Shooting Steel

[Glen]

I have some 6x12 inch steel plates that hang on reebar at an angle. I have always shot lead bullets at these--everything from .22 to .44 magnum and they work great. I keep them at 25 yards.
When I got them some years ago, I think I was told to shoot only lead at them, but I am not sure. I am wondering...would it be OK to shoot jacketed handgun bullets at them? I certainly do want to be safe.

 

[bhk]

I don't think anyone can answer this as it depends on the type of steel your targets are made of. I shoot jacketed stuff at mine all the time with no harm to the targets, but yours may be of softer steel. I guess you could try it and find out. The only problem with this is that any cratering of the targets makes them more dangerous by increasing the rate of back splatter.

 

[usmccpl]

What is the thickness of them? Too thin and a heavy jacketed 44 will sail right through. Too thick and jacketed bullets fly off at odd angles.Either way probaly not a good idea to try it.

 

[Glen]

To Answer Your Questions

The steel is 3/8 inch thick and pretty tough as hard cast .44 mag bullets at 1200 or so fps dent it but barely hurt it, so I am not worried about bullets going through. I was more worried about anything coming back at me.

The plates hang angled a bit so bullets splatter into the ground. I just wondered if jacketed bullets might somehow behave differently than lead. Really, now that I think of it, it seems safe unless the jacket might back off the lead core and come back at you.

 

[KJS]

I have no idea, though being hit by ricochet from 75 feet away doesn't seem likely. Not that I'd want to test it out.

Have any of you ever been hit by ricochet and what's the greatest distance that ever happened to you at?

 

[TonyT]

I shoot a lot of stel when I am in AZ for the winter. I remember overhearing one member discussing the type of steel they used for their plates but I do not remember the details. I do remember that it was a tougher grade of 1/2 inch steel. We shoot at those plates with lead or jacketed bullets at distances 10 yards to 25 yards.
Our local club here had a plate rack made by a person in northern Indiana and we shoot those at 11 yards with either lead or jacketed.
When shoting steel you will sometimes get a bullet or jacket come back towards the shooter. I have seen one shooter get hit on the lip with his own 9mm cast lead bullet and several times have expereinced pieces of bullets near me. i have seen several lead bullets or their fragments come back to the shooting line. to data I have not seen it with either the berr's/Rainer plated or the jacketed bullets.

 

[Hk Dan]

You'll be fine. With the steel hanging it will move when hit, increasing the angle of deflection a little, and you should never have a worry, even when it dimples. If the FMJ leaves dimples in it, be advised that at some point you'll want to turn it around and shoo the flat side only. When that dimples you can grind it flat or replace the plate (the dimples are whatcause the majority of the splash back).

I have been hit by splash back as close as 10 yards. It stings, but it doesn't generally draw blood. This is why we wear eye protection in USPSA...<g>

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

you're fine. keep them angled rearward or flat on . angling them down results in spall from the edge of the plate coming back towards you.

 

[springfield30-06]

Have any of you ever been hit by ricochet and what's the greatest distance that ever happened to you at?

Was hit by a 9mm FMJ bullet about 15yds away shot by the guy next to me, right in the stomach area. Stung a little but only had a small red mark where I was hit.

 

[SmokeJensen]

I wouldn't shoot steel any closer than 11 yards. I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that's the minimum distance in competition shooting. I shoot lots of steel at my grandpa's house and he uses 3/8 plate hanging from homemade rebar hooks. Be sure the plates are free swinging and not fixed. This allows the jacketed bullets to angle towards the ground. I've had bits of bullet hit my shoes and shin. This was shooting real close real fast. It burnt more than stung. Please be sure to shoot at distances and at swinging targets.

Steel is fun. You can make lots of different targets. We shoot at a crude Osama bin Ladin cut out. Haha. It actually looks like a funny ice cream cone. We painted the towel on his head white and a black beard. Its great. I'm thinking of making a full size zombie. Just gotta get the material. Heck, I might post a thread for target ideas. That would be fun.

Good luck. Stay safe.

 

[BCRider]

Springfield, that typically happens when shooting at steel that has bad dimples in it from being previously shot with rounds that had too high a velocity for the steel to resist. Once a steel target has impact dimples it is no longer safe to shoot. When a round hits the edge of a dimple part of the bullet does a quick U turn around the base of the dimple and is directed back towards the firing line. That's likely what happened to you.

Shooting steel is fine. BUT! The targets must be smooth faced and sharp edged to be safe from returns such as yours. The trick seems to be to keep those darn rifle guys away from them. Handgun caliber carbines and such are fine as the velocity is low enough. But the serious rifle calibers have serious velocities that WILL spall or go right through a lot of types of steel. Something small such as the innocent looking .223/5.56 rounds make clean holes through mild to medium alloy steel up to around 1/4 inch thick. In the thicker stuff they leave a lovely dimple that ruins the target for future safe operation.

 

[Glen]

Well, I sure appreciate all the comments. My plates are free swinging so everything seems pretty safe to me. But, yes...I did finally get a hold of the guy that got me the plates years ago and he said they would dimple with jacketed bullets. I don't know how I will play this--stay with lead or do some jacketed, but at least now I have a much better idea of what to expect. Thanks guys!

 

[Drail]

One bit of advice, if the plates are capable of swinging do not shoot at one rapidly while it is swinging. I stood next to a buddy who was clanging away at a swinging plate and it batted a complete 240 gr. .44 cast slug straight back into his forehead. Now for this to happen the timing has to be exactly perfect, but it can happen. Make certain everybody in the area is wearing eye protection and KNOW where the slugs are going when they come off the steel. If a plate becomes cratered, don't use it (or place way out at long range) Jacketed bullets can come apart and send sharp pieces of jacketing back to the line. Most of the clubs I've shot at will not allow jacketed slugs on steel. Even cast lead bullets can go into a crater, turn inside out and come straight back. Just make sure you can control the angle of reflection and keep everybody out of that area. Shooting steel is a lot of fun but some care needs to be taken to prevent bad stuff from happening.

 

[Lawdawg45]

Glen,

As a long time cowboy action shooter, I wouldn't recommend it. In SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) we use the same combination of steel and lead, and our loads are required to be sub-sonic, yet many shooters have been struck by lead fragments. One of the numerous times I was struck, the shooter was 3 ranges down (approx 75 yards), and I can't imagine if he was using a copper jacketed round. Pass on this one Pard!

LD45

 

[Hangingrock]

http://www.policeone.com/police-pro.../67903-Steel-reactive-targets-Safety-and-use/

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

Free swinging targets are actually less safe than targets that have a fixed angle.

IME, almost all of the bullet fragments come off the edges of the plate.

there is almost no occurance of projectiles coming back at you unless you're using plates that have deep pocks in them, or shooting slugs at them.

angle your plates so the top of the plate is farther away from you, or flat on, and set it in a stand that keeps them at a fixed angle, and you won't have any problems,

 

[BCRider]

Jacketed are fine if you're using an alloy steel which is tougher and more "wear resistant" such as the sort of stuff used for making the teeth on excavator buckets. The ones that come to mind so often are the AR series of steels. AR500 is known to resist cratering with even high velocity rifle bullets. And AR400 would easily resist handgun jacketed bullets. But I'm sure there are other tough and impact resistant alloys that would be similarly suitable.