Mini 30 vs Steel Plate
- Thread starter WER74
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I doubt it but have no experience and of course a lot would depend on the round itself.
Interesting question,
A few (actually more than a few at this point) years back my cousin made up a target out of five 1/4" thick steel plates and he and I took turns blasting it with our deer rifles.
I was shooting a Ruger 77 in 30-06 and if you hit twice in the same place it would punch through. Single hits with the lighter bullets (150gr soft points) would put a pretty good divit in the steel but would not penetrate. If I remember correctly there wasnt much difference with the 180gr bullets. If I memory serves, the '06 would get thru about 3/4" - 1" before it stopped.
My cousin's .338 Winchester (remington 700 BDL rifle) would cut big hairy holes thru the target.... .338in entrance hole, .75-1.25" exit hole. No Joke.
The moral of this story is if you make enemies with someone who owns a .338 Winchester, First, you have made a mistake, and second you need about two inches of plate steel to hide behind.
As for your Mini 30, I would say that it will definitely go thru a 1/4" of plate steel (mild steel, like common A36 carbon steel) but I give it only even odds of making it thru half-inch thick plate.
This sounds like the kind of thing that the guys over at Box of Truth might be able to answer. Look them up on Google. Great website.
A few (actually more than a few at this point) years back my cousin made up a target out of five 1/4" thick steel plates and he and I took turns blasting it with our deer rifles.
I was shooting a Ruger 77 in 30-06 and if you hit twice in the same place it would punch through. Single hits with the lighter bullets (150gr soft points) would put a pretty good divit in the steel but would not penetrate. If I remember correctly there wasnt much difference with the 180gr bullets. If I memory serves, the '06 would get thru about 3/4" - 1" before it stopped.
My cousin's .338 Winchester (remington 700 BDL rifle) would cut big hairy holes thru the target.... .338in entrance hole, .75-1.25" exit hole. No Joke.
The moral of this story is if you make enemies with someone who owns a .338 Winchester, First, you have made a mistake, and second you need about two inches of plate steel to hide behind.
As for your Mini 30, I would say that it will definitely go thru a 1/4" of plate steel (mild steel, like common A36 carbon steel) but I give it only even odds of making it thru half-inch thick plate.
This sounds like the kind of thing that the guys over at Box of Truth might be able to answer. Look them up on Google. Great website.
63November
Single-Sixer
No. Even shooting TSXs at 1/2" mild steel won't get you holes with a the 7.62 X 39. Speed is the biggest factor in getting penetration in steel.
So we don't know what type of steel; unfortunately in the lab where I work we don't have the ability to do OES material verification, we send that stuff out and it costs too much for this. BUT...today I'm taking off early and taking the Mini up to the cabin and testing it out for myself. Then, if all is well, somebody's gonna show me how to weld and I'll have me a backstop, a 1/2" or 5/8" steel plate at a 45degree angle.
63November
Single-Sixer
Go with the angle for sure. I wouldn't be so sure that low grade steel won't get beat up over time even by slower projectiles. I would also be very careful in regard ricochets and splatter.
We made the target today. The 1/4" plate is great for .22lr, as was expected. The 7.62 by 39 punched right through it. We welded 1/2" plate behind that and all good, although it still makes a nice dimple. I think I'll stick with the .22 for the most part.
OldCowHand
Bearcat
I made the mistake of shooting some green-dot out of a mini-14 at a mild-steel target about 3/8" thick. It blew about 3/4 of the way through, bulging the back pretty badly and creating craters on the near side in which what's left of the bullet rattles around nicely. I don't doubt that a steel-core round out of a mini-30 would have penetrated further than the .223.
