Cheapest Steel Targets

[Duane]

Originally Posted by benp

I guess for the guy on a budget -

A used cutting blade off of a road grader or the pads off of a dozer or track hoe.

I have some friends that have made steel gong targets out of these with success.

That may work O.K. at long distances. Never tried it, so I just don't know.

I guess that grader blades, and dozer / track hoe pads would have to be made from some pretty hard stuff.

However, the current wisdom seems to be to use AR500 if you're going to be shooting it from close range, and it should be as flat as possible, and angled down to reduce the ricochet potential.

I've never seen either a grader blade or track pads that were flat.

Like I said, it might work O.K. at long distances.

I made a dueling tree from 3/8" mild steel back in the late 1980's, and had it set up 10 yds from the firing line. It was a LOT of fun. However, as it got more and more pock-marked (less flat), it started spitting more and more lead back at us.

I made new targets for it,(again from mild steel, because I didn't know about AR500 back then) and that took care of the problem, until they started getting pock-marked, and started spitting lead back at us again.

I sure as heck wouldn't shoot either grader blades, or track pads at 10 yds.

I want to shoot fairly small targets (6"), at relatively short range (10 yds), and not be concerned about spit-back, or ricochet.

Just trying to provide some of my experience. You do what you want.

Thanks,

Duane

[HighFlyingA380]

Originally Posted by benp

I guess for the guy on a budget -

A used cutting blade off of a road grader or the pads off of a dozer or track hoe.

I have some friends that have made steel gong targets out of these with success.

I'm with benp on this. Unless it's a specialized target, such as a dueling tree, I don't see spending a couple hundred bucks. I go to an old weld/metalworking shop near my farm and buy scrap steel from them for like 5 or 10 bucks. Then a quick shot with the drill, a .50 cent bolt and a $1 length of chain and I'm good to go. I don't care that it be perfectly circular or anything. Any shape will go 'ding' when hit.

Even for making a dueling tree, once I get a couple days free, I figure I can make one for under $100 bucks.

O well, whatever floats you boat. I just know I'd rather spend $50 in scrap steel, and the other 100+ in ammo. That's almost 500 rounds!

[SmokedBMW]

Originally Posted by Duane

I made a dueling tree from 3/8" mild steel back in the late 1980's, and had it set up 10 yds from the firing line. It was a LOT of fun. However, as it got more and more pock-marked (less flat), it started spitting more and more lead back at us.

Thanks,

Duane

This is why you don't use cheap steel. Every dent in the metal increases the risk of a ricochet in your direction. My ar500 target has taken hundreds of 30-06 and .308 without even thinking about denting. All I have to do is spray paint it and it's literally brand new again. I would rather spend the extra money and have it last FOREVER and be safe, than save a few bucks.

So to the OP, use ar500 or ar550 for the actual target and use mild steel for everything else.

[benp]

Originally Posted by Duane

That may work O.K. at long distances. Never tried it, so I just don't know.

I guess that grader blades, and dozer / track hoe pads would have to be made from some pretty hard stuff.

However, the current wisdom seems to be to use AR500 if you're going to be shooting it from close range, and it should be as flat as possible, and angled down to reduce the ricochet potential.

I've never seen either a grader blade or track pads that were flat.

Like I said, it might work O.K. at long distances.

I made a dueling tree from 3/8" mild steel back in the late 1980's, and had it set up 10 yds from the firing line. It was a LOT of fun. However, as it got more and more pock-marked (less flat), it started spitting more and more lead back at us.

I made new targets for it,(again from mild steel, because I didn't know about AR500 back then) and that took care of the problem, until they started getting pock-marked, and started spitting lead back at us again.

I sure as heck wouldn't shoot either grader blades, or track pads at 10 yds.

I want to shoot fairly small targets (6"), at relatively short range (10 yds), and not be concerned about spit-back, or ricochet.

Just trying to provide some of my experience. You do what you want.

Thanks,

Duane

I believe that the cutting edges and track shoes are around ar500 hardness due to their intended use.

I have only seen them used for long range gongs and I can see issues arising at close range due to some of the shapes like you mentioned.

For close range like you said I guess I would stick with something that is designed for being shot at close range.

[pual0101]

AR400 plate will be more than sufficient for most calibers

[Mudinyeri]

AR500 targets at $40/each for 10X10 and $65/each for 11X18: Targets ar500

[petyweestraw]

Yup. I've decided that I'm gonna take some 4x4s and build a stand to hang two 6 inch plates to. Then use paper for more pricise shots

Sent from my VS920 4G using Tapatalk 2

[Duane]

Originally Posted by Duane

Hey guys,

I've just got a custom made set of AR 500 targets from Jeff, at www.gongshot,com

He was easy to work with, his prices are reasonable, his work is nice, and he shipped quickly. What more can a customer ask?

What I wanted was a hanging target stand, with 3, 3/8" thick, 6" AR 500 round targets.

Here's what the finished product looks like:



Note: Some assembly, painting, and local purchase of pipe ARE required. I knew that up front, so it wasn't a problem.

I chose 30" lengths of 3/4" pipe for the legs, and a 60" length of 3/4" pipe for the cross bar.

The target faces are made of 3/8" thick AR500, and hang at a pretty decent angle, so there should be minimal chance of ricochet.



It wasn't very expensive, considering that it will last longer than I will.

Thanks,

Duane

Hey guys,

I finally got a chance to try it out this past weekend. Seems like work keeps getting in the way of fun. Dammitall.

But at least I still have a job.



This was from 11 yds, with my .45 ACP XD(m).

I was shooting 230 grain jacketed hard ball. At first, I was concerned that it (the stand) may not be heavy enough, and I'd flip it over. That turned out to be a non issue.

I also just had a little concern that with the angle the targets were hanging, the bullets wouldn't spatter properly, with possible ricochets.

Another non issue. The bullets spattered into a nice line on the ground, just in front of the back legs. A good hit caused the target to spin completely over, which would not be good for a quick follow up shot.

But I had 2 other targets to "kill" anyway.

The targets themselves suffered no damage at all, except for knocking the paint off.

I do need to add some something to keep the targets separated, so they don't walk together, but that's easy enough.

Overall, I'm very happy with it.

Thanks,

Duane

[Duane]

I've freshly painted my targets, a little differently this time, added spacers to keep the targets separated, and hope to try it out on the range tomorrow. I would have tried it this afternoon, but its been raining.



Thanks,

Duane

[NeverEnoughGuns27]

I would buy Steal Targets as well, im need of some.