Is it safe to shoot steel targets at 85 yards with 5.56, most specifically M855 and M193 spec ammunition?  How much of a ricochet possibility is there at this distance?  

btt

Tooooooooooooooooo many variables to give you a yes/no answer. That is probably why noone is rushing to answer.

There is always a chance of ricochet.
Physics dictates, but thats a whole other reply.

Exactly.  The variables being the hardness of the steel, the construction of the bullet, the angle of the shot, your distance from the steel.

Anything can happen.

With the ammo and distances you are talking about, the possibility of you being hit by a piece of metal is almost nil.

5.56mm rounds all but vaporize against steel at close ranges.  The target surface will also vaporize.  The area of metallic splatter will most likely be toward the edges of the target in all directions.  In other words, you won't get hit unless you are standing next to or over the target as it is hit.


FMJ pistol bullets are far more likely to richochet against metal then rifle bullets, and the targets should be angled towards the dirt as a precaution.

Have fun!  [beer]

I set up some 1/2" steel about 50ft out to hit it with some IMI M855.

I took the first shot and felt something hit my boot...almost like something fell on it but I couldn't find anything. I then took the second shot and something hit me in the right ear and drew blood. I realized that it was the penetrator hitting me and decided not to fire anymore at that steel at that distance.

No kidding...two shots out of two richoched back and hit me.

I wouldn't worry about lead hitting you but if the plate is too thick for the penetrator to go through then it will bounce somewhere. Still, at that distance you should be safe.

In light of the most recent post, I would say that M193 is [i]safer[/i] than M855.  M193 is solid lead core, which isn't going anywhere too fast.

M855 [i]should be safe[/i] at that distance, but it might be a good idea to angle the steel plate a few degrees forward.

I saw SB "SS109" hit a 3/4 inch steel plate at 200 yards.  It took nice deep gouges out of the plate, but nothing noticeable bounced back the 200Y we were shooting at.

I have been hit by my own bullet at a plate shoot at 50 yards using 7.62 X 39 Chinese steel core.

I have also been hit by my own 9mm while leaning out a door taking a shot. (no idea what it hit) [I had a good reason to be doing this at the time.]

I had a .22 CB miss me by inches after shooting at a target on a rail road tie.  The shot went lower than I expected, hit the tie, and came back 60 feet and missed my head by no more than a foot.

A month ago, a guy on a neighboring farm had several steel plates set up on his property.  There was a 20 foot high hill at the end of the range.  He never admitted to what he was shooting, but the bullets were bouncing off the plate which about 100Y from him.  We were on the other side of the hill on our property, about 30Y beyond the hill being used as the final backstop.

We had several bullets fly over our heads into the trees behind us, and finnaly, several came right through our camp site. The bullets were hitting a heavy steel plate, going through fairly thick trees overhead, completely flying over the hill, and still going another 50-75 yards beyond.

Long story short - your bullets could go anywhere.

Ricochet possibility is 100% for rounds that don't completely penetrate the steel.  Chances of getting hit, as noted, are quite low at longer distances.

A word of caution on using "soft" steel to shoot at. Any pock marks on the plates will cause fragments to go places you don't like. At close ranges, the splatter can be deadly.

True story- A shooter and his team were shooting pistols on steel all day. Mid afternoon he was feeling weak and sat down. Within another hour or so, he could barely function. He was taken to the ER and they found that a bullet core that had flattened out on the plates had went through his chest and sliced some internals. He had been slowly bleeding to death internaly and did know it. There was no open wounds. Good thing though is he lived.

Although he was shooting on good steel, splatter will and can come back to you. At some ranges,you may see baffles on the sides if it's walled such as a Rogers range.
I've seen a whole .45 ball round come back and smack someone in the forehead. Knocked his tail in the dirt, had a nasty lump and cut. The popper he shot was his first round and we found that some idiot had shot it with a 12 slug, which basically ruined it.
Always wear wrap around glasses, I had a pair save my left eye from splatter from a plate.

Mark