Steel/metal target usage

[finaltoy]

I hope this is the appropriate forum.
I have a question with respect to metal targets.
I was under the impression that they would contribute to bullets richochitting away from shooting area.
Also I read somewhere that a richocitting bullet picks up speed.
So I need the rationale for using them. I have some but am afraid to use even with the earthen berm 20'w x 10'h x 15' deep and fronted with 8' of vineyard posts (less metal staples) and Oak tree limbs I have constructed as a backstop.
Thanx
Bill

 

[airman]

(It's ricochet, I looked it up.)
You have a very nice berm.
Metal targets? Depends. There is a wonderful video about a shooter at his range. There must be a hundred metal targets stretching a hundred yards. It appeared that they were knock-downs - poppers - which are a lot of fun until you have to walk out there and pick them up again.

A nearby range has some 4 ft tall poppers of very heavy hard metal. Many of us bang at 'em with handguns every week. Love it. We have to stay at least 10 feet away because some of the tiny bits of the shattered bullets bounce - ricochet - back toward the shooter. They feel like sand.

It's much cheaper to hang metal sheets or cutouts so they swing and let the ricochet go away from the shooter. (BTW, they cannot gain velocity. Physics denies that.)

I like your concern. It's wisdom at work.

 

[old tanker]

Moron buddies are a problem with steel targets. Some idiot will take a notion to shoot something that craters the target. Now there is a spot that will send fragments back. Think water into a spoon. A good discussion of steel targets and safety is here: http://steelchallenge.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/steel-target-resource-guide.pdf

 

[finaltoy]

Thanx Airman for spelling correction.
I was just too lazy to look it up this morning.
That's part ot the "Golden Years" thing. hehe
I'll have to try the spinning metal target.
Bill

 

[airman]

Oldtanker has a point. I've seen old rusted bent-over poppers that were a menace from idiots firing armor-piercing rounds and creating craters that would redirect particles back at the shooter. It was a relief to see them replaced with very hard metal poppers.

 

[finaltoy]

Airman & Old Tanker

Thank you for your service.
Bill

 

[wantmoresmiths]

One of the important features of steel targets is to make sure they are constructed of hardened (usually some grade of abrasion resistant) steel. If you check out some of the target maker web sites you will find that the targets are usually fabricated from 400 and 500 Brinell hardness plate. This hard plate resists deformation from handgun velocity bullets. Most of these sites explain the proper method of setting up and shooting steel targets. Videos I remember seeing a slow motion video of how a bullet hitting a hardened steel plate actually breaks apart into very tiny particles referred to as spatter, thereby eliminating the likely hood of a ricochet. Videos The shooter must always wear good eye protection to prevent eye injury's from the spatter. Oh by the way, those tiny spatter particles of spatter still hurt when they hit you.

The rational for using steel targets is that they are far more fun than punching paper. The "ping" lets you know immediately if you have hit or missed your target. Check out these videos http://www.steelshooters.com/index.php/Video

 

[Hicksville Kid]

Someone found these at a recent club steel shoot. I think .45. They were down by the target, so they didn't go too far.