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School me on Steel Targets
- Thread starter TacticalMountaineer
- Start date
Guys, take a look at JC Steel Targets. Outstanding quality and service, plus he runs the business as a training opportunity for "at risk youths". They learn a skill and how to run a business.
Very religious feller, for those of y'all that are into that sort of thing.
Very religious feller, for those of y'all that are into that sort of thing.
Yesterday my friend brought some .44 magnum and .45 Long Colt revolvers to my shooting spot in the woods, and we used these big handguns with full-power handloads on my two steel plate targets: a 4" round one, and a 12" round one, both 3/8 inch thick ( AR500 steel, I'm told), which were hung from steel bailing wires.
We shot them from as close as 15 yards (yeah, not recommended. Possibly unsafe). Mostly shot from 25 yards.
RESULT: No damage to either plate. THe big heavy 12" gong didn't move as much as I expected, but the small one spun around the horizontal bar it was hung from ! VERY entertaining reaction on that "reactive" target. No dents or dimpling on the steel's surface.
THEN, for sheets and grins, we shot these same .44 Rem Mag and .45 LC revolvers at a 3/8" thick plate of regular construction / fabrication grade steel. The .44 mag made very tiny depressions in it, that you couldn't really see, but you could FEEL with your finger. The .45 Colt didn't do anything but put lead and copper splatter on the surface.
We shot them from as close as 15 yards (yeah, not recommended. Possibly unsafe). Mostly shot from 25 yards.
RESULT: No damage to either plate. THe big heavy 12" gong didn't move as much as I expected, but the small one spun around the horizontal bar it was hung from ! VERY entertaining reaction on that "reactive" target. No dents or dimpling on the steel's surface.
THEN, for sheets and grins, we shot these same .44 Rem Mag and .45 LC revolvers at a 3/8" thick plate of regular construction / fabrication grade steel. The .44 mag made very tiny depressions in it, that you couldn't really see, but you could FEEL with your finger. The .45 Colt didn't do anything but put lead and copper splatter on the surface.
P.S. My steel targets were hanging basically straight vertical, not tipped at any angle downward. I agree that would have been better, both safer and possibly easier on the steel. I just haven't rigged them up that way.
Just to reiterate - when hanging gongs or silhouettes, make sure they're tilted down on the surface you're shooting at, AND try and stay at least 20 yards away for pistol and about 50 for rifle. And don't forget a set of eyes. As
GAgunLAWbooklet
says above, it'll also be easier on the targets.
You're always going to be at risk of jacketing coming back at you (and that stuff's sharp) and no matter what thickness of AR500 you're shooting, if you clip an edge of a target, you can chip off a divot of steel.
If you doubt how much sharp crap comes off the targets, just put some scrap framing lumber on the ground in front of the targets and see how beat up they get after a session.
GAgunLAWbooklet
says above, it'll also be easier on the targets.You're always going to be at risk of jacketing coming back at you (and that stuff's sharp) and no matter what thickness of AR500 you're shooting, if you clip an edge of a target, you can chip off a divot of steel.
If you doubt how much sharp crap comes off the targets, just put some scrap framing lumber on the ground in front of the targets and see how beat up they get after a session.
Yes, that bullet splatter (no steel, just lead and copper splatter) has punctured a few of my cans of spray paint that I used to keep only a few yards off to one side of the target plates. After having 3 or 4 nearly full cans of Krylon destroyed in this messy way, I now hide them behind a log, or that rectangular piece of scrap construction grade steel, to protect the cans.
If you attach the chain to the back of the targets with a bolt through the target you'll get a bit of an angle to your steel. With that and the target swinging you'll mostly be safe. But as everyone has stated wear eye protection and shoot at a distance of at least 20 yds. But even then sooner or later you'll get some bullet splatter.
