Purchasing Steel Challenge Steel Targets

Call Oneal steel in jackson/pearl wherever they are. I got a quote for enough of the 18x24 plates, 10" diameter and 12" diameter plates to be able to set up any stage of the steel match. It was 1/2" AR400. Should be able to withstand any normal pistol cartridge for a loooooong time. I think the quote was $1100.

Or, do what I do. Make them out of carboard. No ring when you hit them, but if you paint them white, and cover your holes with masking tape and paint over them, you can see your hits.

you can get a Texas Star less than a grand......


terry ashton [texasstartarget@yahoo.com]

My dad uses the AR plate at work and i get to use some of it as targets and it is extremely tough.
I just use some scrap metal and weld it all together and shoot it with rifles at long distances. Makes nice pretty holes.

what kind of steel is good for making these kind of targets? i went shooting with Cliff the other day and he got me really interested in steel target shooting. And my dad works in a steel shop and can get it for me

AR400 for handguns (non magnum)

ezgo wrote:AR400 for handguns (non magnum)

thanks.

is there such thing as a plate rack with quick release plates, so that the club could provide the rack, and the shooters provide their own plates????????

what about for Magnum rounds? give me a number.

A lot of factors play into it in my experience. Target hardness, thickness, design, distance, etc.

Most mild or standard construction steel is 130-180 Brinell, and in 3/8" thick generally won't hold up long at all to anything above a .22 LR. At 1/2" thick, it will be marked by non magnum rounds, depending upon caliber, velocity, bullet type, distance, etc, but will last a while. I have some stationary targets that have taken a LOT of rounds, mainly 9mm, .38 Super, .40, and .45. They even went through a Magnolia full auto shoot. They are beat up but still going with just a bunch of small "pock" marks. In general, the hot Supers left more damage than the .40's and .45's.

T-1 or A514 has been a very popular handgun target steel choice for years. It has a Brinell hardness of about 230-300. This is what most of the 3/8" thick steel targets used in the USPSA matches in Jackson are made out of. It will bow over time but most non-magnum rounds don't do much to it.

AR400 is an "abrasion resistant" steel that is heated and oil-quenched. Hardness is roughly 360-450 Brinell. It is great for handguns and I imagine 1/2" thick AR400 would be a decent choice with some lighter magnums, i.e. no .454 Casull or .500 S&W, with a good target design, but I don't have any experience to say for sure.

AR500 or T520 is the same as AR400 but with a hardness of roughly 460-540 Brinell. This is roughly 52 on the Rockwell scale, is in the level of armor plate hardness, holds up great to handgun use, and is suitable for rifle targets. A high powered rifle will put a visible mark on it at 100 yards, and of course caliber, speed, and power are again factors. From 200 yards on, this stuff should take .308 ball or .223 for thousands of rounds.

All steel will bow some with use. The softer mild steel will cave in, while the harder steels will become convex because the surface is actually stretching. Any design that allows reversal of the target is therefore preferred so it can be kept relatively flat.

Large magnum handguns are going to be a challenge for just about any steel target at close range. Besides hardness, other major factors include the design and weight. If the target is completely stationary or designed not to move, the target has to absorb all of the bullets' energy and is going to be damaged more than one that moves or falls down upon impact.

My brother sold steel targets for a while some years ago, but steel and shipping prices went up and business went down, so he sold off his programmable cutter and is no longer doing it. My $.02; hope it helps some.

My 20" plate i shoot at is about 3/8" thick and is bowed really bad from the years of shooting it, so i welded on a bunch of 3/8" 5" dia plates and at 700yds its taking a beating with the .270 and 30-06 rds.

I can get a 4'x8'x1/2" for $650+- a few if anyone wants any of it...you just have to chop it up.

Shooter wrote:Have any of you tried these?

http://www.newboldtargets.com/index.htm

i have a few of these and they actually do pretty well. I only ordered three 8" ones to try out and they probably 700 to 800 rounds into them. The ones i have are the hanging ones, and if you pull too many shots high you can clip the hanging part off, but it can easily be fixed with a little redneck engineering. For the price they work well, make PVC holders w/ wood inserts and you have inexpensive set up that is lightweight and can be moved around.

tag

We have some railroad track pieces that work pretty well.Takes .223 and every pistol bullet we shot it with, .44 made a little dent. xd357 could probably tell us more about this.

nhstk02 wrote:We have some railroad track pieces that work pretty well.Takes .223 and every pistol bullet we shot it with, .44 made a little dent. xd357 could probably tell us more about this.

your probley talking about tie plates. It's a steel plate that is spiked to the ties for the rail to sit on. Than the rail is spiked to it. They only have one flat side but should hold up to shooting pretty well.

As seen in my avatar, I used some scrap carbon plate 3/8". It has held up for "me" shooting it. If it was going to be an everyday use or high use, you should use something harder. I made about 6 targets and they have lasted for about 1.5 years now with no visible damage. They have taken about ~4000 rounds apiece, with .22 being the primary, and 9mm and .40 bringing up the rear. When they start to cup, I'll just flip them over for a few years and beat on the other side!!!LOL!

dhollis51 wrote:I can get a 4'x8'x1/2" for $650+- a few if anyone wants any of it...you just have to chop it up.

Volume discounts ( I know the volume wouldn't be much). I'd go in half on a sheet (listen to me talk, ain't even got .22 pistol yet and my 34 ain't gonna be ready for a little while longer). Could make 4 - 12"x48" targets for each person. Guy down here in Florence seemed reasonable on cutting up some beams for me, know another guy who got laid off and would probably do it reasonable. Anybody got plans for a target to give to a welder?