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Post by zentesukenVII on Sept 10, 2012 5:50:22 GMT
I really like the idea of shooting painted steel targets. I'm wondering if these things make suitable targets for shotgun shooting. I would probably only use them for deer slug shooting from decent distances. I have a few of them from when I was trying to learn blacksmithing and they seem like they would certainly hold up to a lot of abuse. They are completely flat on one side, the other has ridges to hold the track in place. I'd obviously NOT shoot the side with ridges. The holes on them concern me as a ricochet hazard, however they would make mounting it/ hanging it easier. I also have a few pieces of rail track that I could use the underside for. It is completely flat with no holes.
Any info would be nice, thanks guys.
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Post by Lonely Wolf Forge on Sept 10, 2012 11:37:58 GMT
as long as they are set up to either swinbg when struck, or knock over, ricochet will not be a problem, if they are mounted solid, youl get ricochets up the yin yang
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Sam H
Member
Posts: 1,099
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Post by Sam H on Sept 10, 2012 14:53:30 GMT
Also make sure that your plates are angled so the faces you're shooting into are angled downward. That will allow any ricochets to go down toward the ground rather than back up into the air.
Aside from that I don't know enough about the steel in rail road plates to be able to say much more.
If the steel is too soft you can start marking the surface of the steel (pock marks - think craters) and when that happens you greatly increase the chances of ricochet - especially those coming straight back at you. Either that or you can shoot right through making holes and greatly reducing the life of the target.
I'd go for a harder steel angled downward and either free swinging or mounted on flexible mounts. The rail road ties might be better for the job but they ARE quite massive pieces of steel (even the small chunks) and as such ricochet might be a danger too... especially if you intend to shoot at these targets with a shotgun.
Keep in mind, that contrary to popular belief, the slower the projectile is going the greater the chances of ricochet. A slug shot from a shotgun at say 1300fps will be more likely to ricochet than a bullet (say a .308) shot from a rifle at say 2700fps. The same goes for a bullet from a pistol vs. a bullet from a rifle. The reason here is that the faster projectile is more likely to splatter/break apart on impact rather than stay in one piece and ricochet.
Regardless of what you shoot at ALWAYS be aware of what is beyond your target and make sure you're not making unbacked shots at the ground - that almost always results in ricochets that could be lethal a LONG way down range. The shallower the angle of the shot the greater the chances of ricochet too.
Over all JUST BE CAREFUL.
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Post by Artelmis on Sept 11, 2012 4:04:40 GMT
Eh. I would avoid anything that can cause a ricochet. Any time the bullet is out of your control is a dangerous moment...
There's a reason that virtually any shooting range you go to (and every one i've ever been to) has targets that are penetrated by the bullet
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Post by Striderfly on Sept 11, 2012 6:35:12 GMT
I have three of these set up on chains swinging from tripods. They are set up at 1,2, and threehundred meters. They are super hard and ring like a bell when hit. I've hit them with 223, 270, and 308 and they don't deform or pit at all. Really great targets for a rifle. I don't know if I'd shoot em with a shotgun.
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Post by ShooterMike on Sept 11, 2012 22:31:44 GMT
As long as you don't get them pitted from rifle rounds fired too close, they'll be fine. It's not the holes that cause bullet fragments to come back at the shooter, it's the partially penetrating pits. And this is a damned good target idea. I'm going out now to walk the tracks in search of a few of these plates. Thanks.
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Post by ShooterMike on Sept 11, 2012 23:35:54 GMT
...that didn't take long. Now I have a few bits of information. First, railroad crosstie plates are NOT hardened steel. They are fairly mild steel, as would commonly be termed "cold rolled" steel. Here is an old plate I recovered and painted. Here is the same plate with 3 rounds of 9mm Luger impacting the plate from 10 yards distance. This is exactly what any steel will look like with these impacts. No pitting and good radial splatter patterns from the bullets impacting and shattering in a 360 degree arc at a 90 degree angle to the direction of bullet travel. And now the telling test. Here is the same plate repainted and engaged with 2 different 5.56mm rounds from a distance of 50 yards. The left impact is from a round of Silver Bear 62 gr. bi-metal jacketed hollowpoint. It penetrated about halfway through the plate. The right impact is from a round of 64 gr. BVAC bonded core softpoint. It almost got full penetration on the plate. Both these rounds left a pronounced crater that will return large chunks of any bullet that impacts on an edge of the crater. Thus this plate is now useless as a target and must be discarded. My summation: Railroad tie plates make decent steel targets for pistol, and they're also good for shotgun with birdshot and buckshot only, no slugs. They look thin enough that I believe a shotgun slug would bend them. But shooting them with any rifle cartridge, including .30 Carbine, will leave craters in the surface and make them extremely dangerous to continue using. At least that's my summation based on the plate I found along a railroad track today, recovered and tested.
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Post by zentesukenVII on Sept 12, 2012 1:38:05 GMT
Mike I appreciate the time you put into this! Looks like you has some fun too. I will take your advice and use them accordingly.
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