Introduction

As I started writing this review, I debated about what the title should be. You've already seen what I finally chose. Two others I considered were:

-- Why Hardened Steel Targets Are Safer

Don't Shoot Crap Steel Targets --

Shooting steel targets is fun! You get the immediate feedback of the 'ding' and seeing the swinging steel target. Steel targets can be shot thousands of times with little wear if the right steel and ammo are used.

Another advantage of steel targets is that they teach a shooter to achieve a certain level of accuracy; but not too much. If a shooter determines that hits within an 8" circle at the desired distance is the right level of accuracy, then practicing with an 8" steel targets allows the shooter to get faster and faster as long as the hits are being made. A ding anywhere on the steel is a hit. With paper targets there is always the temptation to push for smaller and smaller groups at the expense of speed.

For the rifle shooter, the distinctive ring of a hit on steel signals a good shot and doesn't require a spotting scope to see the hit.

Anyone who uses steel targets knows that fragments and ricochet are safety issues to be aware of. In my reading about shooting steel, I've seen literature that states that fragments come off of hardened steel surfaces at 20 degrees. That got me curious; so with some help from fellow INGO members, I went about to see if that was true.

What Is Fragmentation?

When a bullet hits a steel target with enough velocity, it break up into hundreds, even thousands of fragments. Those fragments spray off the surface and hit surrounding surfaces. Where they go depends on many factors such as angle of the bullet as it strikes the target, bullet shape and construction, velocity of the bullet, hardness of the target surface, etc.

A ricochet is when a large portion of the bullet bounces back intact, not in little pieces.

Here is a video of rifle rounds hitting a hardened steel target. The target has a downward cant so much of the splatter is directed toward the ground. Watch the ground 'jump' as the fragments strike it.

After that run of hits, the soil under the target is pulverized by the splatter.

How Not To Do It

I've been using steel targets for about 7 years. During that time I learned some guidelines about how to safely use steel targets...sometimes by first doing it the wrong way.

Two examples:

When we moved to our current home, I found a piece of steel treadplate that had been shot at and deeply cratered. In my ignorance I figured if it was good enough for the previous owners, it was good enough for me. I even built a large stand to hold it. Luckily, at 200 yards, it probably wasn't too dangerous. However, before the stand was built, it had been propped up at the range and shot at with pistols. (Duh!)

At the pistol range I had mounted three steel flanges on solid posts. It wasn't until a new INGO friend visited and educated me that I realized the error of using the standard steel flanges and having them mounted with no movement or swing.

Review Outline

Although this review is about fragmentation off of steel, it really is about shooter safety. The reason a person wants to know the fragmentation pattern is to make sure that the fragments don't come his way!

Before I describe how I tested for splatter, I'll show you one approach that didn't work.

After describing the test rig that did work, you'll find a large section of pictures of the splatter pattern for various calibers of ammunition. I may even throw in a spreadsheet or a chart if I'm feeling particularly geeky.

I take a brief look at ballistic gellatin and hits at an angle before getting to a really fun section...shooting at a steel flange. What a surprise that was! If you don't read any other part of this review, read that section. It's important for anyone who uses steel targets.

I end with a few comments and a list of safety guidelines when working with steel targets.

Acknowledgments

chuddly and jontz for their help. They spent an afternoon helping me work out the kinks in my test rig. Their ideas helped create the second test set-up that gave us some good data. Chuddly also brought some ballistic gellatin to try out! I want to thank INGO membersandfor their help. They spent an afternoon helping me work out the kinks in my test rig. Their ideas helped create the second test set-up that gave us some good data.also brought some ballistic gellatin to try out!

The hardened steel targets I used for this test came from

Bobcat_Steel

. They are an INGO advertiser and long-time supporter of INGO.

And thank you to INGO advertiser

Profire_Arms

for their donation of several varieties of pistol and rifle bullets to be tested. I reloaded them and put them to use.

Initial Test Set-up (and failure)

I wanted to capture the spray of fragments from the impact with the steel target. I thought a thin cardboard sheet wrapped in a tube should work. (The sheets originally are about 3' square and come free from Sam's Club. They separate the layers in a pallet of paper towels and other paper products. They make great targets if you need fairly large sizes.)

I built a tube about 12" in diameter and about 28" long from fencing to hold the rolled cardboard sheet. I reasoned that if this tube was resting on a flat piece of steel we'd be good to go. I employed the full-sized IPSC target I had hanging in a wood stand. Here's the test rig by the barn.

The stand was moved to the dam and a test shoot was made at 50 yards off a bench.

The test shot was a 168 grain FMJ round made by Hornady.

The splatter pattern hugged the surface of the IPSC target so closely that it scoured some paint off areas away from the impact point.

The edge was torn up as expected, but we couldn't tell how wide the actual zone was.

Chuddly, jontz, and I quickly realized that at the moment of impact, the steel moved away from the cardboard/cage combo. This wouldn't let us measure the actual width of the spray pattern. We tried to wire the cage in-place, but the impact still moved the target too much. A new design was needed.

New Test Rig

We determined we needed a set-up where the steel target and the cardboard tube were independent of one another so that the impact on the steel would be separate. We also decided that the wire holder didn't need to be so long so we cut off 40% of it.

I used a stand I already had and with the aid of a few nails, chain, and bungee cords we were in business. The steel target was held on a target tripod. We switched to an 8" square Bobcat Steel that fit nicely into the cardboard tube. By marking the position of the target before each shot we could see how far out the splatter pattern came.

The first test shot was a nice center hit (thank you Savage 110!) yielding a clear cut line of fragments through the cardboard. There was a small amount of tiny fragments sitting in the tube. There were no fragments forward of a few inches.

The outside of the tube showed the effects of the bullet impact. The target stand was driven back out of the tube holder.

This is what a cardboard looks like after one shot. There is a clear zone of dense splatter as well as some powder residue.

After seeing the tight splatter pattern, we realized we could turn the cardboard end-for-end and use each one for two tests.

Now that we had a test stand that worked properly, we started testing the rifle calibers first.

A Note About Safety During the Tests

A big part of the motivation for all this testing is the hope that other INGO shooters will use this information to evaluate their steel target arrangements and make any needed changes to create a safer shooting environment for themselves, their family, and their guests.

During this test, I made the conscious decision to shoot some targets at distances closer than I would recommend for everyday use. I wanted to push the limits of the test beyond the daily use level so that any unusual results would appear and be easily seen. The three shooters always had safety glasses, hats, and long-sleeved clothes on when firing.

An interesting note. At no time during the testing did any of us experience any fragments or ricochets striking us or the equipment around us. To our knowledge, nothing came anywhere near us.

Test Results

The standard test steps were to:

-- Shoot a round.

-- Assess the splatter. Take pictures.

-- Move the target stand back in place if it moved.

-- Put a clean cardboard in the tube and label it.

-- Make any notes we wanted to remember.

-- Get the next firearm and cartridge ready.

-- Repeat.

After the testing was done, pictures of all the cardboard tube pieces were taken with a raking light skimming the surface to highlight the fragment holes.

I decided to include all the pictures because they tell an interesting story about the different calibers. You will see vast differences in the amount of damage done to the cardboard and in some cases, very different patterns.

I had to dust off some simple trigonometry to calculate the angle and then learn how Excel handles trig functions. I also took some measurements to see at what angle the fragments rebounded off the steel target. (They went into a spreadsheet!)I had to dust off some simple trigonometry to calculate the angle and then learn how Excel handles trig functions.

I did divide the test results into groups for Rifles, Handguns, and Shotguns to make it easier to digest.

Throughout the testing I labeled the runs with a numbering system to keep things straight. "R1" is the first rifle round tested, "R2" is the second rifle round etc. "P" is for pistol rounds and you guessed it, "S" is for shotguns.

90 Degree Rifle Hits on Hardened Steel

Here is an example of the test arrangement. Jontz is shooting a Reminton 700 in .223. All rifle tests were shot at 50 yards.

Individual Cardboard Sheets

Here are the splatter patterns of the rifle rounds in order from least powerful round to most powerful round we tested; not the order in which we tested them.

Draw you own conclusions remembering that in most cases, what you're seeing is the result of just one round.

The pictures above show the outside of the cardboard sheets. On the more powerful cartridges, there were often powder burns along with the fragments.

Ballistic Gelatin

90 Degree Pistol Hits on Hardened Steel

Here's Chuddly shooting a 9mm test.

A 115 grain FMJ 9mm round produced this splatter pattern.

-- Individual cardboard sheets

90 Degree Shotgun Hits on Hardened Steel

Multiple hits

45 Degree Hits

90 Degree Hits on a Mild Steel Flange

Target Condition at the End of Testing

Conclusions/Learning Points

Addendum

Safety Recommendations

STEEL TARGET SAFETY RULES

(Credit to ActionTarget, Provo, Utah)

1. Always obey the Four Firearms Safety Rules.

2. Always wear hearing protection and shatter resistant eye protection (wrap around style is better).

3. Always stand at least 10 yards from the target when using handgun calibers.

4. Always stand at least 100 yards from the target when using shotgun slugs.

5. Always stand at least 100 yards from the target when using rifle calibers like .223 and .308.

6. Never use rifle calibers on handgun rated targets.

7. Avoid ammunition that exceeds 3,300 feet per second at the muzzle. High velocity rounds will damage even hardened steel.

8. Never use ammunition that travels below 750 feet per second.

9. Never shoot BB’s, steel shot, or air gun pellets at steel targets.

10. Never shoot on steel that is cratered, pitted, or damaged in any way.

11. If shooting multiple targets, the angle of engagement should not exceed 20 degrees.

12. Use only non-toxic paint on steel targets.