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Steel target questions

buccaneerfan

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Minuteman
Jun 25, 2014
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For a 260 anywhere from 300-1000 or more, what thickness/type of steel so I need to use? Any tips?
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Sure you can use regular steel if you want to poke holes in them like paper!!!!!! AR steel (400 or better 500) set at a 20 degree forward cant 100 yd or farther
 
Spend the money on 3/8" AR500. It will do the trick for anything your .260 will throw at it and pricing is reasonable at the vendors mentioned above. Plus they are good guys.
 
Keep the speeds down if you're shooting lighter weight bullets at closer distances, it'll keep the wear down on your targets. As long as you're looking at speeds under 3000 fps you should be fine. I'd recommend AR500 steel targets though, mild steel isn't well suited for rifle rounds. JC Steel targets is a vendor here on the hide and has some good prices, may still be some available in the group buy section as already mentioned.
 
3/8" ar500 will be fine at those ranges with a .260

JCsteel targets has gone above and beyond for customer service in my frequent purchases. The money goes to a good cause as well.
Call Jake and he'll sort you out for sure.
 
We use the targets from JCSteel targets at our practical rifle matches. I believe he uses AR500, and we are still using the first targets we bought from him WAY BACK in June of 2012. That steel holds up really well considering we usually have between 12-30 shooters firing 60-80 rounds per match.

For targets up close, I would buy heavier steel just for the weight. The thinner steel holds up fine, but the inertia of the bullets hitting it at 100 yards or less can cause the target to pull down less stable mounting systems, or make the target go around and around the mounting hardware, or get all wrapped up. Heavier steel resists this inertia much better.

I would shop steel various steel vendors, and figure out if they have the shapes I want, and compare pricing that INCLUDES shipping, as that steel gets heavy (ie expensive to ship) pretty fast.
 
I use regular steel on my 6.5cm out past 300yds it doesnt hurt it. I use scrap pieces usually 1/2 inch or thicker
 
I use regular steel on my 6.5cm out past 300yds it doesnt hurt it. I use scrap pieces usually 1/2 inch or thicker
You have better results than I did or your scrap steel is a better grade than what I had. My first steel target was a 6" dia. X 3/4" thick piece of steel left over. Shooting it at 300 yds. Left 1/4" deep craters in the face and good sized dimples in the back. It worked ok I guess, but the 3/8 ar500 works way better, rings out when hit, and leaves no dents nor damage when hit at 300 yards.
 
Buccaneerfan,

With my .308 and 6.5x 47, plain old 3/8" thick mild steel works just fine at ranges beyond 600 yds. 500 yds is a little too close. It dimples quite a bit.
Spend the money on good steel that others have recommended for shorter ranges. Consider saving some money on the longer range targets and using less expensive steel.
- Will
 
300 is the closest i can get it not to deform. It does leave very small dimples. At 400+ it doesn't even scratch the mild steel plate i use.
 
For a 260 anywhere from 300-1000 or more, what thickness/type of steel so I need to use? Any tips?
Sent from my RM-860_nam_usa_100 using Tapatalk

For 300 yards and out, You will get a lifetime of use out of 3/8" AR500 targets.

From 700 yards and out, All you need is 1/4" AR500. Again, it will hold up to a lifetime of use.

jcsteeltargets.com
 
I use a lot of ar steel but regular mild steel will work fine after a certian distance. I have used half inch mild steel at 500 yards and it holds up fine to my 300 win mag just fine!
 
Off topic but still something to think about.... What do you get when shooting a cast iron manhole cover at 300 yards with steel core bullets during drought conditions??
 
If you are buying steel buy the ar steel. The only reason i use mild steel is because its free to me. If i had to buy it i would use the ar.