My home range upgrade
- Thread starter gramps
- Start date
OP
I have recently added some steel targets. I missed hearing the “clang” at Contender’s last year. I have already been shooting more.
gramps
gramps
contender
Ruger Guru
Ahh,, "bang & clang!" Gotta love it!
Most folks do enjoy hearing the clang of good steel when rung by a serious handgun!
Most folks do enjoy hearing the clang of good steel when rung by a serious handgun!
Ahhh but for the sound of a satisfying CLANG!
My local only has paper, but I have snuck a few clay birds out there when I can get away with it.
My local only has paper, but I have snuck a few clay birds out there when I can get away with it.
I actually have a still picture from a video I took of a 9mm bullet bouncing off of the top edge of a steel target during a competition in a class I taught last year... steel is great.
When I was in AZ, I had a friend who welded. He did a Xmas tree shooting target. It was fun!
Steel is by far the most fun for me......I have two pistols and one revolver built specifically for steel silhouette/plate shooting. My back/leg is too jacked up to turn my upper body into a fast robotic turret to join in on my clubs competitions so I shoot against myself for fun. I may have slowed down quite a bit and lock up now and then but it's still fun to hear those CLANGS slow or not.
I agree about the fun of shooting steels. But there is also satisfaction when you shoot paper and see 10 rounds in one hole or a great group at 100 yds.
contender
Ruger Guru
Owning a range,, I can attest to the fact that a very large percentage of people truly do enjoy banging & clanging steel. Especially with a handgun.
But I've also seen folks stand too close to steel & that's not safe. In USPSA,, where steel targets are used,, there is a minimum distance of 23 ft with a movement barrier. If there is a fault line where a moving shooter might charge over the line,, then it's 26 ft.
I generally set my steel at 30ft or more.
This is to allow any bullet particles that might return towards shooters or others the space to slow down or whatever & not cause any injury. But I've had small particles hit me, and so have many others. Occasionally drawing a little blood on bare skin.
It's BEST if steel is built or set to allow the bullet to ricochet downward when hit if at all possible. Safety first!
I have a variety of steel targets at my range. Some are reactive & require resetting after hit, and others do not. In USPSA,, "steel must fall to score" is the rule. But for fun,, I have others that are on chains, or static posts, or even spring loaded. And all of them are a lot of fun to shoot at. And new shooters REALLY seem to enjoy them as they get an immediate feedback of a hit. Quality top grade steel isn't cheap,, but they are worth it. I have a "Texas Star" that we use in USPSA,, as well as a few other moving types. That can really get a shooter to either cheer or curse! :D All I can say there is, If you are accurate & fast,, it's not terribly hard,, but if you miss a few shots after hitting one plate,, it can be a serious "challenge!"
And as Ron just posted,, there is also a lot of satisfaction of shooting several rounds of 10 or so,, and seeing one very small single hole in paper. In short,, accurate shooting is quite satisfying.
But I've also seen folks stand too close to steel & that's not safe. In USPSA,, where steel targets are used,, there is a minimum distance of 23 ft with a movement barrier. If there is a fault line where a moving shooter might charge over the line,, then it's 26 ft.
I generally set my steel at 30ft or more.
This is to allow any bullet particles that might return towards shooters or others the space to slow down or whatever & not cause any injury. But I've had small particles hit me, and so have many others. Occasionally drawing a little blood on bare skin.
It's BEST if steel is built or set to allow the bullet to ricochet downward when hit if at all possible. Safety first!
I have a variety of steel targets at my range. Some are reactive & require resetting after hit, and others do not. In USPSA,, "steel must fall to score" is the rule. But for fun,, I have others that are on chains, or static posts, or even spring loaded. And all of them are a lot of fun to shoot at. And new shooters REALLY seem to enjoy them as they get an immediate feedback of a hit. Quality top grade steel isn't cheap,, but they are worth it. I have a "Texas Star" that we use in USPSA,, as well as a few other moving types. That can really get a shooter to either cheer or curse! :D All I can say there is, If you are accurate & fast,, it's not terribly hard,, but if you miss a few shots after hitting one plate,, it can be a serious "challenge!"
And as Ron just posted,, there is also a lot of satisfaction of shooting several rounds of 10 or so,, and seeing one very small single hole in paper. In short,, accurate shooting is quite satisfying.
I have 3 of these steel targets, and a 4th shaped like a stop sign. All 3/8” plate, stands are stainless tube. I got them as a thank you for helping a buddy who was a FFL and competitive shooter move. Love shooting them, hate moving them.
Totally agree....but for that I have different firearms ;)
akbluz
Blackhawk
I too enjoy shooting steel with pistols so there is immediate feedback when there is a hit. I set targets at 15 yards.
Here's a shoutout/endorsement for veteran-owned Hang Fast Targets in Virginia. They are AR500 grade steel of 1/4inch, 3/8inch or 1/2inch thickness. They hang off a "T-post" driven into the ground - and hang at an angle downward so there is no ricochet back to the shooter. They are good folks to deal with. Check them out.
https://hangfasttargets.com
Here's a shoutout/endorsement for veteran-owned Hang Fast Targets in Virginia. They are AR500 grade steel of 1/4inch, 3/8inch or 1/2inch thickness. They hang off a "T-post" driven into the ground - and hang at an angle downward so there is no ricochet back to the shooter. They are good folks to deal with. Check them out.
https://hangfasttargets.com
All that remains is for you to add nose and mouth.:)
I figured I was lucky enough to get what I had…that was a double tap from my carry 9mm.
Good job. Just envious of your range and targets.
I wish they was my range…that was when we lived in Central Oregon, in Redmond. It was a 10 minute drive from my house. Nothing better than to drive out to set up targets.
This will really make you envious. This was about 30 minutes away- a cinder pit with high walls and only one road in. No surprises there. This is just west of Sisters, OR
My range today is a mile from my home- but walk in up a steep slope, no real level ground, and a narrow 100 yard rock pit.
Sisters-
This thread reminds me of many many years ago when I was younger. I was 19 when I got married and my brother in law was just a few years older and we loved to shoot and we acted like teenagers. We both had .38 special revolvers and I had gotten ahold of a Lee Loadall loader and I was loading some very light load wadcutters. We were down visiting our in laws and we were beside a wooded area and the father in law had several old junked cars from the early 1940's sitting around and we asked if we could use them for target practice and he said sure. So we took the hood off of one of them and leaned it up against a tree and stood about 50-60 feet away and started shooting at it. When you hit the hood then we would see how close we could get to the first shot. We weren't very smart, we knew the shots weren't going through the hood but they would knock the paint off. We were using ear plugs and after one of the shots I thought I heard something strange but didn't pay any attention. Then on the next shot I saw my brother in law grab his stomach. I turned around and saw he was wearing a western belt with a large belt buckle and a bullet had ricocheted straight back and hit his belt buckle. He wasn't injured but if not for that buckle things could have been much different. I was definitely old enough to know better.
Looks suspicious, its eyes are too close together.
That’s why it got shot!
