Jump to content
Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

Are these hinged knock down steel targets legal?


mwc

Recommended Posts

Yes, they are legal if you get the 6" or larger plates. I contacted Troy (DNROI) and he said they were legal in USPSA.

We have 30-40 we use for USPSA and 3-gun. Get the thicker plates...they sell two thicknesses. Pistol and shotgun don't mark them up.

Edited by Mark R
Link to comment
Share on other sites

according to appendix b5, round plates between 8" and 12" diameter or square plates between 6" and 12" on a side are legal targets. the rules don't say anything about hinges or free-falling plates, so It seems both are fine. I have seen both. the hinges probably make them more reliable in some respects.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, they are legal if you get the 6" or larger plates. I contacted Troy (DNROI) and he said they were legal in USPSA.

We have 30-40 we use for USPSA and 3-gun. Get the thicker plates...they sell two thicknesses. Pistol and shotgun don't mark them up.

Just what I was hoping to hear. Thank you guys for taking the time to respond!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A side note/observation: When I've shot hinged targets, they don't ring like the free falling versions. Apparently the hinge dampens the vibration. So don't rely on hearing the hit...

I wonder this: If you edge hit a plate and it doesn't fall, I believe that it's considered REF. Technically, the RO should stop the shooter and order a reshoot. I wonder if the hinge might cause more or less reshoots; more if the hinge keeps an edge hit plate from falling, less if the RO doesn't hear or see the edge hit because the hinge dampens the sound and keeps the plate from moving.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have used them for action shotgun, you need to have people paying close attention to them, sometimes they are hit hard, fall and pop back up.

So if you aren't paying attention it will be scored as a Mike.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do they fall over if you hit under the pivot point?

The ones I saw the pivot point is the bottom of the plate, I don't think hitting it below the plate will knock them over.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We occasionally use hinged round 8" plates that mount on a 2x4 set into the base. I don't know if they behave the same as these, but ours can be problematic. You need to brace the back of the 2x4 with another board in order to prevent hits on the hinge base from knocking the plate over.

And they were designed with rubber bumpers for the plate to land on, so they are also susceptible to bouncing back up when hit with hotter major loads. If a plate pops back up and it's visible from anywhere else on the stage, it should be considered REF, since the shooter no longer has an equitable run from another for whom it stayed down. To avoid that, we usually try to make them visible from one spot on the stage and have the scorekeeper watch the plate(s) during the run. We should probably just remove the bumper altogether.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We bought some of these exact targets for our range and ended up scrapping them. They simply don't hold up to major rounds from the open guns. Fine for shotgun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We bought some of these exact targets for our range and ended up scrapping them. They simply don't hold up to major rounds from the open guns. Fine for shotgun.

That's a bummer they didn't end up working out. I thought it was a great idea. Sure was nice not having to bend over to pick up a plate and set it on a pedestal.

What is the failure point on this design?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're shooting major you need AR500, as the website says. Have the originals still in use, since fall of 2014.

They need to be driven in up to the lug on the back, some loamy soils and close range will loosen them up.

the ones we used at the side match at Pandemic were driven into sandy soil, shot over 2500 times(mostly SG at 11-12 yds) over the 3 days stayed exactly the same for every shooter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We bought some of these exact targets for our range and ended up scrapping them. They simply don't hold up to major rounds from the open guns. Fine for shotgun.

Did you get the 3/8" AR 500 plates or the original 1/4 non-AR plates?

I and others have shot ours with our open guns with 115 gr bullets at 1500 fps and no marks what so ever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We bought them last year. There was only one kind then and they are definitely not ar500.

The other issue is design - there is no good way to bang them into the ground. There is only a little stub to hit with a hammer and it turned out to be very insufficient for our needs. YMMV.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, they are legal if you get the 6" or larger plates. I contacted Troy (DNROI) and he said they were legal in USPSA.

We have 30-40 we use for USPSA and 3-gun. Get the thicker plates...they sell two thicknesses. Pistol and shotgun don't mark them up.

I've shot the ones he had, and I can't tell you how nice it is to walk over and not have to pick steel off the ground.. It's a beautiful thing and I wish others would use it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...