Short Range Rifle Target

[Brian Payne]

http://conta.cc/KD7eE1

I am hoping that this goes through correctly.

I had sent Rich Manning from MFR Metals the thread regarding short range rifle targets and we talked about the need for this sort of thing for the future of 3-gun competitions. We discussed the need for safety, a fairly inexpensive target presentation, the need for definate hit confirmation, and finally the need for quick reset.

This is the idea that Rich came up with. The target face is a replaceable item made out of Hardox, with a mild steel backing to it. All parts of the target are easily replaceable and can be done so very quickly with simple tools.

My son and I took these to the range to run some drills on them to see how they work. It was a first test so unfortunately I didn't bring a camera or video camera to document the tests.

We started the test at 20 yrds. The test was conducted in very soft dusty sand that would indicate where the "splatter" pattern would be for the bullet fragments after impact. The only splatter area we could see was directly straight down from the target.

We then set cardboard targets on each side and top of the target approx. one foot away, and we put a cardboard target just in front of the target approx. one yard away. We shot this target from 20 yards, the as close as 12 yards using .223 55 grn FMJ ammo. After shooting the clay target we checked the splatter pattern and found that almost all of the splatter went straight down, none came forward to the target one yard away, and very little went to the sides. The black "dust" from the exploded clay pigeon formed a perfectly straight light along both sides up to about the 10:00 position on the left side and the 2:00 position on the right side, with nothing higher up than that. The clay dust did have some minute pieces of bullet fragment stuck in the cardboard but nothing went through the cardboard. There was no damage or denting to the target face.

The only problem we had with the target was that we shot off one of the prongs used to hold the clay pigeon onto the target. We could still use rubber bands to hold the target on, but running 100 shooters through a stage would possibly cause problems. I did speak with Rich about this and he is working up a solution.

I am still testing this idea as I had asked Rich to make these for my personal range training, and after finding out how well they worked it started me thinking about taking them to some of our local 3-gun shoots to see how they hold up. I am helping put on a 3-gun shoot this coming Sunday and I might throw these out there to see how they are received.

I am not employed or sponsored by MFR Metals or anything like that, they just happen to be a local company that built some targets for me and they are interested in the sport of 3-gun here in the state of Minnesota. I am throwing this out there in the hopes others might give some feedback on the idea.

[Brian Payne]

I forgot to add:

If I get a chance to use these targets this weekend, I will attempt to get some photo's or video.

Also, moderators if I have violated any sort of rules I apologize. If this needs to be locked or removed please do so. It was not my intent to advertise for this company, I just wanted the target to be put out to other shooters to see if there were ideas that might make something like this a viable target for 3-gunners.

[MarkCO]

Unfortunately, almost all the rule sets disallow close steel. Hammer it with some .308 for say 100 rounds or so.

[MarkCO]

What is Hardox? Is it like the material Andy had in the cave stage last year?

[Brian Payne]

MarkCO

Hardox is some sort of hardened steel like AR500 from what I understand.

I shot these targets from 12 yrds and 20 yrds just to see what sort of damage it would do to the target itself, and to see if there was any splash back of bullet fragments. I myself, would not use this target this close during a course of fire. It was interesting to note that the target face didn't even have a dimple on it from the .223 rounds.

The clay did explode nicely with any hit on the white portion of the taget. I hope to do some shooting on it with a .308 in the near future. It is hard to tell from the photo, but this target is set up with a spring behind it, and it sits at an angle to the ground, rather than sitting straight up and down. I am assuming that this is why all the bullet fragments are sent down into the ground. It was just nice to see that this target did not allow bullets to ricochet over the berm.

[Blockhead]

Looks like a good idea. Pete has been experimenting at the Sin-City Club matches with a similar idea using MGM Auto-Poppers.

I'd be curious how it handles hits on the neck above the circular portion of the target. Just be careful if you try to land shots in that area. The closer the hits are to the pivot point, the more likely they are to come back at you.

You'd also want to have some spare round head bolts on hand. Hits on or close to the bolt head sometimes snap the bolt.

Good Luck