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Shooting steel

B

BytorJr

Two Star General
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Minuteman
Nov 28, 2018
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Just a dumb question for you guys.

At what distance do you consider shooting steel targets too close with a handgun? Examples:9mm, 45 and 22LR.

Also, out of curiosity how many people run into ranges where they don’t want the steel painted in white, yellow, or orange? I mean at long distance a black target doesn’t do it for my aging eyes with iron sights or redot at 300+ yards
 
Orange is bad, bad, bad because of hunter orange.

The last thing you ever want to do is to condition yourself to open fire on something orange. I can see yellow being bad as well because hi-vis work vests are yellow. You don't want to shoot a surveyor.

White? Not idea but that's just dumb.
 
I keep about 20' minimum but I also mount my steel so it moves or swings on impact. If it was rigid mounted I would get back farther. As far as colors, never heard of anyone not wanting it painted those colors. I do mine in primer white and some I do an orange dot in the middle especially if I have newer shooters at long range. The dot helps have a reference and helps me coach them.

EDIT: In winter (lots of snow here) I paint them with a bright ground marker color- orange, red, etc otherwise you can't see them at long range.
 
eca7891 said:
If you can’t clearly identify what you are shooting at then you should not be shooting it to begin with.

kinda of one of the 10 commandments.

🤷‍♂️

*in regards to colors banned.
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Mistakes happen. Stack the odds in your favor.

At my range some of the steel is in amongst the trees and the entire plate isn't visible. Depends on the time of year. And while the range is clearly marked, we do get hunters wandering across sometimes. Defense in depth works.
 
slowworm said:
Mistakes happen. Stack the odds in your favor.

At my range some of the steel is in amongst the trees and the entire plate isn't visible. Depends on the time of year. And while the range is clearly marked, we do get hunters wandering across sometimes. Defense in depth works.
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WTF :ROFLMAO: This place sounds awesome. You can only see half your targets, people don't make sure they know their target before sending it, and Fudds roam around on the live range. I mean holy crap, you don't paint targets orange because people might shoot a Fudd!
 
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atomic41 said:
I keep about 20' minimum but I also mount my steel so it moves or swings on impact. If it was rigid mounted I would get back farther. As far as colors, never heard of anyone not wanting it painted those colors. I do mine in primer white and some I do an orange dot in the middle especially if I have newer shooters at long range. The dot helps have a reference and helps me coach them.

EDIT: In winter (lots of snow here) I paint them with a bright ground marker color- orange, red, etc otherwise you can't see them at long range.
Click to expand...
Yeah. Thanks for that 20 foot rule. That’s about my limit too. 7 yards but I practice At 15-35 yards. But I was told 20 yards for handgun steel. I was like WTF. Applies only on their targets.
 
Jacketed or lead? Lead I will shoot at 7 yds jacketed 10 or more depending on how pocked the targets are. Buddy still has a 357 in his arm from shooting too close on a pocked target. If 45 or 9 I am good but expect to take frags so wear glasses. Blead the sons nipple one day at 15, so it really depends on target face and angle.
 
BytorJr said:
Yeah. Thanks for that 20 foot rule. That’s about my limit too. 7 yards but I practice At 15-35 yards. But I was told 20 yards for handgun steel. I was like WTF. Applies only on their targets.
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Yeah think about the target itself as I mentioned above. A target that is rigid and doesn't move allows a lot of splash back vs a target that moves when hit. That's my comfort level and I haven't had issues. Another option is mount them at a big downward angle if it's rigid, that works too.
 
I use black or white paint on steel. Depending on season/background

Steel targets angled down like a dueling tree or fixed target are fine for close range. I shot a swinging silhouette once at about 15 yards several times with a 9mm. One round went up and landed near my feet. Wake up call due to the plate angle changing while swinging
 
slowworm said:
Orange is bad, bad, bad because of hunter orange.

The last thing you ever want to do is to condition yourself to open fire on something orange. I can see yellow being bad as well because hi-vis work vests are yellow. You don't want to shoot a surveyor.

White? Not idea but that's just dumb.
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This has to be the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard in my life. Seriously, sit back and ponder how stupid this line of reasoning is.
 
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BytorJr said:
Just a dumb question for you guys.

At what distance do you consider shooting steel targets too close with a handgun? Examples:9mm, 45 and 22LR.

Also, out of curiosity how many people run into ranges where they don’t want the steel painted in white, yellow, or orange? I mean at long distance a black target doesn’t do it for my aging eyes with iron sights or redot at 300+ yards
Click to expand...

USPSA rules prohibit shooting steel closer than 23 feet for safety reasons. It's considered an important enough rule that the penalty for violating it is a disqualification.

Food for thought.
 
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slowworm said:
Orange is bad, bad, bad because of hunter orange.

The last thing you ever want to do is to condition yourself to open fire on something orange. I can see yellow being bad as well because hi-vis work vests are yellow. You don't want to shoot a surveyor.

White? Not idea but that's just dumb.
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No, dumb is Having to worry what somebody else thinks about the color of the target. Seriously? Having to worry about Orange because that's the color hunters wear, same with yellow … that is seriously stupid. Somebody's got that kind of issue, the color isn't the problem

By that mindset then we shouldn't have white or black targets either.


Distance? I guess it's gonna Be based on what kind of steel that you're shooting. If it's thin, warped and dimpled you can very easily shed a jacket and that can come back at you… Was about 7 yd when I got hit in the shin. The 1/2" thick stuff wasn't an issue, just splatter peppering.

If you're shooting a magnum rifle cartridge, don't be one of those douches that goes to try to destroy steal it sub 300 yd… that's really a dick move.
 
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I've done 15' but wouldn't recommend it without pants/eyewear...feedback on swinging targets is still very present.

20' is wear I roam now for closer stuff and I've been very happy. I've gotten used to have frag on my face regularly 😆 but it's a very personal choice. You do you.

As for color, black on hardened steel, white on not. Kind of a go, no-go thing for my range. Keeps ya from throwing 62gr lap into a softer steel and ruining it
 
I’d guess these ranges are just run by idiots with idiotic thinking. Much like the RO fudds who work at them

The only reason I could see a public range not wanting certain colors on targets is because they wash out the hits or maybe match a color used for something they don’t want shot

Many stop plates are red….but you don’t see a desire to lay waste to every stop sign…

If orange was the issue due to hunting there’d be a pile of skeet shooter/bird hunting incidents every day…
 
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I’ve always been comfortable shooting steel at 10+ yards with handguns, as long as the steel is hangin at a negative angle (top closer to the shooter than the bottom). If it’s flat steel hanging at ~90° to the shooter, I’d stretch that out a bit just in case.

slowworm said:
We do use pink for targets rated for 338 LM! White or black for everything else.
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You do know lots of states have started allowing Blaze Pink for a hunter safety color now, right? 😂
 
slowworm said:
Orange is bad, bad, bad because of hunter orange.

The last thing you ever want to do is to condition yourself to open fire on something orange. I can see yellow being bad as well because hi-vis work vests are yellow. You don't want to shoot a surveyor.

White? Not idea but that's just dumb.
Click to expand...
Mr. President is that you?
 
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hafejd30 said:
Many stop plates are red….but you don’t see a desire to lay waste to every stop sign…
Click to expand...

Stop.jpg
 
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slowworm said:
Orange is bad, bad, bad because of hunter orange.

The last thing you ever want to do is to condition yourself to open fire on something orange. I can see yellow being bad as well because hi-vis work vests are yellow. You don't want to shoot a surveyor.

White? Not idea but that's just dumb.
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golf clap!
 
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slowworm said:
In hindsight, I agree. I was thinking why they might have color rules And just posted.

I’ll go hide under a rock now…. I’m too embarrassed to show up again.
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Because I shoot USPSA frequently, I have this urge to shoot every latino I come across.

After all, if it's brown it's down. Black and white are no shoots.......

That's your dumb logic
 
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In IHMSA we shoot steel seriously at ranges from 50 to 200 meters. Good steel. Our targets are particularly expensive because any dimpling can cause a serious kickback. We also limit velocities of the handguns. I’ve seen good targets nearly penetrated by a 6BR shooting from a 14.5 inch barrel at 50 meters.

That said, most handgun and short range rifle targets are angled downward to deflect projectiles.

With all these efforts, we still get bounce back. Its a serious game that requires serious protection. If a fellow is shooting steel with handloads and he is not wearing safety glasses, perhaps he should give up shooting and go back to needlepoint.
 
slowworm said:
Orange is bad, bad, bad because of hunter orange.

The last thing you ever want to do is to condition yourself to open fire on something orange. I can see yellow being bad as well because hi-vis work vests are yellow. You don't want to shoot a surveyor.

White? Not idea but that's just dumb.
Click to expand...

slowworm said:
We do use pink for targets rated for 338 LM! White or black for everything else.
Click to expand...

Hi,

1627137650821.png


Sincerely,
Theis
 
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Thanks folks!!! At least we contributed to the downfall of IQ :). Seriously though my targets are not hard mounted per se. All my pistol targets are from Shooting Targets 7 "steel challenge" so they are very reactive in that they move a lot when hit. Their IPSC target whilst more solid, is angled down and I don't shoot it except at longer ranges. I've never had anything (at this point) come back. You can see the spall hit the ground. I guess the lesson here for me is to not shoot the range's steel in their steel area; I'll continue setting my own up.

The paint thing...yes...somebody mentioned this about shooting colors. BIG safety rule is always to IDENTIFY the target. Most training classes I've had actually teach this by having a "blind" drill. Also, anybody that's ever duck hunted knows..."DO NOT SHOOT THE HEN!" Target identification is not color based.

Personally, I think lighter colors show hit locations much better and it's a hell of a lot easier to see a bright color at 400+ yards when using irons, red dots, or even very low magnification optic. Sure, if I bring out ZP5, no problem, I can see anything; but if one is practicing long range AR hits on a BZO it's damn impossible for old eyes.
 
Wiillk said:
In IHMSA we shoot steel seriously at ranges from 50 to 200 meters. Good steel. Our targets are particularly expensive because any dimpling can cause a serious kickback. We also limit velocities of the handguns. I’ve seen good targets nearly penetrated by a 6BR shooting from a 14.5 inch barrel at 50 meters.

That said, most handgun and short range rifle targets are angled downward to deflect projectiles.

With all these efforts, we still get bounce back. Its a serious game that requires serious protection. If a fellow is shooting steel with handloads and he is not wearing safety glasses, perhaps he should give up shooting and go back to needlepoint.
Click to expand...

My IHMSA days are long over. Every November we shot what we called a feather match and donated proceeds to charity. Chickens at 75 and 100, turkeys at 150 and 300 meters. I could clean the 300 turkeys with my 7BR using a King sight tube. This was before optics were allowed and I could still see. Miss those days.
 
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Targets we use have adjustable angles on the back, you can adjust for closer shooting, always wear good eye protection, don’t shoot any pitted targets close unless you don’t mind picking jacket fragments out, As far as color I paint them with left over spray paint someone doesn’t like my color selection they are welcome to repaint any color they like, people walking through a hot rifle range could be sporty,
 
Orange is bad- bad- bad 🤔 Is it possible we have someone suffering from PTDS.
Post Trump Derangement Syndrome--- IDK
 
n0glock said:
Targets we use have adjustable angles on the back, you can adjust for closer shooting, always wear good eye protection, don’t shoot any pitted targets close unless you don’t mind picking jacket fragments out, As far as color I paint them with left over spray paint someone doesn’t like my color selection they are welcome to repaint any color they like, people walking through a hot rifle range could be sporty,
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Yep, I always wear eye protection. In fact, I cannot shoot pistol with my eyeglasses on...nearsighted, so farsighted glasses no workie. And I agree...don't like my color, paint them yourself. At least I paint the range's targets like I'm supposed to, so unless they supply the paint, I'll paint what I can get at the cheapest price but still spray-worthy (aka, not krylon which may as well be Red-Dye 6 Kool-Aid).

Curious to know which target or brackets you are using. That's a good idea on the adjustment. I've never had any issue with my Steel Challenge plates from Shooting Targets 7. They (steel challenge) do hang a bit straight which concerns me a bit, but they are made to deflect downwards by the way they mount. I can see it deflect and notice the spall on the stands themselves. Their IPSC tilts downwards by design since it's more fixed. Like I said, I took the lazy way out and shot "their" targets on the one bay that has them. I usually use mine for pistol training.

Rifle training, I'd set mine up; but then yahoos would shoot my targets and I'm not OK with that if I don't know what caliber/bullet they are shooting - granted, I buy either the 1/2 to 5/8" gongs so at 300+ yards they'd have to work. Not a plug for ST7, but their new zinc plating/anodizing is nice...my other targets from them are not anodized, but they have yet to be pitted.
 
I will pm you on Tuesday I have their info at work, not cheap but great stands and the variable angle is great
 
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