500 / 1000 yard Steel gongs for competition
- Thread starter tigrr
- Start date
If your shooting at those distances,a cheap target that rings nice is old cast iron frying pans.You can buy them at garage sales ,and they have that convienient handle to hang by.Not to mention diferent sizes.
Cast iron is too brittle and breaks, if your going that route use aluminum skillets. KD
yup, that's what I thought... I wasn't serious about the depleted uranium.
Terry Perkins
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Bruce County
If the plate is hanging vertical, where do the bullets go? I'm interested in getting one, but I can't afford to spray the countryside.
rnbra-shooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Brunswick
Ordinary bullets splatter into lead dust and copper shards. If there's a bit of clean snow around, you can easily see this after you fire a few shots.
So there's no need to angle the plate downward (though no harm in it either). Hits on the steel won't be a safety problem. Do figure out what will happen to shots that miss the steel or bounce off the ground, if this could be a safety consideration in the area that you are shooting.
The amount of steel a bullet will penetrate, deform or crater, is *HIGHLY* dependent on the bullet's impact velocity. I once shot a bullet at a 1" thick mild steel plate at 400 yards (155 grain, 2900fps muzzlevelocity); the result was a deep crater gouged ouf of the steel (1/4" deep, if memory serves - it was 15 years ago). I fired the exact same load at the same target at 800 yards - it just smeared the paint off the steel, it didn't make the slightest mark in the steel itself.
So you can use quite thin steel for 1000 yard shooting - just be sure that it doesn't get shot at closer distances, it will easily get gouged up or shot through.
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Terry Perkins
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Bruce County
Thanks Daniel. Does anyone know how thick the plate should be? I will be shooting a 338 at 800 yards, and a 308win frome 300 to 800 yards. I'm going to probably get one built.
I would say the min distance for 1/4" steel non treated plate would be 1000 for big bore rifles... from experience 1/2 plate gets damaged at 200 yards with a 223 I would think a 308 would blow threw but never tried... but my targets are hanging vertially and can swing.
Another good thing about the way the target above is angled is it helps prevent the bullets from penetrating, a bullet hit directly on a upright target may blow right thru but if you have it at an angle closer to 45 the better it stops the bullets from blowing straight thru.
Only flaw with the target above would be the circular upright posts if your a lousy shot you will break one of those poles if you hit it a few times... and it could deflect the bullet causing a richoette...
White may not be a good colour to paint it in snowy conditions.
Another good thing about the way the target above is angled is it helps prevent the bullets from penetrating, a bullet hit directly on a upright target may blow right thru but if you have it at an angle closer to 45 the better it stops the bullets from blowing straight thru.
Only flaw with the target above would be the circular upright posts if your a lousy shot you will break one of those poles if you hit it a few times... and it could deflect the bullet causing a richoette...
White may not be a good colour to paint it in snowy conditions.
A target to withstand a 308 at 300yds will have to be minimum 3/8" ms plate at a slant.
If you want it to hang or stand vertical 3/8" plate made out of something with a higher carbon content. T100- T500, most AR wear plates.
Steel with a higher carbon content is pricey($22.00 a square foot). Where as a piece of scrap 3/8" steel is quite cheep, usually can be had for .25 cents a pound at most scrap yards. The mild steel 3/8" plate has to be slanted towards the shooter and the bullets will splatter into the ground below. At 300 yds it should be ok but any closer and you risk denting it. From the verticle being 90 degrees the plate should lean 40 degrees off of the veticle 90. I had a 24"X24" plate that was screwed to a 2X4 frame, that I could staple the targets to the frame and the bullets spattered into the ground.
If you want it to hang or stand vertical 3/8" plate made out of something with a higher carbon content. T100- T500, most AR wear plates.
Steel with a higher carbon content is pricey($22.00 a square foot). Where as a piece of scrap 3/8" steel is quite cheep, usually can be had for .25 cents a pound at most scrap yards. The mild steel 3/8" plate has to be slanted towards the shooter and the bullets will splatter into the ground below. At 300 yds it should be ok but any closer and you risk denting it. From the verticle being 90 degrees the plate should lean 40 degrees off of the veticle 90. I had a 24"X24" plate that was screwed to a 2X4 frame, that I could staple the targets to the frame and the bullets spattered into the ground.
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Here's what happens to 3/8" mild steel plate facing the shooter with no slant, at 100 yds. The hole measures 9/16 of an inch wide. shot with a 308cal 155gn Berger Match Grade bullet. The other hole is an old 270 cal hole.
