Fragmentation Patterns Off Of Steel Targets - (Pic heavy)

[SmileDocHill]

Epic. Simply epic in scope, relevence, and importance to gun owners. LMW, you are truly an asset to INGO. This thread is likely to be found all over the internet in no time.

 

[db1959]

M855 isn't going to hurt it.

Doesnt that have a steel tipped core? It was green tip.

 

[lovemywoods]

Had an instructor once take a backsplatter hit from a soft steel target (owner thought it was hardened). Luckily it was 100 yards away and the hit had no remaining energy (imagine the parabolic ballistic travel!) and so he was not injured.

An unprotected hit to the eye would have been a disaster, as would a shooter that was closer to the target.

I would rather hit tannerite at 40 yards than a soft steel target.

Excellent work!

Techres

P.S. On a technical note - the .308 hit that you said "popped" the target. Was it actually spalling or was it a penetration?

"parabolic ballistic travel" I love it when you talk geek to me!


The .308 round left a sizable crater on the front of the flange. That same impact fractured the flange nearly through but did not penetrate. Does that answer your question?

 

[esrice]

Doesnt that have a steel tipped core? It was green tip.

Yes. But its 5.56 against hardened AR500 steel. In the above test they hit it with 30-06 with ease. A couple weeks ago he hit it with .50bmg at 100 yards and it only put a very slight bow in the plate.

You're good.

 

[bwframe]

Wow, what a review. Great job guys!

 

[ZbornacSVT]

Yes. But its 5.56 against hardened AR500 steel. In the above test they hit it with 30-06 with ease. A couple weeks ago he hit it with .50bmg at 100 yards and it only put a very slight bow in the plate.

You're good.

M855 will wear on the target more, but probably not as bad as you would think.

 

[lovemywoods]

I guess this answers the question - can I shoot my old car rotors?

Sure you can! While you're at it, I suggest you hang them by a rope and give them a spin so you'll never know what the angle of impact was. And get real close to it too. Adds lots of suspense to your range session!

(You might want to wear a welding helmet and snowmobile suit while you shoot.)
-----------------------------------------------------------

Seriously though;
Thanks for reading the article RNM!

 

[SmileDocHill]

My full size USPSA AR500 steel did get cratering with green tip M855 at 50+ yards. The issues are numerous in that I was shooting from a distance less than 100 yards AND using M855 but none the less it did cause mild cratering. I'm now limited to only using one side of the steel at closer range.

 

[lovemywoods]

Excellent write up. I check ammo people are going to use when shooting at my Bobcat Steel targets (shameless promo ). A friend had some M855/SS109 ammo and I caught it before he shot. After that I always check.

M855 isn't going to hurt it.

Doesnt that have a steel tipped core? It was green tip.

Yes. But its 5.56 against hardened AR500 steel. In the above test they hit it with 30-06 with ease. A couple weeks ago he hit it with .50bmg at 100 yards and it only put a very slight bow in the plate.

You're good.

M855 will wear on the target more, but probably not as bad as you would think.

My full size USPSA AR500 steel did get cratering with green tip M855 at 50+ yards. The issues are numerous in that I was shooting from a distance less than 100 yards AND using M855 but none the less it did cause mild cratering. I'm now limited to only using one side of the steel at closer range.

Do I sense another test topic in the works!

 

[ZbornacSVT]

Do I sense another test topic in the works!

Are you done yet?

 

[SmileDocHill]

Do I sense another test topic in the works!

I haven't had the chance to shoot mine since causing the craters. you are welcome to either take/post pics or even cause more cratering if you wish. (On the side that already has craters that is.)

 

[The Bubba Effect]

educational. Thanks for the information!

 

[GunSlinger]

The geek in me loves your review! Not to mention how much I learned from it. Great review and learning session LMW...thank you!

 

[HamsterStyle]

I have one quick question? The flange appears to be a piece of cast metal as opposed to a piece of actual plate. If I had to guess, that's what caused it to break like it did. I am curious if the hardness of the cast caused excessive splatter. I wonder where a sheet of mild steel would fall in the testing.

And as always, I absolutely loved the review.

 

[Steve B]

I'm curious if you shot any at an angle from the side. Replicating shooting at multiple targets across the range area for instance. This would of course cause glancing blows to the steel surface. From 10-15 yrds as you would do with a pistol. Distance would negate this due to the reduction of angle for rifle of course.
Also free standing knock down style targets. The thinking being since when hit they tip/flip/spin in random directions depending on where they're hit and how that impact splatter patterns.
That all being said. Excellent testing job guys.

 

[chizzle]

This is one of the best, most useful reviews I have read in years. I believe that your testing is on par or better than any article I have read in Guns and Ammo, Front Sight, etc. Be careful, if you keep up this quality of work, you may find yourself a new job!

So here's a question I have always wondered about:

At what firing angle do we stop seeing the plastic deformation that we call "splatter" (tiny fragments) and at what angle do we start to see large enough bullet fragments leaving that someone could get hurt? How is this impacted by bullet weight and velocity?

I have seen bullets fired from revolvers at less that 750 fps that appear to hold together more after impact, and result in MUCH more "splash back" on the shooter. I have also seen folks shoot targets at a 45 degree or more angle, which doesn't seem to completely fragment the bullets either. We joke about the randomness of shooting pieces of junk steel, but to me, knowing the proper ammo to shoot and the safe angles at which to shoot steel are almost as important as the steel you select. If you'd like help doing some tests on this, please PM me and I would be happy to volunteer some time.

 

[swmp9jrm]

I've recently started thinking about doing some steel plate shooting, and wondered if there was really some need to use AR500 rather than plain old steel plate - I'm wondering no more! Thanks for the absolutely excellent test.

I do have a question: one of the rounds I shoot is 5.45x39. This round has a non-hardened steel core. Any experience on how the AR500 steel holds up to this milsurp ammo?

 

[db1959]

Yes. But its 5.56 against hardened AR500 steel. In the above test they hit it with 30-06 with ease. A couple weeks ago he hit it with .50bmg at 100 yards and it only put a very slight bow in the plate.

You're good.

M855 will wear on the target more, but probably not as bad as you would think.

Good to know!
How about shooting 7.64x54r at AR500?

 

[Fargo]

Do I sense another test topic in the works!

I would love to see the results. I've shot a good bit of green-tip in to bobcat steel's AR500 from around the 100 yd line. Heck, I've even seen a m16 mag dump with M855 into one of them which produces a prodigious amount of sparks in low light.

In my experience, you get a very light dimple if you shoot from less that 100 yds. Over 100, it is barely discernable.

The only thing I've seen that did much of anything to any of the targets was a guy who wanted to see if 50 BMG AP/Incendiary would go through his target at 400 yds. Needless to day it did, although I was surprised to see that the metal around it appeared to have melted/flowed as it went through. I don't know if that was from just the energy of the penetrator or if the incendiary element also had something to do with it.

Good to know!
How about shooting 7.64x54r at AR500?

You should be fine. Ar500 is pretty impervious to anything non-AP as long as you aren't going much over 3000 FPS. That is why you can shoot it with standard 50 BMG, it is velocity rather an energy that is key. However, 50 BMG can bend the plate and will definately wreak havoc on your target stand. I've had to retrieve the plates from back in the woods where they flew after a hit more than once.

Best,

Joe

 

[HandK]

Great report ! thank you for sharing it with us!!