I have a couple steel plates that i shoot at with my ar and bolt gun.  One is about 5/8" thick and the other is only probably 1/4".  1/4" is pretty much useless for the rifles because all i do is punch holes in it. I was curious how safe i would be shooting those two plates with a 9mm and .45 in distances from say 15yds on out.  The are made to hang from the top so they will swing some but a ricochet was what i was thinking about.  Can any of you comment on this?    

Quoted:   I have a couple steel plates that i shoot at with my ar and bolt gun.  One is about 5/8" thick and the other is only probably 1/4".  1/4" is pretty much useless for the rifles because all i do is punch holes in it. I was curious how safe i would be shooting those two plates with a 9mm and .45 in distances from say 15yds on out.  The are made to hang from the top so they will swing some but a ricochet was what i was thinking about.  Can any of you comment on this?

Any steel inside of 25 yards better be HARD, and FLAT. Any surface abberations or dimples will send spall and ricochets back at you. I had to have some debris from a splash removed from my chest to attest to this, and that was at 15 yards. Having them hang is a good thing tho, as it will deflect the spall downwards and also absorb a good deal of the energy of the hit, but it's not a guarantee.

If it were me, I'd order some AR-500 steel to use solely for pistols, just to be safe. You can shoot them till your gun wears out and you'll probably never dimple them up. Save the cheap steel for ranges past 100 yards.

Check out this guy's stuff.  I have several of his targets, top notch.  I love the auto poppers.  I have shot them with all kinds of handgun cal's. and out at 75 to 100 yards, I shoot .223, 308, 30-06, 7.62X39.

And Mike is a good guy.

Thanks for the replys.  Looks like ill need to buy some new steel.  Found this page seems pretty informative if anyone else was interested reactive steel.  Now do you have any recomendations for a size of target for the distances i said?  I dont want it to be to easy though.  I would just get some of the plates that you sit on something but i like to hang the target so i dont have to keep reseting it.    

AR plate is pricey and not, in my opinion, needed for pistol calibres and eventually fail if shot enough with hv rifles.  Standard a-36 will hold up to pistols if the plate has any thickness and there is all kind of metal out there, harder than a-36 but cheaper than AR.  The best way I believe to suspend a plate is with a stand that absorbs part of the enery and keeps the plate at a slight downward angle.   All the good hits will splatter on the ground just behind the target.  And yes, do not shoot at cratered plates at handgun distances and always use eye protection.  As for size, I use what is available.  I  sawed some plates out of alloy bar that are 8" and 15" or used 1" flat bar (a-36) cut to 6" squares.  Pistol distance from 15 to 50.  Also have a 3' circle that is 1.25" thick at the shop for a 1000 yd gong.  The options are endless.  

Quoted: Quoted:   I have a couple steel plates that i shoot at with my ar and bolt gun.  One is about 5/8" thick and the other is only probably 1/4".  1/4" is pretty much useless for the rifles because all i do is punch holes in it. I was curious how safe i would be shooting those two plates with a 9mm and .45 in distances from say 15yds on out.  The are made to hang from the top so they will swing some but a ricochet was what i was thinking about.  Can any of you comment on this?     Any steel inside of 25 yards better be HARD, and FLAT.

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