I’m trying to determine what type of setup rings the loudest at 300 yards or so with steel targets and 5.56.

Hanging them from S hooks or buying one of those 2x4 with feet setups that mount the plate a bit more rigid?  

Right now I’m hanging 3/8”  8” ar500 from S hooks at 300 yards and I can barely hear them even with my headphones turned up. Willing to invest in something else if it helps. Not sure if I could get away with slightly thinner 1/4” ar500 at 300 yards to increase the resonance a bit. Or if I would blow right through it.

I train solo, so having a really loud audible ring when moving through drills really helps. If I am just bench rest shooting slowly then it’s fine. But I like to move and not have to ultra focus on wether I hear hits or not.

My S hooked plates are almost impossible to hear versus my one plate that is mounted to a sign post by a valve spring and carriage bolt.  These are 12x20 silhouettes 3/8 thick at 100 yards.

try this

You want the largest and thinnest target that will withstand the ammo.

5.56 at 300 will not even pit 1/4” AR500 especially if you’re using the heavy for caliber match bullets.

Velocity is the killer not necessarily energy.

Shooting Targets7 Guide

Had a guy at a club I was at cut a piece of something like this but thicker and it would ring very loud even with 5.56 hitting it.

Attached File


Mild steel, pistol only but you get the idea.

This.

The thinner the target, the more it vibrates when struck (assuming it can move and is not held rigidly)

Eta shoot equal sized 1/8 and 1/2 thick plates with a .22lr for an audible demonstration

I had the assumption a hanging target from hooks would be louder than a carriage bolt and valve spring. Since I read that rigid targets vibrate less. And assume the bolt with valve spring would be more rigid. But it sounds like the valve spring and carriage bolt isn’t rigid, and the spring gives enough that the plate vibrates actually more than when the plates are hanging?

If this is the case, I’m thinking about grabbing this. Maybe see if I can find a 1/4” thick torso instead of the 3/8” since at 300 yards 1/4” isn’t an issue as posted in above comments.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07Y13LBFR/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=A276J0TZGR7Q8N&psc=1