Shooting Steel Plates

[Rod Trout]

So many Steel target manufacturers recommend "soft nose bullets" at 25 yards for handguns. Yet to find soft nose bullets sold in Portland metro aera. I guess jacketed open tip? Can you use just jacketed? What about SD ammo? Folks on TV are blasting at what seems like 10 yards & up. Sanctioned matchs on Shooting USA. What are they useing?Advise needed, thanks in advance!

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[Ben B.]

I sometimes see bits of jackets come back and they can cut you. But at steel matches it's a mix of FMJ and lead bullets. 10 yds is pretty safe, we try to keep minimum of 10 yds for matches and occasionally a fragment can whack you but not cut. I wouldn't (and don't) look for special bullets in regular pistol rounds, but I would keep 10 yds back.

 

[Caveman Jim]

If the targets are made with AR 500 steel then you can use jacketed, plated or lead bullets depending on the thickness of the plate. I'm fixing to invest in some steel target from makeitring.com, they are not the really pretty smooth plates that cost a lot of money. They are in fact a little ugly but as long as they sing when I smack em, I don't care.

 

[rhollister71]

We shoot everything @ our AR500 steel both 3/8 and 1/2.
try to hang them with a downward angle, this will help force most of the fragments towards the ground vs back at you. i have had a few pieces hit my shirt or glasses but not w any damaging force, unless not wearing proper protection.

 

[solv3nt]

I've never had any bounce back at ten yards.

 

[Member 53328]

They're ugly. But they were free (aka tactically acquired). Just gotta finish the stands for them.

 

[titsonritz]

I've never had any bounce back at ten yards.

With a clean target angled forward you shouldn't have to worry about it, it should go straight down unless it is pock-marked like the ones @1775usmc posted. That said, we wear safety glasses for a reason.

 

[Rod Trout]

With a clean target angled forward you shouldn't have to worry about it, it should go straight down unless it is pock-marked like the ones @1775usmc posted. That said, we wear safety glasses for a reason.

Yes,yes,yes!

 

[titsonritz]

Yes,yes,yes!

 

[Flopsweat]

I think ours are tilted maybe 5 degrees forward, and all of the spalling goes into the dirt. We shoot FMJ, HP, SP, pure lead and birdshot and all of them break up on contact with the AR500. We shoot from 12 to 25 yards and out of thousands of rounds I've had one tiny piece of lead come back at us. It hit me in the face, and it was moving so slowly it didn't even break the skin. We also have a containment structure on 5 sides of the targets to catch strays and in case something falls over and is briefly tilted the wrong way.

 

[rhollister71]

They're ugly. But they were free (aka tactically acquired). Just gotta finish the stands for them.

View attachment 1365765

great find! I have the same socket set.

 

[Member 53328]

great find! I have the same socket set.

I'll thank the Marine Corps for these targets. Haha

 

[JuglansRegia]

Jacket fragments bounce, lead doesn't. Look into powder coated projectiles.

 

[Flopsweat]

Jacket fragments bounce, lead doesn't. Look into powder coated projectiles.

They don't seem to bounce back if the targets are set at an angle. Steel targets should be angled downward anyway, for safety.

 

[sikhed]

Only had ricochets hit me once.
Steel shot from a waterfowl load that was in a bag of assorted buckshot rounds.
Lesson learned...

 

[TTSX]

You're overthinking it by a lot. Just get good AR500 targets, hang em and go to town. I've been hit by a fragment that buried itself in my belly once, about level with the skin. I pulled it out and continued on my way

 

[boattail]

Pay attention to the bolts used to attach plates to posts. you want a carriage type bolt head. No matter the angle the plate is hung if the bolt heads are not rounded they will spit jacket back at the shooter.

 

[kmk1012]

I recently met someone at a local fab shop who is making these kits. I ended up buying one after hearing the price. It's AR500 steel, and has solid metal hangers so the targets don't sway back and forth. The legs and crossbar are just metal conduit, he makes a really cool piece that connects the legs and crossbars without tools so it fits in a small bag. I'm going to set mine up in front of my backstop in the backyard and let it be.

 

[Tlock]

I recently met someone at a local fab shop who is making these kits. I ended up buying one after hearing the price. It's AR500 steel, and has solid metal hangers so the targets don't sway back and forth. The legs and crossbar are just metal conduit, he makes a really cool piece that connects the legs and crossbars without tools so it fits in a small bag. I'm going to set mine up in front of my backstop in the backyard and let it be.
View attachment 1372382

Price and location if you can share?

 

[kmk1012]

Price and location if you can share?

Was $200 for everything minus the legs, I had to supply the conduit. Came to $250 altogether. I think I can fit the legs and hangers in a folding lawn chair bag and the targets in an old dewalt bag. I forget the diameters of the plates. When I say quality, I mean "quality".