate. I keep a couple repair links handy just in case someone were to hit the chain (someone other than me; I would never hit the chain ). The grade 8 bolts are pretty tough and that helps with impacts right beside the bolt, but a direct hit is more than they can stand. Keep a couple extra handy along with wrenches.

Is it safe? I can’t really say for sure. Bullet impacts, especially at closer ranges, leave only a tiny little disc lying on the ground. The rest of the bullet fragments and sprays pretty much parallel with the plate surface. If the light is right, you can see the lead spray. After many shots down range the posts the targets hang from have been eroded from the fragment spray, so it’s safe to say being anywhere near the plate is not a safe place to be…

 

[taliv]

many years ago i started hanging steel like this using 1/2" rebar and plumbing supplies from lowes. it's easy to break down and transport and when the rebar gets shot, it's easy to replace.

then ~ace~ (who used to shoot with me fairly often) started welding aluminum version that he sells on snipershide pretty cheap


however, lately, i've replaced all the leather straps with firehose. it works much better. lasts a lot longer. other people use conveyor belt and similar. make sure you use wide pieces so the targets will return to face you.

they don't need to be angled down but it's ok if they are


btw, i agree with mtncreek that inside 200yd m193 and m855 will both pit targets pretty bad

 

[Caliper_Mi]

Yes, always hang the plate to angle slightly towards the ground. Also, hanging it from the top means that as it deflects it will send the bullet shrapnel more towards the ground. If the chain is bolted to the plate with the chain behind the plate, that will naturally cause the plate to angle slightly towards the ground.

I have heard, but not tried it, that garden hose is a good substitute for chain. Seems the hose can absorb a number of hits, similar to those self-sealing rubber targets while a chain is usually done in one hit.

We have a big steel plate that is the center black from the Army's "D" target (about 20" wide, 18" tall, shaped in a head-and-shoulders shape). At 200yd a 223 will move it some and is audible, but is not very impressive. .30-'06 makes no mistake that you have hit with a clearly audible strike and sets the plate swinging.

 

[788Ham]

At our range, private membership, we have gongs placed at the 200 yard range, one on each side. They are hung with large chain, bolted each side. On the pistol range, there are 2 gongs hung with steel brackets, when hit, they splatter lead, also make the small discs. On the pistol range, "only lead bullets allowed" to shoot the gongs, actually, no jacketed bullets allowed whatsoever! On the rifle range, no steel pointed bullets, tracers allowed at all. No .50's allowed on the site!

 

[redbullitt]

I have mine hung on 4x4 out to just under 600 yards right now. Usually shooting amaxs and SMKs. 223 to 338 lapua on the plates.The impacts pretty much destroy the bullet. I can see a complete 360 degree shrapnel pattern on the ground and on the wood to the side and above the target. Fragments are about the size of staples at most. Similar effect from 200 yd all the way out to the far target.

22lr however will not shatter. The bullets pancake on the steel and wind up laying in a 3 or 4 ft radius around the front of the target. Same effect from 200 to 500 (I dont hit the farther target much with the 22 lol).

If I was worried about a ricochet it would be with the lower velocity rounds at closer range, as the fast ones tend to shatter pretty thoroughly.

 

[chaser_2332]

Firehose, hay baler belt, or conveyor belt is alot better option than chain

 

[TheLostOtter]

I have a couple 10" diameter 3/8" thick AR500 plates I got from shootsteel.com. At 100 yards, 5.56 and 7.62x39 just barely dimple the plate. If you move the targets closer, 5.56 will start leaving more significant damage but not enough to ruin the plate quickly. 9mm at 10 yards doesn't leave a mark. Hits are very audible.

I hang mine on shepherds hooks from Home Depot.

 

[mastiffhound]

I use case hardened bicycle chain to hang mine. I use regular pvc pipe so I can just cut and replace when needed. I found this setup works well and is way lighter to lug around. It is easy to take replacement pipe with me. It is very light, mine is set up like the bottom half of an H with feet extended from the bottom T fittings. I used auto parts to hang the steel, U-bolts for hanging exhaust. The are rounded and are less prone to break, even with direct hits it seems. Flat bolt heads didn't work well. I figured if round branches will deflect bullets the rounded U-bolts will too, I was right.

At 100 yards the AR 500 steel target I got from wideners doesn't even dent using xm193. It just knocks the paint off. I have had other supposedly AR 500 steel targets that cracked or broke in half or a hole was punched right through. My local shop started to carry Wideners targets after the owner shot my mine and couldn't find a dent with his AR. They come with 2 holes cut with a plasma cutter I think to mount your target. The cost around $77 dollars and are 1/2 inch thick. Not 1/4 inch like some more expensive AR 500 steel other companies make. Maybe that is why everyone elses dent and mine doesn't. I hope this helps.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I have shot my AR 500 gongs at 50 yards with 7.62 x 39 steel core. It barely left a mark.

 

[cfullgraf]

I was thinking of getting a 10" AR500 steel gong for the range. How safe is this useing FMJ 5.45x39, 7.62x39 ? What about steel core 7.62x54R and 8mm Mauser ? Is it better to hang by chains 90*or angle back some to defelct down ? Can you hear the hits 100m-200m away with muffs on ? Does having the gong closer to the ground make it safer ? Realy want to make sure it's safe more than anything. -Thanks

Theere will be no safety problem at 100 yards/meters away from the shooter. It would be best to have some angle towards the ground.

Problems happen at shorter ranges. Most of the steel target manufacturers have a minimum distance.

Generally, rifle rounds will damage a target at ranges less than 100 yards or so.

Steel core bullets will not be easy on the targets.

Most of the targets i have looked at have a caliber/velocity limit to prevent damage.

When I was shooting IHMSA silhouettes, my range had practice targets at the various ranges. I could hear hits on the 200 meter rams. But, I suppose if the range had lots of shooters, it might not have been as easy to hear the hits on the rams.

 

[kingcheese]

I personally have shot at that kinda steel at 25yards, with lightball 7.62x54r, and the steel stoped the bullet,

 

[meanmrmustard]

Mine are blanks used to make differential covers for rock crawlers. 5/8" plate, cold roll, then black oxide. I then weld an arm made of same 3/8" steel with a 1 1/2" black iron pipe on the end. This allows me to bolt to my frame and keeps the plate away far enough that its not getting hit. I weld the plate angled down by way of a miter in the arm it's welded to. This deflects all shots into the dirt. It's very safe.

.223 craters but doesn't pass through, ever. 762x39, however...but I've got unlimited supplies, easy to replace.

 

[Rottweiler]

Instead of bolting the chains/straps to the target, weld a couple hooks on the back and hang from them. MUCH easier to fix when someone shoots the chain/strap.

 

[RPRNY]

IMHO, steel on steel (even AR500) at 100 yds is not ideal. Steel core ammo will divot the target steel and, while minimal, there is some ricochet risk - all the way back to you, very unlikely, but still a risk.

If you intend to shoot steel with steel core ammo, to mitigate risk, I would move it back to 150 yds and have a slight downward angle on a free hung target.

 

[X-Rap]

I have seen on YouTube or one of the shooting shows on TV the use of disc blades (the type used for farming) as long range targets and pretty much have an endless supply when I visit my Mid Western farmer friends. I'm thinking of 500 yds and beyond but still using potent 30 & 338 calibers.
The example I saw had the center hole covered with a heavier welded in plate and the blade hung from chains. These are 24" dia. and given they are drug through the soil for many miles before wearing down they must be made of a harder steel though they are thin.
Anybody have experience with these types of steel targets?
Wondering about 25-50yd with pistol too.

 

[MtnCreek]

Never shot a disc harrow. Depending on the size / type, some discs are pretty thick, but I really doubt they'll hold up to much rifle fire. I would advise facing the convex side towards shooter.

 

[taliv]

we shoot a lot of bushhog blades around here. they are rectangular. challenging past 700 yards. they hold up pretty well