When shooting steel with pistols close up. Make sure your steel swings or is canted froward. This way if a round bounces back it won't hit you. I learned this the hard way 58 years ago shooting my first 1911 45 acp. The 230 grain round bounced back and hit me in the leg. It didn't break the skin but it dang sure left a mark. Y'all take care, flea !
Seriously! This is where my ears perked up when they said to have it square, perpendicular, I cringed. Steel needs to be angled so as the splatter goes in a safe direction, not straight back at the shooter.
@@1248dl If you angle to target back away from the shooter ( with the bottom of the target back )any splatter will go straight to the ground. Hell, they have designed pistol target like that for many years now. www.brownells.com/shooting-accessories/targets-accessories/steel-targets/rifle-pistol-12-square-target-static-stand-prod118293.aspx Example !!
Also it’s splashing. Spalling is what happens when it penetrates and lows off the back side of the metal. But yup, we know what is meant. Kinda like clip and magazine, except everyone gets spalling wrong and gun nerds correct clip/mag all the time.
As a guy that's been involved with shooting for many, many years I have only recently gotten into shooting steel. It is a ton of fun. Also, it was not too long ago that I discovered red dots, etc. and now I know what I've been missing, although a lot of younger shooters need to learn how to shoot with iron sights. Some of them look like great shooters but if their batteries run out, they run home, lol.
I love Brownell’s videos. No tatted up tacticool bearded douchebags acting like they know it all. These guys are just two friendly normal looking guys that talk clearly and straight to the point about firearms along with good info.
I agree 100%. Most of those dudes can't STAND anyone having a different opinion as well, and start name calling and acting like children when someone has one. These fellas give me facts and let me decide.
@@bigguy7353 That’s right! I generally see gun people as constitutionalist/conservative. When I see a bearded tatted up douche bag as a gun person, that strikes me as an oxymoron. Tattos are generally a leftist thing. We conservatives have more common sense. 🤓
I hang mine in a way that has it slightly angled down to encourage the debris & anything rogue to go down to the ground. Bi-metal rounds that aren't green tips shouldn't be used either. That's what the craters in my plates say anyways.
It is so important to angle down steel plates, with the lower edge further back, to direct the bullet fragments into the ground. I have been to some shooting bays where they allow steel plates and someone in the bay next to me did not set it up right. I was going thru my course of fire on paper in a static position when I felt a thud on my shoulder. Couldn't tell you what I was thinking at the time, but I shrugged it off. After 2 more mags I felt another thud on my hat and discovered it was a mushroomed bullet that had rainbowed over the berm into my bay. I hadn't changed my position and I suppose they hadn't either. Still, what are the odds? "Strange things [were] afoot at the Circle K."
@@NoNo_IStay With all the new gun owners; it is good to make sure they know this stuff. This is why it is referred to as educating, and think it is a great idea.
@@gerald.bweaverii6162 Absolutely It's better to have new gun owners ask these questions then guess, but every once in a while you have to laugh at Yourself.
Low end, steel cased ammo like Tula and Wolf tend to be perfectly fine to shoot at steel, at least in terms of damage to the actual steel. Mostly because that kind of ammo tends to be a little underpowered. Sparks and potential fire hazards aside.
Safe distance depends on pistol or rifle rounds. Most steel target manufacturers are suggesting 7.5 yards or more for pistol and 55 yards or greater for rifle. Or for metric most common pistol calibers at a distance of no less than 7 meters and most common rifle calibers at a distance of no less than 50 meters. Steel core ammo is strongly discouraged. Respect your distances to avoid spall and frag injuries. Hanging steel is the better option as the steel is free to move at angles from the impact deflecting the spent round. Immobile steel should be angled to deflect spend rounds downward. However ricochets are possible no matter whether hanging or immobile. In my experience most of the rounds from solid hits on the target will dump their energy on it and splatter or fragment on the steel. Partial hits or hits on edges are usually where ricochets happen.
only bounceback i ever got was 22lr out of a 2 inch barrel (Beretta Bobcat). All it did was skip along the ground and land a few feet in front of me. Longer barrel and more powerful rounds are like a water balloon at a concrete wall.
I had a jacket come back a few years ago and gash me right between the eyes... eye pro is almost more important then ear pro when shooting steel. Man that was a lucky one
@@williamthompson9262 Good to know. Just bought my first steel. Going to be shooting it with .308 and 5.56 (which it's rated for) ....from about 50 yards away. Perhaps a little close but I've seen videos of people shooting from much closer. Definitely will be wearing eye protection and will probably shoot from a slight angle.
If you mount your plates to be able to swing, make sure they swing as straight backward as possible to deflect rounds straight downward, and not far off to either side.
My two cents: don’t hang the plate from a wire (garage door type) cable. I found that the bullet “shrapnel” destroyed the cable, making it very sharp to handle.
If you can get a hold of some old firehouse that works great. It's hard to put holes in it but it lasts a long time and takes a bunch of hits before it falls apart.
I have seen a wildfire started by shooting steel. Things were a little too dry and the grass underneath caught on fire. You need to be aware of what's around your target, especially during red flag conditions.
Also remember to never shoot steel shot loads at steel, if you do it anyways , don't shoot it dead on, cant the plate some. I had a few loaded in my tube and forgot that the last 2 were steel shot and got stung by about 12 bb's to the legs.
I had a kid at this shooting spot up in the hills start setting up steel targets diagonally behind my buddies and I. We told him he can't be doing that because you could kill someone and we got the heck out of there.
Watch out for the surplus Russian ammo. I shot at steel plate, 100 yards and it messed it up. I shot a piece of 5/8" regular steel plate and I punched a hole through it. That ammo is steel core. Typically indoor ranges won't let you shoot it either.
Read ALL the signage at the range. TWICE! I didn't, and after firing a couple rounds of .357 Magnum at steel plates the rangemaster paid me a friendly visit.
I really appreciate your videos. This dynamic duo is great! How do you read my mind?! I just bought my first set of steel plates today and wanted some information. Steve and Caleb are already in my feed.
What is safe and what isn't?! I just don't know who to believe. It seems like manufacturer distance recommendations are lawyered up? I often see them saying you should be at 100yds or more for rifle use. However, I have seen a lot of excellent shooters/trainers like John Lovell, Aaron Cowan, Lucas Botkin, and others, shoot steel even at only 30-50yds with 223/556.
I believe part of it is the safety of the plate as well. Shooting closer to the steel will exert more force into the shot than one further back because there is less travel for the bullet and less loss of velocity over time. So even if shooting steel with a 5.56 at 50 yards is safe, it'll wear the plate down more than if you shot it at 100 yards. Keep in mind, it also depends on the angle of the plate, type of ammunition you're using, whether it's swinging or grounded, etc. A lot of people will recommend you set up the targets to swing suspended in the air. Just don't shoot a .50 BMG at 4 yards...
Slightly disagree with that perpendicular comment. Most guidelines say to slightly angle the steel downwards so as it strikes the steel it doesn't fly past the berm, and instead travels downwards. A few degree tilt down will do that.
A prudent thing to do is setup the plate to be angled slightly so as to deflect the round away and to the side into the berm. For pistol steel, angle the targets considerably down and away. One of my duties as a range safety officer (RSO) is checking the centerfire pistol and .22 rimfire ranges for any plates that need to be corrected, as well as touched up with paint. The steel on the rifle ranges start at 200 yards and end at 450 yards at the range I volunteer at, and have 3 sided berms, so we only check them about once a month to make sure nobody has been using prohibited ammo (AP, incendiary, and tracers). Once in a while some asshat shoots some AP rounds, and it's a real shame because the range is a non-profit and when we have to spend money on replacing steel, that's money that gets diverted from other things, such as shooting competition prizes and facility upgrades. Y'all be smart and courteous, you hear? Stay safe, shoot well, and have fun out there!
Sorry, it just gives me the willies. But I think a slight DOWNWARD deflection on impact would be preferable; perpendicular horizontally, but with the bottom of the plate tilted slightly away... that's how I would hang mine if I ever decided to do it. I don't want to be looking at that thing square in the face even 100 yards away. For a standard plate, placing it downhill from you would do the trick. On level ground, the plate would have to be designed/balanced to hang with a slight tilt.
I think people should pay attention to warping on larger human size targets especially after years of center mass hits. We had one that had slightly bowled out the middle which didn’t seem like a big deal until it started slinging 7.62x39 almost perfectly right back at us at 100 yards. If the plate begins to deform in any way throw it out.
Don't forget to add a coating of hair gel to the steel plates. The coating make the plate more visible AND adds a layer of protection to help prolong the life.
Great info.. I've been asking people.about shooting steel with my 9 mm.no one answers back wanted to know the distance and thickness.i have some 1/4 steel don't know a500 or not.i made targets out of,and hanging so hopefully,ammo bounces to ground. haven't tried yet.i want to be safe.
Well, I bought 2) 5 1/2" AR500 steel plates at a gun show. I guess they would be considered "generic, because there is no name, markings of any kind, or paperwork with them. I plan on using one at relatively close range (10-20 yards) for hand guns, and the other at 100 yards with my rifles. They look like they are cut out using a mill. because the edges are sharp and perpendicular, with nice machined looking sides. no torches, lasers or waterjets used on these. which as long as these are good, hard steel is just fine with me. Anyway, my question is at 100 yards, using cup and core hunting bullet, will shooting it with my 300 win mag going to destroy the plate? What about 150g full metal jacket bullets from that same gun? I have not shot these yet. the next nice week day, I plan on shooting. I will be hanging these from 1/4" thick conveyor belting. so they will be able to give, and they will be angled so the fragments go into the dirt.
@@j.p.1576 I agree. I have seen M193 penetrate regular steel better than M855 but the opposite for AR500. I think it may have to do with the amount of carbon in the steel. I think AR500 has more carbon than regular steel.
I’ve got some 1/4 steel plate around the shop. I assume my 14.5 noveske 5.56 is going to rip straight thru it at 100+ yards. I’ve made a few targets and plan on trying it out soon. They’ll be hanging at 100, 200, and 300 yards in a very wide open , safe outdoor range
So is it okay to hang sell plates with loose swinging hooks that don't angle the steel downward? Because originally I had my steel on chains with bolts that angled the steel. However for pistol it had no ring to it. So I tried loose spinning hooks and it rang awesome. However the plates weren't canted forward at rest. Which worried me so I stopped.
The impact of the round will naturally deflect the plate. The splatter pattern will be less predictable due to impact location, but it will not come back at you.
Does anyone know what ar-500 steel is? (From metallurgy pov) A tool steel like 1045 or 4140? Spring steel like 1095 or 5160? Shock resistant like s7 or h13? Air, oil, or water hardening?
@@debunker4874 thank you for your response sir. 500 (just learned thank you) is around 53ish Rockwell scale which is hard but lower than some other steels. (O1 hardens to 63-68 Rockwell) Just a hobbyist wondering if it’s good blade,axe,chisel material and how to normalize, anneal, treat, temper ?
The distance they tell you to shot at on the plates is very conservative. They say 100yd for rifle and 50 yd for pistol. I found 50 yard min with rifle and 25 for pistol. Is still safe if you angle bottom of plate slighty away from you that way it is deflected down.
I have a 1/2 inch thick 10x12 inch AR500 steel plate that I want to use as a target at 50 yards and 100 yards with my 30-06 rifle. Since I do not want to damage my steel target, I am considering gorilla taping a 1 1/2 inch thick 10x12 inch pine board to the face of the steel. How much do you think the pine board will prevent damage to the steel target and reduce ricochet, shrapnel, fragmentation, and spall?
Hi Brownells, Your thoughts on shooting AR500 steel targets with 12 gauge, 00Buck, 3" Magnum steel 7 1/2 shot, etc .... Or maybe stay with cardboard targets ? I enjoy your videos. Good stuff. Thanks !
I did not say it was armor piercing, I just said shooting steel with it was a no-no. It is not armor piercing technically, but it is a penetrator round.
Any reference information out there that breaks down what happens to 22lr ammo hitting steel? I am a member at a range where the Board Members are adamant and express a firm belief that 22lr cannot be shot at the centerfire steel targets in the pistol pits. They state that the ricochets from the rimfire ammo is dangerous vs centerfire pistol ammo. Since I can look down and see jacket and core fragments in the pea gravel off the steel plates from immediately in front of the steel plates back to the 35 yard shelter I find this hard to believe. As in the 22lr lead bullets ricochet. I am hoping to read a study or two to enlighten myself, am I wrong or partially right?
I've got steel plates but they don't "ring", just thud. I put a cow bell behind the larger one and that gives us something, but the smaller round ones just thud and swing. I've tried hanging them from rubber, from chains and lately from steel strap. Any ideas?
the thicker it is, the smaller it is, the less it rings. basically. also when shooting 223 or 308 at mine they seem to make a kind of large bang rather than a ding noise.
DID I JUST HEAR YOU CORRECTLY,I THOUGHT I HEARD YOU SAY THAT GRN. TIP WAS ARMOR PIERCING??????? THE LAST I HEARD WAS THAT IT WASN'T,IT HAS A HARDENED TIP BUT IN NO WAY IS IT ARMOR PIERCING!!!!!! IT'S ACTUALLY REFERED TO AS A PENETRATOR ROUND,IT DOESN'T BOUNCE AROUND LIKE A 55 GR BULLIT!!!!! CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG,I'D LIKE TO KNOW!!!!!!
I did not say it was armor piercing, I just said shooting steel with it was a no-no. It is not armor piercing technically, but it is a penetrator round.
We have ours on a plate hook mounted on a 2x4 there is other hangers where it connects to a few cables (really depends on how many mounting holes you have) only 1 mount use a hook 2/more use a cable holder
Generally yes. But depends on size and thickness as well. I have a 24inx24in 1/2in thick that weighs 70lb. It is rated for 50BMG. It does not clang, it tinks, even with 338 Lapua hitting it.
Steel is great but for some reason I still love love love water bottles. something about seeing the destruction and the cloud of water spray everywhere is just too damn fun. Drink a bottle of water fill it back up with tap and a drop of food coloring then pew pew pew. then clean up and take to the recycling for my 5cents back. Now that is recycling at its best!!!
I have personally verified that M193 pierces more steel than M855 with rolled homogeneous armor. Possibly they were speaking from the point of view of a ricochet risk.
I thought it was just steel core...and I didn't know it was armor piercing. But state ranges I go to in Missouri will not let you bring in green tips. They check your ammo before you shoot. ...at the supervised ranges anyhow.
@@AndyCigars yes it is steel core. I don't believe that it is considered or intended to be armor piercing, but many people mistakenly believe that it is.
