How long do steel plates last?

[26 Inf]

I see a lot of guys shooting 5.56mm at steel inside 100 yds....well inside. Does frangible ammo negate the possibility for ricochet or steel spatter? Interested, because I, too, have caught some shrapnel in the arm shooting at steel.

I've caught jacket shrapnel in the arms and face trying to use slant steel at 25-35 yards. Once I only noticed because the blood kind of pooled around my watchband and amde a mess when I came back up with my pistol.

I'm kind of a slow learner, but when I thought to myself, gee, what if....I decided, 'hey, I'll shot paper inside a 100, and maybe read the safety manual Porta-Target was nice enough to include.'

Generally, with 55gr ammo you are below 3,000fps at 100 yards so it is also easier on the steel. I've popped holes on angled AR500 plates with Winchester Q inside 50 yards.

[markm]

I've popped holes on angled AR500 plates with Winchester Q inside 50 yards.

That stuff is smoking hot. Yeah... we have a few gongs that have perforations from M193. We leave them out at 300 or 400 yards since they're a little more prone to dangerous fragments.

[Ryno12]

This is just one of those cheap pistol caliber spinners (not sure on the type of steel) but M193 will blaze right through at 50 yards.

[markm]

We shot an AirSoft spinner a few weeks ago with a Three Hunnit Win Mag. It was clearly NOT AR500.

[26 Inf]

We shot an AirSoft spinner a few weeks ago with a Three Hunnit Win Mag. It was clearly NOT AR500.

Generally, if the plate still has what looks like cream of chicken on the back, it isn't AR500.

[LMT Shooter]

There's a guy in my area who makes 1/2" AR500 targets. I asked lots of questions and, as Slippers said, its all about velocity. I was told 2700fps is the maximum safe velocity to avoid cratering, and he said neither caliber nor bullet construction, other than AP, were relevant. I was told to expect my plates to last for decades &/or tens of thousands of rounds as long as I stayed below 2700fps at impact. So far, so good.

[elephant]

There's a guy in my area who makes 1/2" AR500 targets. I asked lots of questions and, as Slippers said, its all about velocity. I was told 2700fps is the maximum safe velocity to avoid cratering, and he said neither caliber nor bullet construction, other than AP, were relevant. I was told to expect my plates to last for decades &/or tens of thousands of rounds as long as I stayed below 2700fps at impact. So far, so good.

what 556ammo would you recommend for 2700fps 10.3-16" barrel?

[markm]

There's a guy in my area who makes 1/2" AR500 targets. I asked lots of questions and, as Slippers said, its all about velocity. I was told 2700fps is the maximum safe velocity to avoid cratering, and he said neither caliber nor bullet construction, other than AP, were relevant. I was told to expect my plates to last for decades &/or tens of thousands of rounds as long as I stayed below 2700fps at impact. So far, so good.

Correct. You could get a 12 inch thick block of AR500, and M193 will pock that mother fugger up inside of 100 yards.

[RobertTheTexan]

I have 1/2” AR 550 plates, 12, 10, 8, and 6. I used 1/2 x 2 1/2” carriage bolts with flat washers and lock nuts. Then I attach whatever I’m using to hang it, (550 cord, bungee cords, chain) because I attach it to the carriage bolts, the plates hang at an angle. Top towards shooter, bottom of plate angled towards berm. All the spalling creates a trench in the ground underneath the plate. When shooting 300bo subs I do get ricochets, most noticeable from the sound. I’ve shoot my plates much closer than 100m. Pistol from 10-50 and rifle from 25-300 and have probably engaged the larger plates closer than that with both pistol and rifle, but I try to maintain min distance of 25. I shoot 9, 300blk, 5.56 and 308. I have some divots in my steel. They are pretty small though. Not sure if they are deep enough to redirect spall back to me, but it appears as though most spalling is trench digging under the plates. I wasn’t sure about the AR550, but having owned it for a little over 2 yrs, I cannot find any fault with them.
Not related, worth a mention, this guy in Gatesville near North Ft. Hood, sells these target hangers for T posts. Basically you slide in two T-posts from the bottom (making an inverted V, and a long T-post horizontally to hang targets from. Hammer in ground and target stand is GTG.
Also unrelated - hanging targets. I started out with $100+ worth of hangers make of heavy chains and all kinds of accoutrements for QD hookups to my eyebolts. I learned in running drills where I am shooting on the move with all my gear that I’ve had some bad shots. Couldn’t hit a 10” plate yet I hit a 3/8” chain. Go figure. Chain? Depending on rifle, a hole or clean break. (Or when I would take my sons friends out shooting) they hit more chain than plate. Now? I use 550 cord or bungee cords. Drawback to those types of hangers is plate swing. I sort of embrace the swinging plates as a challenge, and never thought I might get a spall strike. But point is with the heavy chain there was much less swing and sway.


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[LMT Shooter]

what 556ammo would you recommend for 2700fps 10.3-16" barrel?

Any ammo should be OK, except AP, provided that the impact velocity is </= 2700fps. Pick a load, then use a ballistic calculator.