shooting steel plates. school me.

[AllaSnackbah]

got the chance to score some nice steel plates from work. they are flat, square cut pieces, about 18-18" and 1/4" thick. i am thinking about drilling a pair of holes in the top and hanging them with jack chain from some 2x4 frames, tree limbs, whatever, and shooting them. is this safe? what is the minimum range that is safe to shoot these at? are FMJ rounds safe? will they hold up to 308?

ill be doing this on my own property, which is out in the woods and far from any other houses, about a mile, but im concerned about a ricochet bouncing off my plate and going towards the "neighbors." what is the possibility of a ricochet traveling a mile?

and finally, if they are safe, and i can do it, what are some good/fun setups for shooting plates? school me.


thanks

 

[Independence Arms]

You could always use frangible ammo if you are concerned about safe distance.

 

[CRSIII]

308? not to much life for them.
Pistol drills! if you angle the down, they will live a long time and not shoot back. String them at varying heights and distances and go wild. Soon you will be ding-ding-ding-dinging quick as can be. It translates well.

 

[Tim94gt]

Rifle calibers will destroy it, real fast. Should be ok for pistols though.

 

[Independence Arms]

And if you tune them right, you can play jingle bells like hicock45 dressed as Santa!

 

[Jose]

Any idea what the HRC or Brinell rating is on the plates? Don't listen to the retards with the frangible ammo comments. That's just space filling crap posted by people who don't know anything. Also, 5.56 hits steel a lot faster than .308. 5.56 will punch through stuff that .308 only divots.

I agree. Listen to this instead of all the other crap previous.

 

[CRSIII]

Any idea what the HRC or Brinell rating is on the plates? . Also, 5.56 hits steel a lot faster than .308. 5.56 will punch through stuff that .308 only divots.

Damn techies.
(he's right though)

 

[AllaSnackbah]

Any idea what the HRC or Brinell rating is on the plates? Don't listen to the retards with the frangible ammo comments. That's just space filling crap posted by people who don't know anything. Also, 5.56 hits steel a lot faster than .308. 5.56 will punch through stuff that .308 only divots.

i wish i did but i have no idea, im just an electrician, the welders gave it to me.

i thought for sure this stuff would hold up to 308, but now im feeling like it was a waste of time carrying it out haha. i shot a piece of plate like it last weekend at about 250 yards with 7.62x54r and it wasnt even pitted

 

[Andy in NH]

Here is some reference material for you to read:

 

[shotgunwilly870]

My buddy had a steel plate tree setup we used for handguns,I took a shot at it with my AR in 5.56 and was embarrassed because I thought I missed,but when we walked down range after he noticed a hole in one of the plates,it looked like it was drilled they cut thru real nice that's for sure,it was delrin 500 he said one of the hardest steels you can get,it was about 1/2 inch thick too.

 

[Jose]

There really isn't much point shooting steel closer than [STRIKE=100]100[/STRIKE] 500 with a rifle anyway.

.

 

[KMS]

If it's A36 (mild steel) it won't last long most target plates are AR500,I have managed to get away using A572.

 

[noddaduma]

Steel plate is a common target out west... But they'd usually hang armor plate steel (BHN anywhere from 250-534, but I'd bet it's at the higher end of the scale). The stuff we'd shoot at the local ranges I lived near had to be 0.5" to 0.75" thick.

The only thing I ever saw punch through that stuff was AP 30-06 At 100 yds (oops). .50 BMG would dent but not punch through at 100 yds.

I think the other thing that helped was that the plates were hung so they could swing...I'm sure free swinging vs fixed in place reduced energy transfer.

The other interesting target I saw out there was a knock-down plate of aluminum about 3" thick and 18" square set up at about 140 yds. Lots of craters in that plate but I never saw a hole punched through.

Jason

 

[Gibbs]

Listen to this instead of all the other crap previous.

I would put that as my new signature, but I don't want to pay a commission to Jose each time the web page loads.

 

[Independence Arms]

Any idea what the HRC or Brinell rating is on the plates? Don't listen to the retards with the frangible ammo comments. That's just space filling crap posted by people who don't know anything. Also, 5.56 hits steel a lot faster than .308. 5.56 will punch through stuff that .308 only divots.

Ouch.

 

[Elmer Fudd]

I shoot steel a fair amount. 1/4 in steel will be fine for nearly any pistol. For a rifle you really need 3/4 inch for it to last any period of time... You can increase steels life by setting it up in a way where is can swing (as to somewhat absorb a part of the impact). Your chain idea is a good one. As for a safe distance, my range does not allow anything closer than 7 yards when using steel on the pistol range. Even that feels a little close. 9mm basically turns to dust (really tiny little bits of shrapnel) when it hits the steel. Even at 10 yards I have felt fragments come back and gently hit me which is a bit unnerving... There's a guy at my range who claims to have shot a .357 at a metal table at 20 yards and have caught the bullet back in his stomach, requiring surgery... I haven't asked to see the scar, but he doesn't strike me as the type to make something like that up.

 

[xtry51]

Normal mild steel (A36, HRS, CRS etc) and common 300 series stainless in 1/4" will stop pistol and 22LR but WILL NOT stop .223/5.56 or .308. In some cases .308 may not go thru, but it can and is unpredictable. .223/5.56 will go straight thru EVERY TIME. Even at 3/8" most .223/5.56 shots will go through at 100 yards or less. If you're going to use mild or stainless I would go with Elmer and not use less than 3/4". Expect it to not last very long.

AR400 (the number is the Brinell hardness) will stop pistol rounds without denting at 1/4" or thicker. Shooting any rifle round at AR400 will crater it, punch thru after only a couple hits and is a waste of your money. Don't do it.

AR500 will stop 5.56, .308 and 30.06 at 3/8" or thicker, most use 1/2" or thicker since it will tend to "bow" less after a lot of shooting than the 3/8". You can counter this somewhat by flipping your plates around frequently and shooting both sides.

AP rounds like 30.06 or M855 (steel tip 5.56 62gr "penetrator") will divot the surface slighty and repeated hits in same location will go thru. On 3/8" I'd say about 8-10 hits in the same spot till you go through. If you consistantly shoot AP or penetrator rounds I would try to get 3/4" AR500. AR500 at 1" or thicker will stop 50bmg all day practically forever at 100 yards or farther and AP rounds for a long while.

Always hang it to make it last longer whatever you use. Chains or steel cable are best. Rope will not last long as the bullet splash will tear thru it quickly. When shooting at closer ranges with pistol be sure to angle the plates top towards you so the splash is directed at the ground. This will eliminate almost all chance of large fragment ricochets.

 

[Gammon]

1/4 in mild steel is well suited for 22 rimfire. Rifles will destroy it instantly, pistols will take a bit longer.

 

[noddaduma]

Btw I'd recommend using a steel bar hanger so that when you hit the plate it will swing back and forth, allowing you follow-up shots pretty quickly.

Hanging by chain or rope will cause it to swing with a yaw (ie spin), which may be fun but IMO it's annoying as all get out. Plus your chain/rope becomes a weak link if you have a high flyer.

As an example, see linked video below of shooting steel plate at 100 yds, in this case w/ SMLE shooting milsurp .303 British:

[video]http://www.facebook.com/v/128153897222143[/video]

That particular range changed plates out ~ once per year seeing medium use. lead dust was thick on the ground below the plates.

Another tip is to spray paint the plate black before shooting.

 

[castros rat]

Here is rifles shooting steel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx_S...xt=C30f73aaUAOEgsToPDskIa8yJrD1B507PAoFzH76fe
or this too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7vx...xt=C3196816UDOEgsToPDskJzwseeqsfw87jjFQFKZ48a
or this too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igiw...xt=C394ed5cUDOEgsToPDskJCOCbQjVDsUESeWeoDMg1F
or this too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ90...xt=C37cbe93UDOEgsToPDskJbpvt5CRtjnDJRUGB8eKny

 

[endus]

I have to go through the awesome advice in this thread more carefully. From what I had read the type of steel was extremely important, safety wise rather than longevity wise, but it sounds like maybe thats not the case? I have a friend with a gravel pit and a welder and we really want to build something.

What about magnum handgun rounds? Any advice on steel to shoot those at?

 

[radioman]

AR500 is the only way to go. The AR stands for Abrasion Resistant. This is the same stuff they plate the cutting teeth and edges of mining shovels.