Steel Targets

[DSARGE]

Met a buddy at the range today and shot the steel targets. They had some round ones lined up on a stand, two "human shaped" targets, and some tombstone targets in line with one another--they got progressively smaller as you went down the line. Fun time and different than shooting paper. Put a couple hundred rounds through the 1911, and feel I got more training this way than standing behind a line. Went and watched some sort of competition shooting afterwards.

[Venus Pax]

Sounds fun. I don't think I've ever tried steel targets.

[jbirds1210]

Next time you shoot the PSC IDPA match....we can walk over to the plate rack for a few minutes if you are up to it. Just let me know. I am addicted to them.

[longtooth]

They are excellent for contest. Set up an even # the same size on a rack.
You start frm the right & I start from the left. Meet in the middle & see who has the most.
One of the most fun is to change hands every time you get one down.
Strong hand til 1st plate is down, change to weak hand until next one is down, back to strong hand......Fun.

[flintknapper]

Sounds fun. I don't think I've ever tried steel targets.

You'll love it.

You can see and hear your hits (immediate feedback and gratification)...and the targets that fall (plates, pepper poppers, etc) make it all the more fun.

My daughter loves the steel, hates the paper.

[BrassMonkey]

Ouch, splatter...

[shootthesheet]

What kind of ammo do you use? Frangible or ball or what?

I have never shot those. I was thinking of making some or buying some for myself. Sounds like a blast.

[flintknapper]

What kind of ammo do you use? Frangible or ball or what?

I have never shot those. I was thinking of making some or buying some for myself. Sounds like a blast.

I shoot regular ball (FMJ) ammo, but frangible would be better.

At closer ranges you will occasionally get some "spatter", its something than "can" happen and everyone must realize this.

I have my own targets and have shot many thousands of rounds on them with no significant injuries to myself or others. ALWAYS wear "good" eye protection and you'll be fine.

If you shoot steel long enough and at close distances (5 yards), eventually you'll take some spatter. Move on back to 10 yards and beyond....and its pretty rare to catch any "incoming".

[longtooth]

Flint covered it all. Make sure you are 10 yds or more out & away.

[drw]

I purchased some steel targets at the show yesterday, and am wanting to set them up and do some shooting.

For safety's sake, everyone will be wearing eye protection and the children will be hiding well behind us.

But... I've seen the famous youtube video about the .50BMG ricochet, coming back and blasting the ear protectors right off the shooters head, and this has got me frightened. Is ricochet really a danger? We'll be shooting the small plates from about 7 yards with 9mm, 380 and 45acp. The larger plates will be shot at about 100 yards with 7.62x39, .308, and .223.

Should I pull the trigger, or is there something I need to be aware of? I don't want to mess this up and have someone get hurt by bounce-back.

[BrassMonkey]

7 is a bit close for me.

[drw]

Ok, say 10 yards then. Or 15 even. The point is, I'm concerned about ricochet safety at ANY distance...

[ghostrider]

Steel is fun.
As long as you're wearing eye protection and standing far enough back, there should be no problem, especially with pistol rounds. With rifle rounds, depending on the thickness/hardness of the steel, you may find some damage to the steel from high speed FMJ rifle rounds.

[drw]

So, what did this guy do wrong?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_516lll2Ck

[Skiprr]

Shooting steel at close range with handgun ammo, it's a very good idea to have side shields on your shooting glasses.

In a class last October I went back to the bench to reload and a guy looked over at me and said, "Dude; you're bleeding."

"Yeah," I said, "I took a bullet." Okay. So I'm no comedian.

Copper shards do fly off steel. Set up some IDPA or IPSC cardboard targets near your steel when you shoot, and you'll find those soft targets all sliced up by small copper-fragment nicks. These aren't going to cause any serious harm...except to eyes. Don't take a chance there. Unless you use full-coverage, wrap-around shooting glasses, I strongly recommend using side shields like the kind you can find here: http://www.sideshield.com/index.shtml. Good insurance for only a few bucks.

If your steel is going to be fixed-mounted, set it up so it's angled downward 10 degrees, plus or minus. This directs all the copper splash downward, and keeps things pretty safe out to four or so yards for handgun rounds.

At 100 yards and the rifle calibers you mentioned, I wouldn't be very concerned. A slight downward angle on the steel, again, assures you'll have no problems even if you shoot a .50. Assuming the steel target is firmly fixed. And you want good quality steel for rifle rounds; not as important for handgunning.

Swingers and spinners present a different situation, but they absorb the impact of the bullet. I wouldn't want to shoot heavy spinners (like 1/4 steel) closer than seven or eight yards. Lighter swingers won't present as much backsplash.

Steel is a great training tool, IMHO, especially spinners for handguns.