What is a safe distance for shooting hanging steel targets with a handgun?

[Hokkmike]

I have a steel target that has two paddles pointed down and one up all being about the size of the palm of a large man's hand. The two that hang down are tilted back slightly and move a little (rearwards) when hit. The paddle or target on top is a little stiffer and almost vertical but with a slight forward tilt.

I think I may remove the top target.

What is the safe distance required to shoot the target with either a .380 or a 9mm?

I am not concerned about safety from the aspect of longevity of and/or protecting the integrity of the target but rather ONLY about keeping the shooter safe from ricochets.

Thanks for your responses!

 

[Jim Watson]

The old IPSC standard was 10 meters. Don't know what it is now. But you will still get hit by spatter. Eye protection and a bit of pain tolerance are necessary.

If the steel gets dented or cratered, the bounce back increases dramatically and it should be scrapped.

 

[FL-NC]

It depends on several things. Some that come to mind are the steel the target is constructed from, the angle of the target, and if the target is dented or gouged. Also if you are willing to be hit with splash-back. Good eye pro is an absolute must regardless.

 

[Varminterror]

With the surface intact and the target canted at 20degrees, shooting expanding ammo, 10yrds typically only offers the most rare occurrence of back-splatter. It does happen, so eye pro is necessary. I generally shoot 15-20yrds as the minimum with my steel. 25yrds with flat hanging steel and expanders - as long as the steel can swing - doesn’t seem to bring back any splatter from anything but FMJ’s.

Pitted steel is dangerous steel. I don’t even like to shoot pitted steel at 100yrds with a rifle...

 

[huntsman]

I have a 12” plate hanging on a shepherds crook, manufacturer says min distance should be 10 yards. I shoot my LCP at 5-7 yards, bigger guns 10 +.

in the year of using this I’ve never been hit with shrapnel but there’s a little sapling next to but a bit in front of the plate that has little slices up and down the trunk.

 

[someguy2800]

The target HP bullets from berry's are the steel shooters best friend. The hollow tip is designed to reduce slash back on steel targets. I have shot 1000's of these on steel and never gotten hit with a piece coming back, whereas I often get hit with splatter when shooting round nose berry's or other FMJ's.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...diameter-124-grain-plated-target-hollow-point

I try to keep a 10 yard minimum and wear glasses. The only time I've ever been injured shooting steel was a piece of a 22 LR that came back and cut the top of my thumb.

 

[dirtman]

I have seen steel targets hit on the edge and bounce rounds over to the next range where people like me were out changing targets..... its not just the bounce back, they can go sideways or almost anyways.... steel targets need lots of bounce space in all directions, and on a solid large berm don't hurt.

 

[someguy2800]

I have seen steel targets hit on the edge and bounce rounds over to the next range where people like me were out changing targets..... its not just the bounce back, they can go sideways or almost anyways.... steel targets need lots of bounce space in all directions, and on a solid large berm don't hurt.

Yes, my plates are hung buy a 2x4 wood rack that I built, so there is a 2x4 on either side directly inline with plate surface. Both 2x4's are nearly cut in half from all the shrapnel and chunks flying sideways. I will need to replace them as soon as the ground thaws because you could easily break them both off by hand.

 

[fxvr5]

Frangible (compressed powder) bullets are the safest to shoot at steel. Any type of lead bullet will produce splash-back.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

The pistol rated AR500 swinging targets I shoot at home say 25yds minimum but I've shot them as close as 10yds. The swinging is a big safety factor and to add I never stand head on, always to one side or the other when shooting closer.

Now my buddies range has all soft steel plates from railroads. They are mostly all pitted from rifles. They are set up at 25, 50 and 100yds. I don't shoot at 25yd one since a buddy had some jacket come back and catch him in the leg pretty good.

He's currently in the process of upgrading to AR steel.

 

[243winxb]

https://www.energy.gov/ea/downloads/use-bullet-traps-and-steel-targets-june-4-2012

 

[Sappyg2.0]

I've been hit many times with bullet fragments.
Just from experience, slower moving bullets bounce back more. But then again... I don't shoot CAS anymore and I'm usually 15 yards+ back from the target with faster ammo these day. I angle my plate towards the ground and seldom if ever get any bounce back. The ground below the target gets splattered but I'm not seeing fragments leaving the shelter of the plate house.

 

[Pablito1]

Back in the late 1970s I was at a pistol silhouette match in Casper Wyoming. The chicken silhouettes were at 50 meters and I was watching a guy shooting a XP100 chambered in 308. The bullet jackets were flying back and a woman standing behind the shooter was hit in the forearm and had to be taken to the hospital to have it removed. Those bounce backs can be dangerous.

Regards