Um, has anyone else ever seen this happen?

MrLebowski

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 20, 2010
201
0
38
Monee, Illinois
OK so the other day we were out shooting a bit of pistol and my .223 AR at paper & swinging steel from 70yds to 30ft(paper only).

At the end of the day I wanted to recheck my 7mm rem mag zero because I never took a confirmation shot the last time we went to zero it, the rain was coming.

Sure enough my first & second shot at paper were right where I wanted them, so I figured why not see if I can hit the steel.

I have shot this 8" 3/8 AR500 plate 2 times before with the 7mm rem mag and all it did was make a decient dent but nothing really too noticable.

The first two times it was shot was with remington cor-locks, I ran out of thoes so I was shooting Winchester power points this time.

I aimed & hit dead center of the steel, I'm like ok sweet the rifle is good to go.

I go up to inspect the target and find out the bullet went threw it, crazy thing is it even left splatter but in the center of the splatter their was a hole right threw the AR500.

I've seen alot of pictures of bullets going threw steel, they usually look like they melted their way through, the best way I know to describe it, the hole that this left was quite different.

It looks like the bullet hit with such force that the steel shattered in a circular pattern, the inside edges of the hole it left are sharp and very clean.

I'll see if I can get a picture up in the next day or so, has anyone ever seen anything like this.

Disclaimer:
I know it's not considered "safe" to shoot steel this close, especially with rifles, I don't usually do this.

So you all know I knew the risks when I did this, I would not recommend anyone else try this at home.

Also I was not straight infront of the target, and it was swinging steel not just a plate mounted to something.

On the swinging AR500 steel bullets usually just explode sending their jackets into the saw horse legs, the bottom of the bullets just fall on the ground below the plate.
 
Re: Um, has anyone else ever seen this happen?

My cousin is going to college for photography so I can see if she'll snap a few photos of it for me.

Her camera is a nice one so you should be able to see it much better than if I used my camera.
 
Re: Um, has anyone else ever seen this happen?

With enough speed, just about anything will penetrate. Also if you just happen to hit in a spot that had a few hits already it can weaken the steel and shatter.
Did it look like this only much smaller hole, right?
DSC07528.jpg
 
Re: Um, has anyone else ever seen this happen?

No that's the thing, it looks like no other bullet hole I've seen in steel.

It looks like the steel was too hard and hard means brittle and the force caused it to fracture in the shape of a small hole.

I went and looked at the target just a bit ago and the pictures won't be as good now, my cousin decided to paint over the steel and shoot the living piss out of it with his 22lr.

Hopefully you can still see it, the inside walls are no longer shiny like they were cause of the paint.

Also their is no sunflowering like you usually see with penetrated steel.
 
Re: Um, has anyone else ever seen this happen?

We had a 6in round 1/2 in AR500 plate we dink with 22s. We decided to try 30 caps on it. 762x39 stopped with the bullet imbedded in the plate. 303 put a dent in it. And then the 7mm RUM knocked over our stand and went clean through. 00 buck just leaves splatters and scares the shit out of you. (sometimes we all make poor decisions)
 
Re: Um, has anyone else ever seen this happen?

the 500 in AR500 stands for 500 Brinell hardness, which is quite hard and fairly brittle. So, I suppose it might be possible that it just busted a chunk out of it, especially if its in a spot that's been shot before.
 
Re: Um, has anyone else ever seen this happen?

Shooting at a steel plate with a 7mm Mag, that close, does not surprise me that it punched thru.
 
Re: Um, has anyone else ever seen this happen?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CleanMoostang</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Who hunts at 70 yards anyways?
smile.gif
</div></div>

Bow hunters...
 
Re: Um, has anyone else ever seen this happen?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Grimm17</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> (sometimes we all make poor decisions) </div></div>

Now thats funny shit!