Making your own steel targets?

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Chuckt5

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I'm wondering if anyone out there has any info and making your own steel targets for plinking? I have looked at buying some online but they are really pricey, so I hope to weld up my own if it's doable.

I want to make a couple of steel plates to shoot at up at our cabin. I would like it to be able to handle rounds from the 22, the 12 gauge and all the way up to a 7.62 rifle. I think I will make some kind of wooden frame for Paper targets and then have a long top cross board (that extends past the target boards sides) to then go and hang the swinging steel plates off of (if you get my drift).

My question is how thick and what type of steel do I need and is there any issue with potential ricocheting with a target like this if it is able to hang/swing from the top? Is it ok to use it for all these sizes bullets? :confused:

I did a search and couldn't find anything on this.

Thanks in advance.
 
Yes, you can make your own rudimentary steel targets. Velocity is the key. High velocity bullets 2500+ fps are very hard on steel targets unless you use AR400 or AR500 steel plate. For the higher velocity rounds, stay back at least 100 yards. Splashback from steel targets can be an issue @ close range. There is a video on youtube of a fellow shooting a steel target with a .50 bmg. The round bounces back & knocks off his hearing muffs! This could have gone horribly wrong. I would be very careful shooting military surplus ammo at steel targets. Some of it can be steel core. Good eye protection is strongly advised while doing any kind of shooting.
 
Thanks for the info. I do want the ability to shoot surplus ammo at 100 yards +. What if I angled the steel plate down for the long range targets. Would that reduce some of the risk? Also, what thickness of metal should I use? I will probably get some hot rolled steel. I wish I had the $ for AR 400 or 500, but that stuff is pretty pricey!
 
1/2" steel plate makes a good gong for long range shooting. Armored plate is better and will last longer...When it gets beat up, just replace it.
 
Chuckt5 said:
What if I angled the steel plate down for the long range targets. Would that reduce some of the risk?
Click to expand...

Most of the targets I've seen are not fixed they have the ability to swing or pivot which would absorb the energy rather than deflecting it. One issue I see with fixing an angled target is what happens when it starts getting pock marked and has chunks missing. You might get some strange ricochets at unpredictable angles. Just my two cents, the only steel targets I have I bought at Canadian tire and they are for 22 so I'm by no means an expert.
 
My pops and I have been building several variations of shooting gongs. I shoot mostly 7.62x39, .223, 12G, and .22. The first variation came as a suprise to a noob shooter that 1/4 just won't cut it for anything bigger than a .22 for rifle and it also works for scatter guns.

So we tried round two with success! Heavy hardened grader/cat dozer blade steel works great! I have mine cut into 9"x9" diamonds with the curved back side of the blade as your target.

Welded 1'6" of rebar onto it and a slice of 2" pipe to hang it from.

For the rack that holds it we took another piece of rebar and welded 2 tabs on each end. The 2 tabs on each end where spaced just nicely for the gong to hang in between.

This bar with the tabs that I have described was intended to sit horizontally on top of a fence post, to secure it we welded 2 1' long pieces to the underside of this bar so it could be drilled and screwed to both sides of the post.

Works like a charm and shows no dimpling on the blade hundreds of rounds later.
 
"...Armored(SIC) plate is..." What plate? Horrendously expensive. As is any other steel suitable for stopping any CF ammo.
"...at our cabin..." What are you using for a back stop and what is behind it out to 3 or 4 miles? Bullets out of CF carridges can go a long way and you are responsible for where every one of 'em ends up.
"...getting pock marked and has chunks missing..." Doesn't take much either. And the distance from the shooter is critical. Bits of bullet etc can fly a lot farther than you'd think.
 
Thanks everyone for the replies.

The back stop is the side of a mountain, mostly clay/dirt with probably some boulders burried within. I was thinking of placing targets at the 25, 50, 100 and 200 yard distances. I would only use the 25 and 50 yds for the 22 and shotgun, eaving the 100/200 gongs for 7.62 and 22. How does that sound?
 
I have shot mine at about 50 yards near dusk (you can see the huge spark show on impact, looks like a firework)and from what I can see the bullets fragment into thousands of pieces upon impact, and go up, down, and to the left and right of the target by about 8' before the wind blows them away.

Nearly all of the energy of the bullet is dissipated into the gong on impact and I feel that the most danger is in the fire hazard after seeing that!

I still insist on you wearing the safety glasses though!! (Even just for normal shooting)
 
What if I go with thinner mild steel for the 25 and 50 yard plates and then thicker stuff for the 100/200 yard plates? I would only hit the 25/50 distances with my 22 and 12 gauge and use the 7.62 and 22 for the 100/200 yard plates.

Would this minimize the risk of anything bouncing back from the closer plates by using thinner/softer steel?
 
I make my own gongs and spinners. 1/4 inch mild steel is great for 22. My 1/2 inch 100 yard gongs don't hold up for too many hits of 7.62*39 though. When they start to look like the surface of the moon I fill the divots with weld and grind it flat.
 
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