New AR550 steel damage from 308?

[callen3615]

Hey guys, I just shot a few rounds at my newly purchased AR550 steel just to test it.

I had it hanging from a stand and shot it twice from 230yds and once from 300. Rounds used were factory winchester 150gr super X, just as a baseline.

First 2 rounds at 230yd dented the plate, and the one from 300 did not.

I dont think the ammo is to blame. The distance is definitely safe, you think the steel isnt as hard as the seller advertized?

Link to the said target.

 

[K_4c]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

not at all... my ar500 steel targets have thousands of .223/.308/.260/.300wm and 9mm on them. Only damage thus this far is on the edges.

 

[fireEMT5]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

You're shooting soft tip ammo so that should basicallly vaporize when it hits. I'd suspect the steel's hardness.

I have some from 2 different vendors of steel from here on the hide (big dog steel & JC steel targets), and neither has shown any wear from either .223 or .308 at distances of 100 - 600 yds. The only wear is splash from hits and chipped paint.

Paint it up, shoot the hell out of it, and when the times comes, maybe look towards another vendor.

 

[wvlapua]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

Mine are from jc steel targets. Shot with 308 at 200yds with 168smk only knocks the paint off. Its a popper though, and springs back on impact. Have yet to shoot my stationary plates. The only dent on mine was from a 223 hit on the edge of the target.

 

[-Nick-]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

Dent or dimple?

 

[callen3615]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Broker</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Dent or dimple? </div></div>

Sorry, Dimple.

You can see it up close, definitely feel it.

Taking pics now.

 

[tomcatfan]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

It definitely sounds like your plate not as hard as advertised. 223 remington should do more damage to your plates as compared to 308 because of the speed. If you need to you should be able to take the plate to a machine shop or a heat treat company and they should be able to tell you how hard it is.

 

[SPfeiffer]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

we shoot AR 400 at 100yds with SMKs in 308 and it barely leaves a mark.. now a 7.62 X 54 FMJ at 50 ft zipped right through it

your plate is not AR

 

[callen3615]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

Dented/bent edge:

Dimple:

The depth of the dimple is hard to determine because of the lead that transferred to the plate. You can definitely feel it, and see the small crater at the center of the splash. After measuring it a few times with my calipers it seems to be around .0075-.0090 deep.

 

[callen3615]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

Here is my crappy makeshift stand I made in 20 minutes.

The quality and design (bent rebar with a lawnmower blade welded to it) of the stand my be questionable, but there is no doubt that it lets the target swing and transfer some of the energy.

 

[-Nick-]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

Oh hell no... It should NOT be denting especially when it's hanging. Something is wrong there. I shoot at AR500 plate as close as 100yds with barely a dimple.

 

[K_4c]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

the fact that it's bent tells me that it's not ar550...

 

[Rob01]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: K_4c</div><div class="ubbcode-body">not at all... my ar500 steel targets have thousands of .223/.308/.260/.300wm and 9mm on them. Only damage thus this far is on the edges.</div></div>

Same here. The edges can ding depending how by we're cut as the temper can change but th center shouldn't show any marks. I have shot mine at 100 yards with my 300WM and nothing.

 

[RingingSteel]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

I wouldn't worry about the dimple. We encourage our shooters to use target type bullets and highly discourage hunting bullets. AR500 will dimple.We send somewhere between 600 to 1000 rounds a month down range at a AR and see dimples every now and then. The bent top is from the cutting process. I see three holes and the origional cut for the steel itself. I would think the temper was effected during those processes. I would think it is probably some grade of AR or you would have more damage than what you have. Then again if your are paying less than $50.00/sqft you may be a little leary of the steel. AR500 csn be very expensive in todays market.

 

[Jon Lester]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

Your target is not ar 550! I shoot 3/8 ar 500 at 100 with 190 s through a wm with no damage. Had a set made out of what was suppose to be 450 and 308 went through at 500. Guy who made them replaced them and found out his supplier was scamming.

 

[BigJohn141]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

Can you feel the dimple? The bent corner could be from being cut with a plasma and the heat weakening the metal.

 

[Temp9]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

Definitely softer than advertised. I get dimples like that shooting hot 55gr 5.56 at 50 yards. Outside of 100 yards, I don't think I could get any detectible damage whatsoever. My targets are AR500 from ShootSteel.com.

 

[stefan73]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Broker</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Oh hell no... It should NOT be denting especially when it's hanging. Something is wrong there. I shoot at AR500 plate as close as 100yds with barely a dimple. </div></div> I do that with 210grn Berger VLD's from my .300WM and my AR500 plate holds up extremely well. Little dimples, it is also hanging fyi.

 

[Jackalope33B]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

Did you contact the seller? Is the seller a Hide member? If so, no need to bash him (atleast not yet).. But yea, contact the seller and let him know whats going on. Thats deff NOT AR550 you got there.

 

[-Nick-]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Stefan73</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Broker</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Oh hell no... It should NOT be denting especially when it's hanging. Something is wrong there. I shoot at AR500 plate as close as 100yds with barely a dimple. </div></div> I do that with 210grn Berger VLD's from my .300WM and my AR500 plate holds up extremely well. Little dimples, it is also hanging fyi. </div></div>

Big difference between 308 and 300WM. And I can see dimpling, but making dents?

 

[Redmanss]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jackalope33B</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Did you contact the seller? Is the seller a Hide member? If so, no need to bash him (atleast not yet).. But yea, contact the seller and let him know whats going on. Thats deff NOT AR550 you got there.</div></div> The product link is in the OP. EBay special...

 

[tomcatfan]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

I would contact the seller and let them know. As everyone else is saying, I highly doubt it is actually at 500 in hardness. If the seller doesn't help you out, just let us know who it is so we can make our future steel decisions accordingly.

Although not recommended, I've shot an AR500 steel plate with a 30-06 at 50 yards and didn't have any of the bending your getting. While you could tell on the surface that you hit the plate, there was no dent or major crater.

 

[9H_Cracka]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

Looks normal to me.

If you don't want dents showing on the back side, use 1/2" AR500 next time.

BTW 1/2" will still deform grossly when taking edge hits.

If this were mild steel, your shots would have gone right through it or at least cratered it significantly. It is not mild steel.

 

[JC Steel]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

Without actually testing the target for hardness, it looks like it is sub-par AR500 target.

I have shot many of thousands of rounds at Premium AR500, at 230 yards or 300 yards from a 308, you should not really see anything but the paint knocked off. It absolutely should not dent or be deformed in any way.

The edge of the plate might see some damage because you have a high speed object going very fast impacting an edge, but thats just unavoidable.

Next time call us, we will get you a premium target for a great price!!

Good Luck!

 

[Captain Kirk]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

Rob or John Lester said it, it was either plasma cut which softened the steel around the edges or its plain not AR550

 

[BGE541]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jcvibby</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Without actually testing the target for hardness, it looks like it is sub-par AR500 target.

I have shot many of thousands of rounds at Premium AR500, at 230 yards or 300 yards from a 308, you should not really see anything but the paint knocked off. It absolutely should not dent or be deformed in any way.

The edge of the plate might see some damage because you have a high speed object going very fast impacting an edge, but thats just unavoidable.

Next time call us, we will get you a premium target for a great price!!

Good Luck!
</div></div>


^ This mans work is worthy.

 

[Wolf22]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

Gonna go out in the garage and light off a 762x39 and see what it does to JCVibby's steel......make sure I have the premium stuff he speaks about



(JC AR500 GTG!)

 

[Stalpeth]

Re: New AR550 steel damage from 308?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wolf22</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Gonna go out in the garage and light off a 762x39 and see what it does to JCVibby's steel......make sure I have the premium stuff he speaks about </div></div> That shouldn't do much more than knock the paint off. At our club we have around 35 different piece's of his steel and it hold's up to anything we throw at it. We have hit it with rapid 223 at 100 with no damage and with a 338LM at 200 with no damage. On the pistol range it takes a beating from HOT 44mag with no damage.