Amateur hand gunner here, all my shooting has been at paper until now. I have a variety of mild steel targets and thought I would shoot these targets from much closer than the usual 25 and 50 yard distances. Maybe 7 yards, 15 yards or so. My guns are low power vintage cartridges, .22 LR, .32 ACP, .38 Spl, .44 Russian, .44 Spl, .45 ACP. With these low velocity rounds do I need to be concerned about ricochets back toward the shooter? I have heard of fellow muzzle loader shooters having bounce backs, although I never experienced it. You guys?
No expert here but have shot at an AR500 target from 7 yards with 9mm jacketed bullets quite often. I think I managed not to get hit because my mounting setup angles the target toward the ground slightly and the hard AR500 doesn't crater. Bullets hitting craters will splatter in uncontrollable ways.
Long time ago, early 80's, we used to shoot .357 and .44 Magnums at soft steel targets from 50 yards away which would get pretty cratered and we would occasionally get hit by fragments. Not hard enough to break skin or even hurt but you knew you were hit by something.
So I wouldn't recommend shooting the soft steel targets from up close even with milder rounds.
Don’t shoot mild steel. Especially that close.
No expert here but have shot at an AR500 target from 7 yards with 9mm jacketed bullets quite often. I think I managed not to get hit because my mounting setup angles the target toward the ground slightly and the hard AR500 doesn't crater. Bullets hitting craters will splatter in uncontrollable ways.
Long time ago, early 80's, we used to shoot .357 and .44 Magnums at soft steel targets from 50 yards away which would get pretty cratered and we would occasionally get hit by fragments. Not hard enough to break skin or even hurt but you knew you were hit by something.
So I wouldn't recommend shooting the soft steel targets from up close even with milder rounds.
You want your steel angled at 22 degrees, or a lot further away.
Steel targets of 3/8ths or 1/2", in good condition and flat ie: not concaved or have rifle hit craters, you will have no problems. There is always a chance of a very small zinger stinging you, but this can happen with targets set at longer ranges. On impact, the bullet splatters radially at the same plane as the target, they don't "bounce back", the minute pieces that make up that splatter can fly like a damned frisbee and come back to bite you, but it's not because they bounced back.
Whatever you decide, wear eye protection. A local literally put his eye out while plinking at mild steel with a 9mm not long ago. Protect your peepers!
Steel targets of 3/8ths or 1/2", in good condition and flat ie: not concaved or have rifle hit craters, you will have no problems. There is always a chance of a very small zinger stinging you, but this can happen with targets set at longer ranges. On impact, the bullet splatters radially at the same plane as the target, they don't "bounce back", the minute pieces that make up that splatter can fly like a damned frisbee and come back to bite you, but it's not because they bounced back.
All bullets do not splatter and some do indeed bounce back.
The safest way is to angle the target so as to deflect s bullets and splatter down into the ground
Its all fun and games until a sliver of metal hits you in the eye.
Its all fun and games until a sliver of metal hits you in the eye.
BTDT
It is most unpleasant.
I wasn’t even the one shooting or at the shooting line so beware!
The steel must be flat and smooth. Any imperfections in the surface can cause bullet frags to be re-directed back to the shooter.
Mild steel is OK for velocities under 1200 fps AND OVER 750 fps. but mild steel will always be hit by some slob with an AK even after you tell them not to. The resulting damage creates a dangerous situation that can / will cause injury. That is why we always recommend AR500 for shooting targets.
https://imgur.com/gallery/ADXXrOJYou can’t imagine how much ammo you can shoot up in a afternoon. Hasbeen
Very nice! I wish I had the land where I could build something like that.
Very nice! I wish I had the land where I could build something like that.
Me too. It’s a shooting club - range I belong to. That’s our pistol bays. We shoot at 10 yards. We have about 12 of these bays. Concrete block walls angled backstop. PSC range. Hasbeen