What's your experience with Steel Challenge target sets?

[CleverNickname]

My local USPSA club just had its yearly board meeting and I think I may have convinced people that the club should start running a Steel Challenge match. But to do that we need to get a Steel Challenge target set. I found some places offering targets:

Rogue Shooting Targets, $3,400, AR500 steel
Challenge Targets, $5,500, AR500 steel
Blue Steel Targets, $6,080, AR500 steel
Red Stitch Targets, $6,495, AR550 steel
MGM Targets, $10,191, AR550 steel
SI Targets, "Contact for pricing" & I haven't yet.

For those of you who've run Steel Challenge matches:
1) Have you used any of these brands and have a recommendation to either buy or avoid them?
2) Any brands I'm missing?
3) Is getting AR550 steel over AR500 that important? I guess it will last longer, but is it really worth the extra cost? I can understand AR550 for rifle shooting, but this is just pistol calibers.
4) Is there anything else we should consider other than price?

[Chills1994]

Action Target.

 

But my information is probably way outdated.

 

Action Target  had stands where the plates bolted directly to them.

 

it made the 18X24. rectangles very awkward to move.  Actually, even the circular plates (bolted to their stands) were awkward to move too.

 

Their stands were also made out of AR500.

 

Which in my opinion really wasn’t necessary.

 

I haven’t clicked on your profile, so I don ‘t where you are located.

 

My advice would be yo find a local steel place that deals in AR500 steel.

 

In St. Louis, that would be Ford Steel:

 

https://www.fordsteel.com

 

Then have a local welder/fabricator make the bases and stands.  Which can be made out of normal A36 steel.  
 

in my opinion, for just normal pistol rounds AR(00 is fine.

 

 

 

 

[Squirrel45]

We bought a set from GT targets a couple years ago. There's are made of 550 and so far have held up well. On top of that if one does fail he will replace it. As for the need of 550 v 500 I'm not really sure, the important thing is to have 3/8" thick. This might be a buy once cry once situation. Some clubs go cheap and go with 1/4" this really doesn't work well as the targets themselves fall off the 2x4 and experience cupping much sooner. For the bases it's around 50 or 60 a base. For the club we ended up buying two sets but for personal use I made two. Is it worth it, well I had some a material for the legs but the rectangular stock isnt really cheap. 

https://www.gttargets.com/steelchallenge.htm

 

[zzt]

A second for GT Targets.  We've been buying more than just steel challenge targets from them for years.  Highly recommended.  

[Joe4d]

Should be grants available from USPSA for exactly this... I mean they take in money from Steel challenge shooters, what do they do in return ?  I'd at least ask for one.. 
I mean I managed events for an org alot smaller than USPSA,, and that was pretty much what they did with the money they took in,,, help venues get off the ground. No events, no org.

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by Joe4d

[Farmer]

I bought some rounds, 10” & 12” from this supplier. Quality was good, friendly service and free shipping. I don’t have any longevity testing on them yet though and am building my own stands. 
https://shootsteel.com/

[Texaspaul]

Does anyone have a set that uses the steel "T" post - do the work?

[old558]

13 minutes ago, Texaspaul said:

Does anyone have a set that uses the steel "T" post - do the work?

I have a set, and they do work! If you have soft ground they are pretty easy to setup. 

I finally just  bought a 2x4 setup as the range I go to is hard and rocky. Pounding the posts in got to be to much work.

[Texaspaul]

5 minutes ago, old558 said:

I have a set, and they do work! If you have soft ground they are pretty easy to setup. 

I finally just  bought a 2x4 setup as the range I go to is hard and rocky. Pounding the posts in got to be to much work.

Thanks - they make a free-standing stand base so not to have to pound into the ground. I was wondering how the "T" post hold up to getting shot and any ricochet issues?

[old558]

34 minutes ago, Texaspaul said:

Thanks - they make a free-standing stand base so not to have to pound into the ground. I was wondering how the "T" post hold up to getting shot and any ricochet issues?

They take it pretty good. I think at least as good as a 2x4.

[apoc4lypse]

Is your club going to run all eight stages or fewer than 8?  Will the stages be permanently set up or will you set up/tear down every match?  If the latter, I'd go with a hanger hook style set with a wide H-shaped base.

 

When I bought my practice set it was from shootingtargets7.  With hanger hooks it's very easy to change the plates - not so much if you have hangers with the bolt/spring/nut configuration.  Also, definitely spring for 3/8" thickness as 1/4" plates will get knocked off the hook as someone mentioned above, especially with .45 cal or PCC.

 

Also, you may want to inquire about the measurement of where the slot is cut in relation to the edge of the plate.  Ideally, this will be the same distance for the 12" and 10" plate (so they will stand at the same 5' height when used with an appropriately cut 2x4).  The rectangles should have their slot cut an additional 6" lower, +/-2" so they will stand close to 5'6" when used with that same 2x4.  It'll prevent you from needing specific 2x4's at a different length for your rectangular plates.

 

Lastly, if you setting up each time, you may want to look for something that stacks well - both for storage and transport.  H style bases will likely stack better than the X style ones in some of your links.  Just make sure that the H style base is wide enough so that you don't get a lot of rocking when shot, or else you will need to stake them, which is a PITA.

[shred]

This-- if you don't have the room or the desire to run all 8 stages at once, there's no need to get the whole set if you need to save some coin.  Particularly if you don't have 35 yards for OL and SO, you can cut back 3 18x24 gongs and 7 12" plates (although a spare or two of each is not a bad idea).

 

We use steel posts with 'caps' that the plates bolt to for quick setup and teardown.  Hanging 'snouts' that stick through a plate can cause more uprange splatter than bolt heads.

 

 

 

[CleverNickname]

We have room for 35-yard stages, but getting five stages initially and then getting the remaining three later was something that we're considering.  We'll be setting up and tearing down for each match.

[Squirrel45]

Most expensive stage is S&H. For the first year at my club we didn't run that one. We ran two bays and moved targets to pre pinned spots. Works well for what we have to work with 

[shred]

S&H is also less fun to setup with 4 gongs, but it's a crowd-pleaser.  You can make a minimal 5-stage plate set that will let you run all the stages, but maybe not every combination of 5 stages in one match (say you only get 6 10" plates, you can't run 5-to-go, Pendulum and Accelerator and Showdown all in the same match, but you can run any two, or three if you skip 5TG), or you can make up a set that will let you run any stage for each stage of a 5 stage match by adding a few more plates.

 

Marking out the bays makes setup a total breeze.  Get some survey whiskers and color-code the stages if you put more than one on a bay.

 

 

[zzt]

Both of the clubs I shoot SCSA at set up all the Classifiers with a surveyor's setup and laser.  2x4s are cut to the correct length and marked for stage and position.  They are gathered at the end of the match and taped together.  The length is marked on each stick in case you have to replace it.

 

Positions in the bays are marked with surveying feathers.  Is bays where more than on Classifier can be set up, different color feathers are used.

[Chills1994]

8 hours ago, Joe4d said:

Should be grants available from USPSA for exactly this... I mean they take in money from Steel challenge shooters, what do they do in return ?  I'd at least ask for one.. 
I mean I managed events for an org alot smaller than USPSA,, and that was pretty much what they did with the money they took in,,, help venues get off the ground. No events, no org.

 

At my old, old club, we had an old timer who was either a teacher or heck, maybe even a professor at the local State U.  He had experience writing requests for grants.  So we got a grant for $5,000 either from the NRA or the NSSF to buy the targets from Action Target.  
 

It seemed to me that at that time writing any grant requests that included anything about kids and guns, or kids and gun safety, or “scholastic” anything, the NRA or NSSF jumped right on it.

 

But, Joe4D, you are absolutely correct that USPSA HQ should be hooking affiliated clubs up with discounted steel targets.

 

 

[Chills1994]

2 hours ago, CleverNickname said:

We have room for 35-yard stages, but getting five stages initially and then getting the remaining three later was something that we're considering.  We'll be setting up and tearing down for each match.

Just as an FYI…

 

Depending on your club / range, you might want to consider a way to lock up your steel targets.  Either by chaining them all together and padlocking them.  Putting them inside a fenced in locked area.  Or locking them inside a shed.  It never fails.  Regardless of whatever club/range I have been to, some….umm…err…jerk will shoot some M855A1 or some surplus .30-‘06 M2 ammo at your AR500 plates.  If they don’t zip right through them, they will crater them enough to make it dangerous to shoot at for Steel Challenge until it gets repaired or replaced.

[Chills1994]

3 hours ago, shred said:

This-- if you don't have the room or the desire to run all 8 stages at once, there's no need to get the whole set if you need to save some coin.  Particularly if you don't have 35 yards for OL and SO, you can cut back 3 18x24 gongs and 7 12" plates (although a spare or two of each is not a bad idea).

 

We use steel posts with 'caps' that the plates bolt to for quick setup and teardown.  Hanging 'snouts' that stick through a plate can cause more uprange splatter than bolt heads.

 

 

 

When I had a side gig going on making  full size “IPSC silhouette” steel targets and “A/C zone only” steel targets, I used threaded black gas pipe for the upright “posts”.

 

I made up an adapter from a threaded coupling.  The threaded coupling had a steel “pocket” (or slot) welded onto it.  Then the back of the target had kind of an S shaped metal bar (or tab) welded onto it. Insert tab A into slot A.  The advantage was this “tab” also made a really good carrying handle.

 

The base was also a threaded coupling with 3 to 4 “sockets” welded onto it.  The sockets accepted the legs/feet.  Everything was meant to fold up or un-thread so it could fit into the back of a car.  That way guys could go straight from work to the range to practice.  
 

My old, old, old club used junk yard steel rims from cars as the base.  Then a vertical post was welded to that.  Then up top, the circular plates had bolts going through them with a compression spring on the back side.  They had a really good ring to them.

 

I never did like the through hook style of hanger.  Especially if the hole in the plate was a square or a rectangle.  It always seemed like cracks would start in the corners and radiate outward until the plate was no longer usable.

 

 

[CleverNickname]

1 hour ago, Chills1994 said:

Just as an FYI…

 

Depending on your club / range, you might want to consider a way to lock up your steel targets.  Either by chaining them all together and padlocking them.  Putting them inside a fenced in locked area.  Or locking them inside a shed.  It never fails.  Regardless of whatever club/range I have been to, some….umm…err…jerk will shoot some M855A1 or some surplus .30-‘06 M2 ammo at your AR500 plates.  If they don’t zip right through them, they will crater them enough to make it dangerous to shoot at for Steel Challenge until it gets repaired or replaced.

The club has been around for awhile and we already have a 30'x30' equipment shed at our home range for all our stuff.

[bigdawgbeav]

I will also echo GT Targets.  Karl is a nice guy and always willing to work with clubs to get them the steel they need.

[Darqusoull13]

On 12/27/2023 at 10:25 PM, CleverNickname said:

For those of you who've run Steel Challenge matches:
1) Have you used any of these brands and have a recommendation to either buy or avoid them?
2) Any brands I'm missing?
3) Is getting AR550 steel over AR500 that important? I guess it will last longer, but is it really worth the extra cost? I can understand AR550 for rifle shooting, but this is just pistol calibers.
4) Is there anything else we should consider other than price?

1) MGM Targets and they have been fantastic. Zero broken hangers, targets or stands since purchase in 2020. 

4) Ease of set up and ease of maintenance.
Maintenance: MGM's no weld design is very simple to fix when the hanger finally gives out. Some other designs I've seen are a colossal pain to swap the hanger parts because lead can get in the bolt threads etc. 

Set up: Stands are easy to put out and stake down. 2x4's are used for the replaceable posts. Tip - Duct tape keeps massive chunks from being shot out and flip the 2x4's before they break. Caps go on easy and the targets hang easy. They do NOT fall off, ever, but they do come off easily when you go to tear down. 

[bravobravo]

28 minutes ago, Darqusoull13 said:

Duct tape keeps massive chunks from being shot out and flip the 2x4's before they break

This sounds like an interesting tip that I am unaware of. 

Could you explain exactly what you do with duct tape?

Is the idea to wrap the 2x4 with DT just below the target?

tia      

[Darqusoull13]

1 hour ago, bravobravo said:

This sounds like an interesting tip that I am unaware of. 

Could you explain exactly what you do with duct tape?

Is the idea to wrap the 2x4 with DT just below the target?

tia      

Yes, I picked it up from WSSC years ago. You wrap the 2x4 with duct tape about 4 inches above and below the bottom line of your target. This way when shooters have a perfect wind call but elevation is a bit off you can take more hits before shooting out the board. 

[broadside72]

On 1/8/2024 at 1:09 PM, bravobravo said:

This sounds like an interesting tip that I am unaware of. 

Could you explain exactly what you do with duct tape?

Is the idea to wrap the 2x4 with DT just below the target?

tia      

 

Wrap it like a hockey stick or baseball bat grip tape would be. From just above the bottom of the plate to about 1/3 of the way down.