Best Steel plates for Targets?

[vinconco]

Lol, I'm not trying to argue but for the same size plate the prices aren't double. I'm looking at the full size silhouette targets that I mentioned above, not gongs. The Hangfast was more expensive than the Steel Ops by like $30 and requires the post.

Comparing apples to apples I came to a different number.

I checked the Steel Ops silhouette T3RX-IPSC and it's $224.00

The Hang Fast target of the same size IPSC AC ZONE is $118.17 Shipping is 18.75 for a total of $136.92 plus a $5.00 T Post. That would be $82 bucks less than the Steel Ops.

Here is a cool video I found on youtube of a guy in Alaska shooting a Hang Fast target @ -40 degrees with an suppressed MP5. He is using the T Post base because the ground is frozen. THAT is how a target should sound when hit.

[Rogue556]

Thanks for the info, I'm going to look into them. I've been in desperate need of some steel targets and like how simple the T post setup seems to be.

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[ubet]

Looking at the hang fast targets. What would you recommend for pistol, and how close can you shoot them with a pistol? Looking at the 40% ipsc targets....

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[26 Inf]

Most manufacturers say 10 to 15 yards. I always ran students at 12. Eye-pro is a must and you will get some 'rain' at that distance.

Here is a good rendition of the original Porta-Target Bible of metal target utilization: http://savagerangesystems.com/doc/guides/safety.pdf

[vinconco]

Looking at the hang fast targets. What would you recommend for pistol, and how close can you shoot them with a pistol? Looking at the 40% ipsc targets....

Generally the minimum distance is 10 yards for pistol. That is what most shooting sports and target manufactures recommend. Hang Fast offers a couple mounting systems for the 40% ipsc. The chain mount is very reactive and shouldn't be used for rapid fire pistol. The bolt mount puts the target plate at a 20 degree downward angle and is not as reactive so it can be "double tapped". Both options can be ordered at the same time.

[26 Inf]

Generally the minimum distance is 10 yards for pistol. That is what most shooting sports and target manufactures recommend. Hang Fast offers a couple mounting systems for the 40% ipsc. The chain mount is very reactive and shouldn't be used for rapid fire pistol. The bolt mount puts the target plate at a 20 degree downward angle and is not as reactive so it can be "double tapped". Both options can be ordered at the same time.

From you experience, which hanger would you get if you were only going to use bolt mounting? Primarily 2/3 IPSC Plates.

I'd rather use the standard that the fail safe because of the way I store and transport my targets, but if the targets bounce off the standard hanger with 100 yard rifle hits that is a no-go.

From the photos it looks as if the bolt doesn't go very far down into the notch on the standard or improved.

Thanks!

[vinconco]

From you experience, which hanger would you get if you were only going to use bolt mounting? Primarily 2/3 IPSC Plates.

I'd rather use the standard that the fail safe because of the way I store and transport my targets, but if the targets bounce off the standard hanger with 100 yard rifle hits that is a no-go.

From the photos it looks as if the bolt doesn't go very far down into the notch on the standard or improved.

Thanks!

The 2/3 IPSC only comes with the chain or bolt mount. Both use the Standard hanger.
The bolt goes about 7/8" down into the notch but the target is heavy enough that it stays in place regardless of what it's hit with.
The bolt mount will hold targets as small as 12 inches even when hit with heavy rifle or shotgun slugs.

The Fail Safe hanger is only used with targets 10 inches or smaller when using rifle.

[26 Inf]

Thanks! I really didn't understand that from reading the description on the web pages. I'm going to try 6 of them. The wooden adapters I made to shove in my current hangers keep splitting.

[vinconco]

Thanks! I really didn't understand that from reading the description on the web pages. I'm going to try 6 of them. The wooden adapters I made to shove in my current hangers keep splitting.

Try going to the "HOW IT WORKS" page on the Hang Fast website. There is a more detailed description of the product.

[Ned Christiansen]

Our steel needed replacing. Not sure if you can tell in this pic  --


I had new ones made from 9/16, not ½”, AR500 to my design. Two hooks welded on the back, no bolt heads showing. Hooks are located to give a 15-degree hang. Bolt heads are a theoretical, anyway, additional back splatter contributor, not to mention they get shot off sometimes. My friend that made these said a special welding rod was used… I dunno. Some spalling at the edges, I expect that of any steel. Other than that at 65 yards they are looking good sofar, after one class. We don’t allow M855 although my limited experience has been it doesn’t have any magical steel-ripping properties….. the rule is mostly about ricochet hazard which anyway I think is greatly mitigated by the 15 degree angle. Surprising dif in cratering between what ammo students brought, and a soft point round seems to be going deeper than 55 FMJ. In my, again, limited observations, cratering targets is more about velocity than construction; one experiment on one of my targets showed XM193 cratering more than steel-core AK rounds.


Lengths of belting are cut to size and some holes punched in with a length of 12-gage barrel turned to be sharp at the mouth. The belting we found is thinner, older, and more brittle than planned but I bet it gets us through the summer and we have a 3’diameter roll of the stuff. These targets will take perhaps 2-3000 hits per training season. The old steel is, I believe, ten years old.