steel targets with big bores?

[Booney]

I was wondering what you guys are using for steel targets for these big guns. I will soon be a owner of a 338AM and currently have a 300RUM. I want to get a piece steel that I want turn to swiss in a month. I assume a piece of ar500 will be my best bet but how thick do i need 5/8 3/4 1 in. I am sure it just depend on how far away it is and it will never be closer that 600 yard any info will be great thanks.

 

[Broz]

Any thickness steel that is not AR 500 steel or at least AR400 will dimple, dent or blow through at 600 yards. A 7mm/300 I built would blast through 1/2" plate at 850. Do yourself a favor and get some AR 500 targets in 1/2 or 3/8"


Jeff

 

[new shooter]

hardx steel 338ax will not put a dent in it at 600 yd. I went to get some 3 years ago, the steel shop said 1500 a sheat i said said no way, but the salesmen said i was in luck. They had cut a sheat so what was left was scrap so i bought it for scrap,so i could get it cut to 20'' circle and one 12'' circle. But the bad news was i took it to a welding shop and they tried to cut it with a torch and it would not cut it. It would not even scratch it. So he sent me to a shop that had a plasma cuter. It ended in costing me 100.00 just to cut to circles and weld 4 chains on but they will last for every.

 

[SBruce]

Here's my old "swiss cheese" gong, it's 1/2" mild steel. Most of these complete pass throughs were with 7mm and bigger cartridges.

However, the vast majority of craters were made with little 24 or 25 calibers. Even at 400 and 500 yds, these little bullets put a pretty deep hole in the steel.

The 6" square plate on bottom is AR-500. The fresh shot is from 300 yds and shot with a 25-06.............WAY less damage to the steel than before. Very glad I bought some.

Now I just need to find a 20-24 incher for my 1000 yd berm.

 

[Booney]

Has any one ever shot old man hloe covers i heard they were hard but did not know how they would hold up?

 

[DT7]

Man hole covers are hard but brittle, not a good target they crack and fall apart easily. Plus one on the AR 500, expensive but it lasts forever.

 

[justgoto]

I don't know how big you could find leaf springs for trucks, but the ones I have for cars don't dent at all. Here is a 30-06 shooting a 4" wide leaf spring at 100 yards.



They are hard to cut but I've cut them with a regular hacksaw.

 

[liltank]

I use a piece of 5/8" R400 steel. Hit it with a 338 Lapua with 225 gran extreme ballistics copper bullet at around 3300fps at 90yrds. Put about an 1/8" deep pock mark in it. Handled it well. 200yds or better it just explodes the bullet w/o any damage to the plate.

Tank

 

[Tikka Lover]

I have a piece of Hardox. You will find nothing harder. I can shoot it at 100 or 1000 yards with my Edge and it will only knock off the paint. No kidding, you can not dent this stuff. Hard to cut and hard to weld to but it will last 100 years no matter what you do to it. Oh ya, and it is only 3/8" thick.

 

[Booney]

where does a guy get some hardox and what kind are you using 400 500 550 600?

 

[Tikka Lover]

I got mine from a local construction company that lined their loader buckets with it. Didn't know they even had a number rating for the stuff. Google is your best friend.

 

[Booney]

I found a piece of ar500 1/2 for a good price any one need a target about 30$ a square foot.

 

[jeff 300]

There are guys selling ar500 targets on ebay IMO cheap i got one a 15" for i think 85.00 to my door. EBAY is the best price i could find.

[ame=http://cgi.ebay.com/Gong-Target-12-Diameter-AR500-1-2-Steel-Plate-/110550820208?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19bd57a570]Gong Target - 12" Diameter AR500 1/2" Steel Plate | eBay[/ame]

 

[bajabill]

for those who use these often, what is the benifit of the 1/2? Is it louder? Or just more durable? And, how loud are these, can you hear the hit with earmuffs on and the target 300yds away?