Steel Targets For a 12 Gauge

[levsmith]

I just bought my first shotgun, a Mossberg 500, and I am wanting to make a steel target for it. I have made one out of 3/8 mild steel for my 9mm and it works perfectly but I have no clue what thickness I need for 12 gauge loads.

I wouldn't be shooting slugs. maybe 00 buckshot at the most but mainly just the cheap target loads. I am looking at making one of the "texas star" targets and just doing a little planning.

Also, would there be any ricochet problems with lead shot? From what I've read, its usually the metal jackets that ricochet and lead pretty much disintegrates on impact.

Thanks for any help

 

[Steve C]

I've read, its usually the metal jackets that ricochet and lead pretty much disintegrates on impact.

Lead will come right back at you from hard surfaces so don't shoot at close range and always wear eye protection.

Personally I see little value in shooting fixed target with a shotgun more than a couple times. Absolutely no challenge with shot and gets boring after the 2nd or 3rd round. Slugs, shoot a couple at paper and see where they hit, after that its no fun any more either. If you are competing in cowboy action or other tactical games it may present some challenge if you have to shoot on the move or the targets are mobile.

 

[gfpd707]

Lead will come right back at you from hard surfaces so don't shoot at close range and always wear eye protection.

Personally I see little value in shooting fixed target with a shotgun more than a couple times. Absolutely no challenge with shot and gets boring after the 2nd or 3rd round. Slugs, shoot a couple at paper and see where they hit, after that its no fun any more either. If you are competing in cowboy action or other tactical games it may present some challenge if you have to shoot on the move or the targets are mobile.

Wow what a downer. He didn't ask for your opiniion on the shooting he was doing he wanted to know about target construction. I would imagine if it holds up well to 9 mm should do fine with 12 gauge target rounds. Just like always when shooting steel take precautions for ricochet.

 

[lobo9er]

Personally I see little value in shooting fixed target with a shotgun more than a couple times. Absolutely no challenge with shot and gets boring after the 2nd or 3rd round. Slugs, shoot a couple at paper and see where they hit, after that its no fun any more either. If you are competing in cowboy action or other tactical games it may present some challenge if you have to shoot on the move or the targets are mobile.

huh? I 2nd the downer quote. winter time I get scrap plywood from construction sites and set up a goofy shotgun course in the woods, blast them with cheap walmart target load, hasn't got boring yet.

I wouldnt shoot shot at a steel target though not sure about slugs.

 

[levsmith]

Thanks for the replies. How do the people at competitions deal with ricochet? They only shoot 10-15 yards away from the target.

Steve, that is the reason I want to build a texas star target. It is a fixed target but spins when you shoot it, so it would be a little bit of a challenge (at least to me anyways)

 

[Al Thompson]

Perhaps the cowboy shooters have some better data. FWIW, my experience with birdshot and bowling pins is that the ricochets were pretty bad and struck as far as 30 (+) yards away.

I would tilt the targets downward, so the fragments go towards the ground.

Slugs are a whole other world on steel. You will be amazed at the damage they can do, despite being a chunk of soft lead. I ruined a target with a 20 ga slug - the target had shrugged off .44 Magnum hits, but the slug dished it deeply.

Golden rule of shooting steel is either look directly at or directly away from the targets as most shooting glasses have a bit of a gap on the sides.

 

[Bix]

I'm afraid I can't give much useful technical data on steel - I've purchased AR500 plates and they stand up just fine to decent volumes of bird and buck.

Ricochet, in my experience, is not an issue with bird/buck on steel. Typical safe distance is ~10 yards. Proper steel that is in good shape and properly placed will not direct spatter back at the shooter. In fact, you can often see a well-placed charge of birdshot 'pulverize' on a plate.

Slugs are a different story. It's very important to ensure that you don't shoot a piece of steel with a slug at close range. I've experienced a substantial chunk of a slug come back uprange off a gong at 75 yards with significant energy.

Texas stars are good fun. This is from a match earlier this year:

http://s919.photobucket.com/albums/...31410/?action=view&current=20100314113525.flv

 

[Blakenzy]

Standard steel IPSC pistol pepper poppers seem to hold up very well to 12Ga. target loads and birdshot. At least the ones they have at my local shooting club. Now the use of 00 and slugs on these targets are prohibited so I never got to try those loads on steel.

 

[Sam1911]

Using a hardened target steel (like AR500) is always a better bet, but not all steel that is acceptable for pistols and shotguns is that tough. 3/8" is pretty common for poppers and plates.

Generally the accepted rule for steel plate shooting with standard power handgun loads or shotshells is 10-11 yds. That is, of course, will GOOD eye protection and you are certainly not immune from taking some "splash back." It happens. A lot. Lead may deform pretty easily on steel, but those pieces sure do go SOMEWHERE.

(I do believe the Cowboy Action shooters use steel even closer than the "safe" limit (maybe 7 yds?), but their loads are limited to such low velocity and soft lead bullets that the risks are more minimal.)

Slugs would simply be a no-go for me with any mild steel target. I just don't think the plate will hold up and it will become dangerously bent and possibly pocked, ruining it for safe shooting even with normal rounds.

 

[jmorris]

Bird shot under #6 is all that our club lets hit steel. 3/8 mild steel is fine for those loads, we use AR400 for pistol and AR500 for rifle.

 

[Sam1911]

Bird shot under #6 is all that our club lets hit steel

Ours too, which I'm still trying to work out in my brain. .33" buckshot at 1,200 fps. or so wouldn't be o.k. but 230 gr.+ jacketed pistol bullets at 950 pfs. -- or 115 gr. jacketed pistol bullets at 1,400+ are fine?

I'm sure there's more physics -- or more "conventional wisdom," tradition, and misconceptions -- involved than I understand.

 

[wulfhart]

Those "Texas Star" targets look amazingly fun. I think I would put a clay pigeon on the tips for the actual shooting. I like to see my targets burst into little pieces.

I have had trap loads ricocheted back on me, but the targets were tin cans on a wood frame. Yeah, I can't explain that one either. Did it a few times, then I moved targets elsewhere.

Perhaps the reason they usually allow shotgun is because of the chance of mistakenly loading steel shot? I imagine steel + steel =

 

[ArmedBear]

.33" buckshot at 1,200 fps. or so wouldn't be o.k. but 230 gr.+ jacketed pistol bullets at 950 pfs. -- or 115 gr. jacketed pistol bullets at 1,400+ are fine?

Buckshot is round, and hardened. Ricochet characteristics are different.

Soft pure lead from muzzleloaders isn't much of a problem, either. But a hard ball will come right back at you.

Still, there's no reason whatsoever to use anything bigger than #8 shot for targets closer than 40 yards. Skeet shooters use #9 and it works, too.

I have had trap loads ricocheted back on me

REAL trap loads? Have you ever handloaded target-quality shotshells? STS shot is round and hard, and acts like a ball bearing ball, not a bullet. It is HARD.

Use cheap chilled shot "game loads" instead.

 

[wulfhart]

Misspoke, not "real trap loads". Not the best with terminologies. It was just cheap target/game shot from Wallyworld, that I use for clay pigeons.

 

[ArmedBear]

That shot is probably fairly hard, also. The real crap ("game loads") tends to be overloaded with powder, but the shot is really crappy and soft. That's what you want, to avoid ricochets, though recoil can be nasty with some of it.

 

[rcmodel]

4" x 1' or 2' steel pipe sections stood on end make fun shotgun targets.

The rounded surface make lead coming straight back at you fairly unlikely.

And they are small & light enough to knock over easily, which also deflects the lead away from you.

rc

 

[ArmedBear]

This is a fun shotgun target. After a few of these, all the others are boring.

 

[Jason_W]

Instead of steel, you might consider making targets out of the sort of currugated plastic used for real estate signs. that material can absorb a lot of fire before it gives out. It's cheaper than steel, lighter, and there is no ricochet danger.

I had a bad experience (due to my stupidity) with shooting steel once, so I've been wary of it ever since.

 

[levsmith]

Ok everyone, Thanks for all the replies. I am wanting to get into competitive shooting and thought the texas star would be a good place to start with the shotgun but maybe i'll go ahead and start with clay pigeons since it seems there is a lot of things to think about with the texas star.

Thanks again

 

[arizona98tj]

I've put nearly two thousand rounds on steel over the past couple of years, using bird shot and buck shot, at 15 to 25 yds. On the steel I just mentioned, we were allowed to engage it with slugs only at 100 yds and out. Never had any issues with any lead coming back at 15 yards. The steel was angled nicely, deflecting the shot downward into the sand/ground. Regardless, good eye protection is a must, just in case.

 

[Sir Aardvark]

You would be better off using Hardened Steel (such as AR 500) rather than mild steel. The mild steel will start to crater or pock and pieces of it will end up flying around.
3/8 inch would be fine for shotgun, but 1/2 inch would be less likely to deform over time.

Have the target face sloped at a downward angle of about 15 to 20 degrees. This will cause the the object striking the face of the target to deflect, thus lessening the impact on the steel and also lessen the chance of a ricochet heading right back at you (the downward sloping angle improves the dissipation of the energy of the bullet impact).

I have shot hundreds of rounds at the above designed targets with both birdshot and buckshot as close as 7 yards and have never had anything come back at me.

DO NOT shoot slugs at steel targets! they tend to turn inside-out when they strike the target and then come right back at you.
If you shoot any slug or rifle rounds at steel targets the general rule of thumb is 100 yards minimum distance.
Be aware that a target that only gets shot with birdshot or buckshot can last a very long time, but once you start shooting slugs or rifle rounds at it, it can become damaged.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I've been shooting Cowboy Action for a little over 6 years now and I've put a couple thousand rounds of shotshells on steel targets. They do splatter, so always, ALWAYS wear eye protection. I've shot several different kinds of steel targets with the shotgun, from fixed, hard mounted plates, swinger targets, knockdown targets, plate racks, knockdown/popper targets (throws an unopened pop can or clay bird straight up when knocked over, for a second shot) and the infamous Texas Star. I love the Texas Star for rifle, handgun or shotgun use.

Another fun target is the potato tree, which is made from rebar in the shape of a person or a tree. On the ends of the rebar, where the head, hands and feet (or branches) would normally be, there are two spikes that you put a large raw potato on. The object is to remove all remnants of the potato, including shreds of potato skin, etc. It's a hoot to watch some people use up all their shotgun ammo trying to get that last little string of skin..... You have to remember that this is done "on the clock". These are normally shot at about 12 yards or so, but could be moved to just about any distance, closer or farther, but those potatoes really do splatter when hit solidly at close range, so keep that in mind.

We limit our shot to #6 or smaller, with most shooting # 7 1/2, in light loads. I load 7/8 oz. @ 1,100 fps for my loads, and use them for trap, too.

Shooting any reactive target is fun, since it gives instant feedback. You can use the same target setup and vary the scenarios several different ways so it doesn't get boring. Just use your imagination and have fun.

Hope this helps.

Fred