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Steel plate target I made today.

5K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  frazer42 
#1 ·
I had about 1/2 hour to burn today, so I drug out a piece of rusted 1/4 inch plate steel, and cut out a Sihlouette target on my CNC plasma Cutter. I already had that 1 1/2 inch schedule 40 tubing welded to a 16-18 inch square piece of 1/4 plate. It has been laying around my shop for 10 years, with no idea what to do with it.
I cut a .6 inch hole in the head of the target and put a 4 inch long by 1/2 diameter bolt through it with a washer and nut on each side, and let it swing a bit.

I welded the bolt to the top of the tubing post.

I brought it home, sat it in the yard, and shot the thing with my 9mm and my .45 acp. I was shooting from about 10 yards. The rounds did exactly what I was hopeing for. They spattered and the lead cores fell on the ground. It has just enough play to not break to welds or beat it up too bad, as well as let it absorb the bullet impact, but it is just heavy enough to not disort. There are some shallow dents in the impact points, but heck, for 30 minutes and only using scrap, I'll take it.

Not quite sure where to post this, so moderators feel free to move it if it warrants it.

Andy



 
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#2 ·
Pretty sweet!! I use sections of 1/2 inch plate and that will stop all handguns with no dents, and will stop all but ap ammo for standard military rifle calibers. it does tend to wear through after multiple hits but I paint it black and the silver splats show real good for sighting your hits. (lead liquifies and copper gets embedded) when using a rifle you do not want to be too close for there is a chance of shrapnel comming back and hitting you.
 
#3 ·
I looked for some 3/8 or 1/2 inch plate, but did not have any on hand, that I could or would use. This piece of 1/4 plate was given to me by my brother 2-3 years ago. It had been torch cut from something in an industrial cannery. Like I said I was just looking something to do.

I am not going to lie. I had on safety glasses, ear muffs, and stood with a grill partly between me and the target.....just in case...in case of what you say? I really did not know,....ricochets, jacket spatter, who knows. But after two magazines at it with no issues I felt a bit more comfortable. There was a lot of debris on the ground around the plate. It was obvious that those pistol rounds were basically expending all of their energy into fragmenting against the plate and falling to the ground. If I can round up a piece of 1/2 inch I will make one for rifle calibers. I suspect that a .45acp will be the biggest thing fired at this.
 
#5 ·
Nice build! One important SAFTEY suggestion. Mount the plate at an ANGLE next time. Pull the bottom of the plate into the post and your rounds will deflect DOWN. Flat plates have a NASTY habbit of kicking an occasional round STRAIGHT BACK in the direction it came from. From 25 yards out the deflected round can cause eye injury or leave a bad bruise or even break the skin. Friend of mine got a broken NOSE with a 45acp from 15 yards out when he built a plate a few years ago. Needless to say we learned REAL quick to angle the steel which solves all the issues!!

Nice build! STAY SAFE
 
#6 ·
Every round I've seen come straight back was always a .45. I've had them fly by me at 75yds away from the plate, and as close as 15yds at a subgun match (which hit the guy I was standing next to in the leg. That round was dented on the tip and apparently bounced like a superball)
9mm most always splatter.
 
#7 ·
Nice build! One important SAFTEY suggestion. Mount the plate at an ANGLE next time. Pull the bottom of the plate into the post and your rounds will deflect DOWN.
Nice build! STAY SAFE

Yeah, I figured that would need to be the case. I guess that would be an easy fix for this one. All it would take is to weld a ring or washer to the back side near the bottom, through which I could tie a bungee or even rope and pull it back toward the post a few inches. That would give it a slight downward angle, and still let it swing a bit to absorb impact.

I shot 230 grain FMJ Ball ammo at it with my .45 from about 10-15 yards and they all spattered. Afterwards I went up and could find the lead cores on the ground along with jacket fragments. I can see the bounce back effect from longer range where the bullet has expended a lot of energy in flight. Of course I have only shot five .45 rounds at it. Better safe than sorry. I will modify it so that it angles the shots down.

On a lighter note. My wife got a little annoyed with me as I was shooting at it with the .22 rifle out of the kitchen window over our sink. As far as ricochets, don't worry, I have got it angled perfectly toward my mother-in-laws house. :)

I love living in the sticks!
 
#8 ·
I've shot tens of thousands of rounds on steel plates as close as 21 ft (only on very good condition plates.. 10-15 yards and out for rougher plates) and the most important (and very frequently neglected) issue is right-angles on or near the plate face (especially little T-feet like so many people stick on the bottom of plates to stand them up). Those are serious up-range splatter-reflectors (the one in the picture isn't likely to be a problem, except possibly off the base). The #2 issue is cratering on the plate. Hit a crater just right and it's a bullet-redirector. Downward deflection angles are ideal.
 
#9 ·
Shooting at steel is cool however, it must be done with caution.
I've set up numerous steel reactive targets for our range and the ,manufacturer nearly always recommend that "Lead bullets ONLY" be fired at them and from no closer than 25 yards.
We do have a policy that if it's a pistol caliber it needs to be @ 25 yards or further and rifle calibers need to be @ 100 yards minimum.
This is a range with mulitiple firing points and more often than not there are at least 15 shooters on station firing. I've heard ricochets many times flying by but, never (knock on wood) been hit by one. I've seen tracers bounce several hundred yards off of steel targets and known that the ball ammo used is doing the same thing although you just can't see it.

Have fun but please be careful.

Oh, and just yesterday I witnessed a couple of young guys shooting a steel reactive target of their own. It was a 3/8" reactive plate that they brought. They were given the warning to keep it at least 25 yards out since they were shooting .22LR well, it seems that one of them wanted to see what their .308 would do to the metal plate (thought it might make the metal plate spin faster) so he shot it from 25 yards with his .308. It did not ricochet however, it did put a nice hole cleanly though that new target. Like I said some people ... suffer from Darwinism. Unfortunately, all too often they take someone else with them. Later when this same young man asked if he could bring out an M203 to fire chalk rounds I had to say no.
 
#10 ·
I strongly second the angling down. I was shot in the chest a number of years back by a .38 Special whole bullet ricochet during a Cowboy match stage that I was ROing. The plate was not set properly. It was winter, heavy coat, and so I just got a bruise. But, I think that the contributing factor was underloaded cartridges, but I could never prove it. I'v also known of rifles fired at steel plates set against a tree where the bullet came straight back (this was many moons ago when I was a kid).
 
#11 ·
We make NRA, IDPA, IPSC,CoorsClassic.22,Military, and super long range gongs at our shop along with whatever anyone wants for money. We make all targets from either AR500 or Ar460f. ALL pistol close range targets are made with a negative 10/15 degree slope and dont swing. Also, the heavier the target the deeper the crater. We made some 3/4" HP chickens because the range said people were shooting rifle ammo at them. They wore out very quickly because they wouldnt get out of the way. 3/8" ar 500 will turn a FMJ .308 to dust at 100 yds or better, especially if it tips or turns. J
 
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