30.06 thru 1/4" steel plate?
- Thread starter 26Ford
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Keep in mind that the guys at Red Jacket Arms are usually 3/4 full of poop on their show, too. I've heard enough of their nonsense to make me turn that show off for good. I'd rather watch the British "Top Gear" or a good movie than "Sons of Guns" ever again.
rojodiablo
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At 40 yards, 223 Wolf/Wpa cuts right thru 1/4" grading stakes. I use the stakes for setting up targets. My son thinks it is funny to saw them in half with the ar15.
FWIW, I used to drop 30-06 FMJ target ammo thru 1/4" plate at 200 yards like it was absolutely not even there.
I now use A514 in 3/8" thickness for rifle target shooting. Black tip 30-06 scratch it up at 100 yards..... but they do not go thru. These are tungsten core 168gr ammo. FWIW, they take a type III chest plate and cut right thru it at 50 yards. They go thru a kevlar vest at 400 yards.
It's a shame we have moved up to the 300WinMag and down to the 308 for longer range anti personnel. I really like the black tip ammo, but it is getting hard to come by now that the mil does not use it much.
FWIW, I used to drop 30-06 FMJ target ammo thru 1/4" plate at 200 yards like it was absolutely not even there.
I now use A514 in 3/8" thickness for rifle target shooting. Black tip 30-06 scratch it up at 100 yards..... but they do not go thru. These are tungsten core 168gr ammo. FWIW, they take a type III chest plate and cut right thru it at 50 yards. They go thru a kevlar vest at 400 yards.
It's a shame we have moved up to the 300WinMag and down to the 308 for longer range anti personnel. I really like the black tip ammo, but it is getting hard to come by now that the mil does not use it much.
StatesRightist
Member
It was AP. That's what I remember as well.
amd6547
Member
My father served in Europe in WWII...he recounted using 30.06 AP to shoot at Germans hiding behind trees...he also mentioned that it would take apart a brick wall.
I bought some Canadian AP in cloth MG belts years ago. I found it to be very accurate in my two groove Springfield 03A3.
I bought some Canadian AP in cloth MG belts years ago. I found it to be very accurate in my two groove Springfield 03A3.
Depends on what kind of steel and what kind of .30-06. The tungstun core AP ammo has a black tip and I think it is rated for 1/4" of armor plate or 1" of mild steel or 12" of wood.
The standard military ammo is less but I doubt it would have a problem with 1/4" of standard scrap yard steel at 20 ft and a 90 degree angle.
Someone here mentioned a brick wall there is actually a USMC video where it demolishes a cinderblock wall both sides and goes through multiple interior walls beyond.
The standard military ammo is less but I doubt it would have a problem with 1/4" of standard scrap yard steel at 20 ft and a 90 degree angle.
Someone here mentioned a brick wall there is actually a USMC video where it demolishes a cinderblock wall both sides and goes through multiple interior walls beyond.
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In terms of energy and velocity your .44 magnum is a lot closer to a .22LR than it is to a 30-06.
Titegroups
Member
Easy to forget handguns are pretty weak.
I have shot through a 1/2" steel plate hung @ 200yds with my 300RUM useing Barns 180 gr TSX. Plate never moved, burned a hole through it with no problem.
kids SKS carbine just stuck a FMJ in about 1/16 " . pulled it out for him to keep....
kids SKS carbine just stuck a FMJ in about 1/16 " . pulled it out for him to keep....
Nemo288
Member
Using WW2 AP 30-06 I have shot thru 2-3" of laminated transformer
core. That is silicon steel in layers. Don't ask the particulars.
I was young and stupid. Washing machines were toast.
I still have some but not gonna shoot it any more. It's toxic don't ya know.
...Nemo...
core. That is silicon steel in layers. Don't ask the particulars.
I was young and stupid. Washing machines were toast.
I still have some but not gonna shoot it any more. It's toxic don't ya know.
...Nemo...
mtime7
Member
back when I was about 19 a freind of mine dad had a range set up at his house in the back woods of Ga., he had some 1/4 steel plates set up and 7.62x39 punched through with no problem and 55grn .223 just dented them up. M2 ball I am sure would punch through and maybe a second..
rojodiablo
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300 mags of any flavor are rather heady beasts. I was never so happy as to sell my 300 Weatherby magnum. I was young and skinny back then.... the rifle would just man-handle me and beat me up. I often felt the thing ran so hot it would just scream thru a deer or elk without slowing down, just as you describe the plate not moving. The gent who bought it loved it, so it went to a good home.
My 300 RUM has a muzzel brake, does tame things down quite a bit.
.30-06 AP @ 75 yds
rburg
Member
Back in the early 1990s I had a hankerin' for a .458 so I bought one. Next day we took it out to test it. Only we were stupid and forgot to bring along anything to shoot at. It was OK, the guy who was driving that day had an old truck rim in the back of the truck. We went out about 100 yards to a pile of gravel and set it up. My gun, I got first shot and I selected 510 gr solids (elephant ammo). It was a nice day and my first shot made the rim jump about 10 feet in the air. It weighed maybe 50#. So we all walked over to see if I'd kilt it. Soo Nuff, it was real dead. The .458 ball it it kind of at an angle and then proceeded to punch holes as it went along. All the way through, not bothering to slow down or deflect. Kind of like the steel was soft butter or something. Very impressive for a low velocity rifle round (maybe 2000fps).
Back in my ill spent youth, I managed to shoot one of my best friends. We were at a different gravel pit and part of the scenery included an ancient power shovel. It had been used by many generations of plinkers. Most pistol rounds couldn't even penetrate the steel cab. But that day I was after bigger game. I took my trusty war surplus Mauser and using unknown ammo (all surplus 8mm was questionable) I took careful aim and shot the bucket! The core vanished after punching into the 2" thick steel where it hit. The problem was the jacket came right back at us. Caught my buddy in the forehead and looked all the world like those wood staples that are zig-zag. Stuck in his hard head, too. I'm guessing it hurt some, too. So we retreated to his dad's Nash Metropolitan to look for tools. Found some surgical pliers, like the off brand one's you found along the road. He held still and I extracted it without much trouble, only then it started bleeding. All we had to stop the bleeding was an old shop rag (complete with rust and grease.)
So he held it in place while driving up the road to the Pony Keg (a little out of the way store). We knew the proprietor pretty well because we always stopped in for some chips and a coke. He asked if we needed an ambulance, but we said no. So he offered up to do some repair work. With some ice and a much cleaner rag it bled a bunch less. So he found a few butterfly closures, put some Mertholade on it, and we were good to go. But we didn't go home, we went back to finish our day of shooting. Weekends weren't all that long back then.
The lesson we learned was not to shoot at hard targets from too close. Its good advice. From that point on we shot the shovel bucket from cover. Farther out and just peeking around a pile of gravel seemed much safer to us. Oh. And my buddy's father insisted we park his pride and joy out on the road and hike into the pit. Bob always did have a zigzag scar after that.
Back in my ill spent youth, I managed to shoot one of my best friends. We were at a different gravel pit and part of the scenery included an ancient power shovel. It had been used by many generations of plinkers. Most pistol rounds couldn't even penetrate the steel cab. But that day I was after bigger game. I took my trusty war surplus Mauser and using unknown ammo (all surplus 8mm was questionable) I took careful aim and shot the bucket! The core vanished after punching into the 2" thick steel where it hit. The problem was the jacket came right back at us. Caught my buddy in the forehead and looked all the world like those wood staples that are zig-zag. Stuck in his hard head, too. I'm guessing it hurt some, too. So we retreated to his dad's Nash Metropolitan to look for tools. Found some surgical pliers, like the off brand one's you found along the road. He held still and I extracted it without much trouble, only then it started bleeding. All we had to stop the bleeding was an old shop rag (complete with rust and grease.)
So he held it in place while driving up the road to the Pony Keg (a little out of the way store). We knew the proprietor pretty well because we always stopped in for some chips and a coke. He asked if we needed an ambulance, but we said no. So he offered up to do some repair work. With some ice and a much cleaner rag it bled a bunch less. So he found a few butterfly closures, put some Mertholade on it, and we were good to go. But we didn't go home, we went back to finish our day of shooting. Weekends weren't all that long back then.
The lesson we learned was not to shoot at hard targets from too close. Its good advice. From that point on we shot the shovel bucket from cover. Farther out and just peeking around a pile of gravel seemed much safer to us. Oh. And my buddy's father insisted we park his pride and joy out on the road and hike into the pit. Bob always did have a zigzag scar after that.
PeterCartwright
Member
A couple years ago, a metal fabricator contributed a large "bad guy" shaped target to our club (I think 3/8" stock, as I recall). He confidently told us it would withstand anything "up to 20mm" fire. My partner and I set it up about 100 yards downrange and fired about ten rounds each from our ARs (simple 55 gr. Federal bulk .223 stuff-NOT green tips). That little stunt cost us a trip to the welder to repair the damage we created. Our rounds left large, ugly craters on the front and bulging boils on the back of the target. Our target was apparently mild, rolled steel and easily vulnerable to rifle velocity projectiles.
PC
PC
AJMBLAZER
Member
I've got a hanging metal "swing target" and my dad has had a similar one since the mid 90's. When dad bought his at a gun show he was told it was "for pistols only". We shot it with .22's and his 9mm and then .40 Heckler & Koch pistols and friends handguns including .44 Magnum. Held up just fine.
It's a roughly cut piece of plate steel probably 3/4" or so thick. Not a lightweight.
Using fuzzy logic we decided dad should use it to sight in his .50 cal muzzle loader.
First shot sent the thing spinning around and the whole target up and back several feet.
When dad went to reset it he discovered a large dimple in it. The back of the target was actually pushed out. That ended that...
...then a while later we decided it'd be AK-47 and 7.62x39mm proof. We knew an AK wasn't as powerful as a .30-06 or .303 so figured it'd take it.
Wrong. Regular FMJ went straight through it like it was butter.
To this day dad's target has one .311 calibre hole and a golf ball sized dimple in it.
Just to prove the apple doesn't fall far from the tree last fall I shot mine at 75 yards with the same AK but using soft point ammo. Figured it wouldn't penetrate.
Nope...it didn't. Did put a 1" dimple in it though. Whoops.
Now trying to save for some armor plate to shoot rifles at...
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AJMBLAZER
Member
US Army official type stuff said:
There's the official standard on .30 M2 AP.
