Hope this is in the right place. Could a O2 or CO2 tank be used as a reactive target? The tank would have the bottom cut off and be set upright on a fence post, this would be used mostly for pistol at around 25-35 yds. If any rifle rounds they would be .223/.556 and 7.62x39. Thanks in advance. lost...
Steel target question
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Chuck R.
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Big question I'd have is how close and how large is your backstop???
Cylindrical objects are a recipe for ricochets, you have rounded edges on two sides and the top. The steel at distance should hold up for a while.
Cylindrical objects are a recipe for ricochets, you have rounded edges on two sides and the top. The steel at distance should hold up for a while.
The range would be 25-35 yds to 100 yds. 25-35 yds berm about 15-25 feet 100 yds berm 25-30 feet on three sides. Would the 25-35 yd range be too close for the rifles? Thanks in advance lost...
Chuck R.
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25-35 yards, with rifles, even with 3/8ths AR500 is too close and will damage your steel. Here's a pretty good guide on safety with steel:
https://shop.actiontarget.com/content/steel-target-safety-rules.asp
Another very good article:
https://www.range365.com/shooting-steel-targets-everything-you-need-to-know/
edwardware
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A properly hung flat steel plate, with incoming fire orthogonal to the face, will produce a fan of very small fragments parallel to the face of the plate. This is good, they don't travel far.
A cylindrical steel tank will occasionally throw the entire projectile, at a significant fraction of it's original velocity, off the curve of the cylinder. This is Very Bad if there's anything you don't want holes in for 100yards or more off to the sides
A cylindrical steel tank will occasionally throw the entire projectile, at a significant fraction of it's original velocity, off the curve of the cylinder. This is Very Bad if there's anything you don't want holes in for 100yards or more off to the sides
jmorris
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Yes. The tanks are not as resistant to bullet impacts as 3/8” AR500 and even it can be damaged at such close range.
this!!!!!
You are responsible for all projectiles that leave your gun, and every one of those projectiles has a lawyer riding along with it.
As an example of a flat face target and bullet vaporization (for lack of a better term) here's a pic of my AR500 scaled down IPSEC targets that I use for long range plinking. Note the "trench" that has been dug in front of the target - that is projectile dust leaving the target at high velocity.
(FYI There's a burm not visible behind the target in question)
At 600 yards (the distance I was shooting that day with iron sights in high wind
) a 7.62 bullet still has a hell of a lot of 'oomph' - enough that the miniscule lead and copper fragments from projectiles will impact the area around them with enough force to remove dirt and debris.I was chief range safety officer and secretary at our local gun club for years - responsible for the safety and well being of not only shooters, but adjoining neighbors as well. If someone was caught shooting anything other than a safe target they were banned from the range, it was against the rules and there were zero warnings issued. I banned people from the range who brought bowling balls, and all sorts of other unsafe targets to shoot at.
You cannot risk this, not even once. YOU (and by extension, your range, if you are at one) are liable for every projectile that is fired on that property, and any projectile that leaves the range is a gross violation of general safety for your neighbors.
Metal targets outside of competitions were banned on the range as well, as it's possible for a bullet to strike the edge of the target and deflect with a substantial amount of it's kinetic energy remaining - enough to be lethal within a substantial range well beyond the borders of the shooting range in question. To safely shoot metal you need to have a backstop that is at least 35-40 degrees higher than the plane of the shooter/target, taken from the perspective of that plane with regards to where ricochets will intersect with the backstop(s).
This means during competitions steel would be placed relatively close to the backstops so that any ricochets would be trapped by the backstops behind them. Steel placed further in front of the backstop meant that ricochets as shallow as 5 or 10 degrees (still maintaining 80+% of their kinetic energy) could leave the range.
I know we all like to shoot stuff and hear PING, but seriously consider what happens on an edge shot and make sure you trap the projectiles so they don't exit your property.
The last thing you want to be is "that guy" who killed a neighbor who was out mowing their lawn, or something.
(Anecdotally, a few years back in Washington, IL not far from where I live, a man was shot while walking to his shed in his back yard one nice sunny weekend morning - a fellow a half mile away who lived outside of town had an insufficient backstop, and sent an errant round his way. He survived, but getting shot at random when you are just out in your own backyard is not a pleasant experience, from what I understand.)
this!!!!!
You are responsible for all projectiles that leave your gun, and every one of those projectiles has a lawyer riding along with it.
As an example of a flat face target and bullet vaporization (for lack of a better term) here's a pic of my AR500 scaled down IPSEC targets that I use for long range plinking. Note the "trench" that has been dug in front of the target - that is projectile dust leaving the target at high velocity.
View attachment 986870
View attachment 986871
View attachment 986872
(FYI There's a burm not visible behind the target in question)
At 600 yards (the distance I was shooting that day with iron sights in high wind
I was chief range safety officer and secretary at our local gun club for years - responsible for the safety and well being of not only shooters, but adjoining neighbors as well. If someone was caught shooting anything other than a safe target they were banned from the range, it was against the rules and there were zero warnings issued. I banned people from the range who brought bowling balls, and all sorts of other unsafe targets to shoot at.
You cannot risk this, not even once. YOU (and by extension, your range, if you are at one) are liable for every projectile that is fired on that property, and any projectile that leaves the range is a gross violation of general safety for your neighbors.
Metal targets outside of competitions were banned on the range as well, as it's possible for a bullet to strike the edge of the target and deflect with a substantial amount of it's kinetic energy remaining - enough to be lethal within a substantial range well beyond the borders of the shooting range in question. To safely shoot metal you need to have a backstop that is at least 35-40 degrees higher than the plane of the shooter/target, taken from the perspective of that plane with regards to where ricochets will intersect with the backstop(s).
This means during competitions steel would be placed relatively close to the backstops so that any ricochets would be trapped by the backstops behind them. Steel placed further in front of the backstop meant that ricochets as shallow as 5 or 10 degrees (still maintaining 80+% of their kinetic energy) could leave the range.
I know we all like to shoot stuff and hear PING, but seriously consider what happens on an edge shot and make sure you trap the projectiles so they don't exit your property.
The last thing you want to be is "that guy" who killed a neighbor who was out mowing their lawn, or something.
(Anecdotally, a few years back in Washington, IL not far from where I live, a man was shot while walking to his shed in his back yard one nice sunny weekend morning - a fellow a half mile away who lived outside of town had an insufficient backstop, and sent an errant round his way. He survived, but getting shot at random when you are just out in your own backyard is not a pleasant experience, from what I understand.)
The steel plate will be on a stand at the base of the 20'tall berm the side berms are within 10'on ether side and are 20' tall, won't be using a cylinder. The stand hangs the steel plate ar500 X1/2" at about a 20 degree angle from verticle, at 30 yds. At 100yds. the side berms are about 25' on ether side and 20' tall. 30yd range is pistol cal. 9mm, .45acp, and .22lr, 100yd. range is 9mm, .22lr and .223/5.56 only.
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