Shooting Steel is FUN!!!!

[whisky19]

I finally got to shoot my new 10" steel plate target that I ordered from Arntzen Targets and I gotta tell you that it is FUN!!!. It's great hearing the "clang, clang clang!" I rigged up a home made target stand made up of some 2x4's, some steel tubing I had lying around, and some misc hardware.




I was shooting it with some 230 gr jacketed rn and some 200 gr swc from my Glock 30 at about 10 yards. I didn't get hit with any riccochets and there was lots of bullet splatter at the base of the stand. I did find the following at the base:



I think these are the jacketed RN as the swc were just plated instead of jacketed. Looks like these things just flattened and fell straight down.

There is no damage whatsoever and this thing should last a looooooooooong time!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Hiram25]

Looks like fun, but I'd be worried about something coming back at me.

[chivvalry]

Steel is a lot of fun... eye protection is a must and it is a good idea to set your steel to deflect the rounds down after impact. Plus keep your distance at a minimum of 7 meters (around 23'). If you get pits and divots in the steel your likelihood of splash back increases over a tabletop flat piece of steel. You may end up getting a cut from a jacket coming back but it's rare... just keep a first aid kit around.

I would MUCH rather shoot steel than paper... of course water bottles, full soda pop cans, etc. are even more fun... just a lot less durable!

[GM]

Hearing the "clang, clang clang!" when shooting a steel plate target might be great and fun, but I think I will pass. Check following video:

YouTube - Guy catches 50 cal. sniper ricochet bullet to head

[Chevyguy85]

I'm spoiled by steel at my range we have plate a plate rack or racks depending on if they are serviceable and not stored away. It's to the point I'm too lazy to even set up my own targets anymore I only shoot steel. I get hit with a lot of splatter from my .357 mag loads but nothing serious enough to worry me. No where near the chunks I got last time I shot my .357 @ an indoor range. I love when IDPA/IPSC/ICORE have an all steel stage.

[chivvalry]

Hearing the "clang, clang clang!" when shooting a steel plate target might be great and fun, but I think I will pass. Check following video:

YouTube - Guy catches 50 cal. sniper ricochet bullet to head

Yeah, I've seen that vid before. It's been around for years. heckuva unlucky bounce. Here's some more info on that event...

Do you remember last week's video of the week? It was that crazy video of that guy shooting his .50 BMG and having the bullet bounce ALMOST straight back at him... You can see the video by going to last week's newsletter, by Clicking Here!

Well, as it turns out, the man in the video was George Hill's good friend! George (the guy who does all of our Magazine's gun reviews) sent me an email afterwards, and had this to say:


Tim, that ricochet was in my back yard practically. The shooter is Willey Anderson, a good friend of mine. If you look carefully you will recognize the location as it is the location of many of my article photographs.

Willey was a US Marine, knows the dangers of ricochets and did everything he could to prevent it, but it still happened. He angled the plate back and to the side so if it did happen it would have, should have, gone in a different direction.

The gun is an Armalite AR-50, in .50 BMG. The range was 100 yards. The target was a 1.5" steel plate, which the .50 should have penetrated like tissue paper. It didn't. Only dented it. The Caldwell electronic ear muffs were destroyed. His glasses were dented where the bullet grazed him hard enough to prevent him from being able to open his jaw for over a month. Had the bullet been a fraction of an inch to the left, it would have killed him. Even after the bounce off the target and the bounce off of the ground 15 feet in front of him, that 750 grain slug would have killed him. It would have been like a point blank shot to the head with a .45 in terms of energy.

The man who said "Oh Willey!" is Frank, Willey's father, who just saw his son brush death. Frank and Willey both come into my gun store all the time, shopping together... and they go shooting together all the time too. Willey has two girls and a boy, all elementary ages. They are learning to shoot as well, and Tina, his 10 year old girl has a TC Encore in .204 that she loves to shoot. She got that rifle with her own money that she earned making Sand Bag Rests: http://www.madogre.com/Interviews/TinaRest.htm

She's not making the rests anymore, but the photos are still there. Willey is a good father, and a good man. We are very glad he wasn't hurt worse than a sore jaw.

George Hill,
Contributing Editor Concealed Carry Magazine

[wormy]

That looks like FUN. Ive always wanted some steel targets. Did you have it shipped? How much is shipping on targets that heavy?

[jwarren]

Steel is a lot of fun... eye protection is a must and it is a good idea to set your steel to deflect the rounds down after impact. Plus keep your distance at a minimum of 7 meters (around 23'). If you get pits and divots in the steel your likelihood of splash back increases over a tabletop flat piece of steel. You may end up getting a cut from a jacket coming back but it's rare... just keep a first aid kit around.

I would MUCH rather shoot steel than paper... of course water bottles, full soda pop cans, etc. are even more fun... just a lot less durable!

We shoot steel challenge competitions at a nearby range a lot and have for some time now. As evidenced by much shrapnel from many stages of matches, 7 meter distance is not enough....a minimum of 10 meters is necessary and that is with everyone in the bay wearing eye protection. I have seen this shrapnel literally stick in people standing in the mouth of the shooting bay which is 20 feet behind the shooting line.

Steel is great fun, but it is necessary to take precautions to prevent collateral damage.

[digitalexplr]

I love shooting steel. However, as others have said make sure you have eye protection on at all times. If you shoot steel enough you will get hit with splash back. The worst I have had is a copper jacket that caught my lip. Not real bad, but it did bleed a bit. I was serving as an RSO and was a good six feet behind the shooter and about 8 feet to their left. The shooter was 30 feet from the target.

Bullets can do some strange things at times.

[whisky19]

Thanks for all the warnings. I have no illusions that I will never be hit by splashback but I accept it. I always wear eye protection whenever I shoot. Next time out I'll be bringing some of my 45 acp reloads with 230 gr LRN. I'm interested in seeing what happens to a lead bullet when it hits the steel.

[RugerMike]

I have a 12" AR500 target from Arntzen that I shoot with my 30-30 at 100 yards. It is way cheaper and more fun than getting a spotting scope! Even at that range the 30-30 will put a small dimple in the steel, but the damage is so minimal that I should be shooting at that target for a long time. Nothing beats the satisfying sound of a plate hit at 100 yards. If you get some bigger steel targets you can reach out there a bit even with a handgun. See link below:
YouTube - Glock 27 Gen 4

[Bear67]

We have over 40 pieces of steel from 10 to 50 yds (6' round for .22 lr) and we love to plink and compete both. Ideally if your steel sillouttes and slightly downhill, the splatter is down to the ground in a few feet. We also have dualing targets where targets swing to the opponents side when hit. This is at a friends range, but at the home range, I use man sized 5/16 targets and slightly dust them with cheap white spray paint and you can see where you are impacting on target. It is lots of fun and no paper to staple up. Of course we have farm shops with torches, welders, plasma torches ect and usually have "drops" from other work to make steel targets from. This is a great family and friend activity.

[markf]

Chivvalry: I believe it's one nation UNDER GOD

[Chuck R.]

That is a pretty innovative stand…well done!

I primarily use Arntzen targets with their portable stands on my place. The AR500 has held up well to everything I’ve thrown at it. The company is great to deal with and their shipping is pretty reasonable.



Another company you might want to take a look at is “Quality Targets”:
Quality Targets

The owner is a great guy and he’ll do custom work for you and his shipping is very good. He made these bowling pins out of AR500 for me:


As for safety, I’ve put 10s of 1000s of rounds on steel at my place alone. I’ll have 3-5 guys come out and will put a couple hundred rounds each on steel doing IDPA COFs and running drills without a single incident. The key is eye protection, reasonable distances, and quality steel in good shape. Also angle your steel back slightly and you’ll see huge reduction in the amount of splatter coming back.

IF your steel gets dimpled move it to the back or get rid of it. I have 1 piece that got dimpled (AR too close) and its now a 200-500 yard rifle target. Quality AR500 is expensive, but it lasts and is worth it from a safety standpoint. For longevity I mount my “fixed” targets with springs to help absorb impact and rotate the plates annually to avoid bending and weakening the steel.

Chuck

[sixgun]

We shoot steel at our club. And yes it is really fun and satisfying to hear the clank of steel. But eye protection is a must because you will get back splash. Ive caught shrapnel on occasion. Be safe and have fun.