04-02-2005, 09:43
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#1
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Bladesmith to the Quiet Professionals
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Oregon, Land of the Silver Grey Sunsets
Posts: 3,886
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Shooting Steel Safety Issues?
Any one have any comments or experiences regarding safety and shooting steel targets they would like to share?
I've shot steel plates of various types with calibers from .22 to .577 Nitro Express.
Sometimes this has made funny secondary sounds go past my ear.
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Bill Harsey is offline
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04-02-2005, 09:59
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#2
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,826
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Bill Harsey
Any one have any comments or experiences regarding safety and shooting steel targets they would like to share?
I've shot steel plates of various types with calibers from .22 to .577 Nitro Express.
Sometimes this has made funny secondary sounds go past my ear.
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I would avoid shooting targets with bullet holes or dimples in it.
Safer not to shoot hollow-points, as jacket has a habit of flying off at odd angles.
Do not get too close to steel targets while shooting (or spectating).
Do not shoot steel at oblique angles.
NEVER shoot steel without good eye pro.
Do not use ammo or calibers that the steel is not rated for. That includes steel core and AP rounds.
A .50 AP round will hole anything under 100 meters short of a tank hull. I have put them cleanly through a 1.25" steel plate. Thickness of the steel is no guarantee.
Just a few off the top of my head. HTH.
TR
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The Reaper is offline
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04-02-2005, 10:00
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#3
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Guerrilla
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Finland
Posts: 400
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Been shooting steel plates and poppers for some years. As long as they are made of suitable steel for the calibers used and the users are looking at the surface for possible dents on the steel, the amount of bruises and bloody spots are low... 
Atleast with handgun calibers the majority of the bullet particles seem to disintegrate sideways from the plate, not so much toward the shooter.
Good example of shooting a plate with a rough surface is a 7.62x39 to the forehead from quite a ways back, wasnt me.
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Tuukka is offline
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07-29-2005, 20:43
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#4
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Asset
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: IVO Chicago
Posts: 29
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If possible, I like to slope the target bottom further away from the shooter then the top. This causes the majority of fragments to be directed towards the deck(yeah, I'm a jarhead, use floor if you like  This is out if you are using these targets for mil ranging, unless you're a prick. If using handguns, this is where I use the light weight fast stuff, as that tends to splash/fragment more, rather than bounce as a whole. My experience there is primarily with 45ACP and 9mm, so 185's and 115's respectively. S/F....Ken M
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EchoSixMike is offline
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07-30-2005, 18:27
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#5
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Area Commander
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Pacific NorthWet
Posts: 1,495
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Bill Harsey
Any one have any comments or experiences regarding safety and shooting steel targets they would like to share?
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The guess the question I would ask, shoot them for? Targets, Penetration test, distruction ????
Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) uses steel targets, "Clangers". Sillouette(SP) shooter use steel to, in the shape of critters. So do black powder shooters.
I have shot a lot of steel safely, being a SASS member will no problems. But SASS requires only lead bullets, and low velocities.
TR gave some really great suggestions,
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HOLLiS is offline
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07-30-2005, 18:38
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#6
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LA
Posts: 1,653
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What TR said.
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NousDefionsDoc is offline
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07-30-2005, 21:37
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#7
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Area Commander
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Colorado
Posts: 1,205
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Quote:
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Do not use ammo or calibers that the steel is not rated for. That includes steel core and AP rounds.
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Absolutely correct. Our department discovered this during firearms qualifications. The newly installed backstop was improperly rated for the rounds we were firing. This resulted in one of the officers on the firing line, 7 yard line, taking shrapnel in his lower leg. Dropped him immediately with surgery required to remove the lead.
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CoLawman is offline
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07-31-2005, 06:54
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#8
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Bladesmith to the Quiet Professionals
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Oregon, Land of the Silver Grey Sunsets
Posts: 3,886
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CoLawman,
Thanks for the input here. Hope your officer healed ok.
TR, I just wanted to underline the part about safety glasses, there is never an excuse to NOT have good safety glasses today because of all the readily available polycarbonate safety glasses for industry.
As my plastic reconstructive hand surgeon buddy tells me, "I can put your fingers or hands back on, I can't install new eyeballs"
Keeping multiple pairs of safety glasses around helps so if one set gets trashed, just put on the new pair.
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Bill Harsey is offline
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08-09-2005, 00:48
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#9
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Area Commander
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Colorado
Posts: 1,205
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Quote:
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Thanks for the input here. Hope your officer healed ok.
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Sorry about the late reply. The officer healed............only to be shot by a gang member on a stop. He survived that as well. Lost all use of his right hand! Retired. The guy came to our agency as a retired Master Chief, having been a SEAL. Didn't earn his purple heart until he came to work for us! Go figure!
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CoLawman is offline
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