how close is to close to shoot steel?

[hogpatrol]

For reference, NRA silhouette matches,

Distances, by discipline, are: Air Rifle—20, 30, 36 and 40 yards; Smallbore—40, 60, 77 and 100 meters; and High Power—200, 300, 385 and 500 meters.

https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2018/5/24/silhouette-target-shooting/

 

[Dusty Stevens]

@Field & Cave can give us an expert opinion

 

[243winxb]

Pockmarks, very dangerous.

This 1" thick x 8" pipe cap i sent to the scrap yard.

Note: All the damage to the wood legs.

My club put up a dueling tree for handguns @ 25 yards.. Very heavy steel. The rifle shooters put pockmarks in it.
I get to the club one morning, a guy is shooting his 9mm pistol at it. Hes standiing 7 yards away.
Had tree removed the next day. Some people have no common sense.

 

[hogpatrol]

Our club, no steel closer than 50 yards on the pistol range and no steel on the 25/50/100 yard rifle range. As above, steel shooters on the rifle range lacked common sense and subsequently those targets were banned.

 

[Bill K]

It can depend on the type/grade of steel and the angle that it is set up at and if it free swinging or solid set.
SSS shots some as close as 10 to 25 yrds, with lead bullets.

 

[Lefty Trigger]

Me and my brother was shooting rifle at one of our local clubs and some members brought in a group of 4H kids to shoot steel target at various distances with handguns. They set these up way off to our right side and down range but about 30 minuets in we were getting hit with fragments about 30 feet left of them. When they drew blood on my brothers leg it got shut down right fast.

 

[X-Caveman]

I like to say no closer than 100 yards for any centerfire rifle. People do it with carbines all the time, but that doesn’t make it OK. We don’t market to those disciplines for that reason.

Never closer than 10 yards with 22LR or pistols. Even then, jacket material may come back at you, so eye protection is absolutely mandatory. I much prefer lead cast bullets or lead plated/ coated bullets for anything less than about 20 yards.

And yes, mild steel is more dangerous (and more boring) than proper AR500, AR550 or 46100.

 

[338 dude]

I’ve seen that several times in the past and still get chills every time I watch that dude needs to go buy a lottery ticket

 

[terrace]

This has some great info

 

[vinconco]

Rifles can be shot at closer than 100 yards if a few precautions are taken
1. Velocity under 2800 fps
2. AR500 smooth surface steel
3. Angled over 20 degrees
4. Lead core or frangible bullets.