Steel Plate Targets and M855A1

[Dan_Kemp]

Gentlemen,

I have been handed a fast RFI from my boss here at Fort Campbell Range Control. He has been informed that AR600 steel plate targets will stand up to M855A1 ammunition where it is beating the hell out of AR500. As those die off, he wishes to replace them with something more durable. This is being pushed from his superiors. AR500 seems to be the industry standard for steel plate targets, so this is two questions in one post.

1. Is anyone except one guy on eBay making AR600 targets yet?

2. How reliable is the information that AR600 stands up to M855A1 at approximately 50 to 100 meters?

All insight is appreciated, thank you in advance.

 

[GunnerGordo]

1. AR500 does take a pounding from the M855 family. You can usually see the top part of a target start to warp backwards from the heat/impact of the rounds. As you go up the hardness scale in steel, it is important to know that you run the chance of cracking the metal. I know of no one making AR600 targets nor reliability.
2. Unless I am mistaken, military doctrine prohibits shooting steel with M855 inside of 100 yards due to the penetrator not breaking up on impact. In any case, make sure to inspect your steel targets often. Deflection angles and frag hazards are to be assessed always. I can't tell you how many quality ranges I have been to that have steel targets that are a huge safety hazard.

Cheers,
Gordo

 

[CSTCoach]

I have a full size 1/2" thick, AR500 IPSC from Big Dog Steel that has seen over 20,000 rounds of rifle use and another 30k+ of pistol hits, at least 15k of that has been M855, which it has taken with aplomb. More than 10k of it was in a 2 day Pat McNamara TAPs class which was full (24 shooters), of which 8 were 10th SFG hard shooters from Carson. I flip it about every 10k or so and replace the carriage bolts at the same time. It's finally developing a bit of dimpling after 4 years of use. We've shot that steel from with rifles from 5o to 250yds and never had an issue with core ricochets or frags coming back to the line.

Having said that, I fully believe, IMO that the steel has held up so well for a variety of reasons. The first being that Big Dog waterjets their targets instead of plasma cutting, reducing heat stress to the metal, and using 1/2" steel instead of 3/8ths helps it absorb more impact energy than 3/8ths can. Another factor is weather, shooting extremely hard steel in cold weather increases the brittleness of the steel and reduces its life span.

Anecdotal example aside, a very good friends of mine, who is also the NCOIC currently rewriting the new Army marksmanship manual (32.9) at Benning says that inside 100yds, M855A1 is brutal on 3/8ths AR500, cratering it badly at 100-150yds (often leaving the penetrator in the target) and zipping right thru 3/8ths at ranges under 100yds. I don't have enough M855A1 on hand, nor am I willing to experiment on my 1/2" steels to prove/disprove his warnings. He shoots a LOT more A1 than I do, so I have no reason to doubt his assessment.

I'm not convinced that AR600 steel is the answer as it may introduce more problems (brittleness, hard to find, weather temperment, etc) than it solves. Shopping for good steel, maintenance and recommended safe distances will help you in the long run. I know this ramble doesn't directly address your source questions RE AR600, but I hope that it helps with some of the issues you're fighting.