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Posted: 4/9/2012 2:42:47 PM EDT
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Ok, this is a joint venture on behalf of myself and a few friends. I've got 17in diameter plates of unknown steel, 1/2 in thick, weigh about 45lbs each. We plan to weld some chain to the back of them then create a fishhook apparatus from rebar to hang them from a steel tube frame, we hope the plates wont swing too much by hanging them from two points per plate.
We'll be hitting these with everything from .22 to 30-06, but mainly 5.56/.223 at about 250 yards since thats the length of the clearing we have. My question on using the same steel to create pistol targets, what device or methods have any of you used to tilt the plates forward and deflect shrapnel into the ground? Or do you leave them pretty much vertical and keep your distance? I'll post pics of what we're doing as we begin construction, still in the planning phase at this point... |
| If you really want it tilting down, it's all about center of gravity. Try to hang the plate close to the middle, that will make it easier to "angle" Then maybe weld a little counterweight to one side of the plate sticking out a couple of inches. Put the counterweight facing forward to tilt down or facing back to tilt upward. |
| if you can drill through the plate put two holes in it. Then use lag bolts through the front, hang from chains on the back, leave the nuts a bit loose and it will give you the perfect tilt/angle towards the ground. I can post pics of my plates later if it would help. |
| I shoot a lot of steel in cowboy action shooting and steel challenge. We shoot them from close range. Always angle the steel down so the bullets deflect into the ground and not back at you. The problem that you might run into is that if your steel doesn't hold up to FMJ rounds, it will dent. Dented steel is unpredictable when it comes to splatter. Use lead or plated bullets (not jacketed) whenever possible to help manage this. If you really want ot shoot steel with rifles, use a steel that is designed to withstand that, like AR 400. |
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If you drill holes and use eye bolts sticking out of the back of the target, the plates will hang at an angle. The longer the eye bolt, the more angle.
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQdHwWiy2TYT-rXkthNcYr7mN2EHk7Oj-As4UL79aBeK14vf2_JxnaSCQQA http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy177/laFiere/Steel%20Gong%20Target/IMG_0706.jpg |
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I hang my plates from chain.
I weld either a chain or a 'chain repair link' directly to the back of my plates. I weld approx 1/4 the way down from the top as shown in the diagram below. When hung, the plates will tilt forward a bit. The lower you attach the chain the more forward tilt the plates will have. 
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Thanks for the pics sld961. I plan to use the eye bolt idea to hang my new AR500 steel from the Sniper's hide group buy.
http://i.imgur.com/xsAgU.jpg http://i.imgur.com/RBhYP.jpg |
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RandyStacyE:
Nice image, we've decided to go with welding the chain to the back of the plates approx 1/3 of the way down to give it decent tilt, we'll use these for the rifle targets far out to see how the steel holds up, pending the results we may use the remaining plates for closer pistol targets. As for the frame to hand them from, we are either gonna go with rebar or metal tubing depending on what we can get cheapest and easiest. Should have some work done this weekend so I can throw photos up. Its a mild steel, but heavy as $hit so I'm sure it will hold up to whatever we throw at it. Everyone else, thanks for the input. |
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