Shooting Steel Indoors

[45gunner]

After participating in several indoor IPSC matches and shooting at either 8 inch or full size standard steel poppers and distance of 26 ft(the minimum recommended distance in IPSC) my friends and I noticed a considerable amount of splatter. I have got hit in the stomach and several people have got hit in the face area. We have not experienced any serious injuries only an occasional cut. We all wear safety glasses. Needless to say we are very concerned.

I have shot in many outdoor matches with steel and don't remember it being a problem but at indoor matches I shoot in it seems to always be a problem.

The obvious thing to do is to not shoot steel indoors.

Why does it seem that when shooting steel indoors seems to have more hazards than shooting steel outdoors.?

We would like to shoot steel but are afraid to.

[Merlin Orr]

WE "usually" shoot steel at a little longer distances than that....and I get a little splatter pretty frequently... It seems everyone who shoots has a few splatter stories and some have some pretty nice scars to go with them.

Steel will make you understand why we have requirements for eye protection!

[shred]

The problem indoors with splatter is usually the walls and floor. Bullet splatter tends to follow the plane of whatever it hit last if it hits a hard surface. Much like dropping a water balloon onto concrete from three stories up, the 'splat' goes mostly outwards. Most of the time that works great for plates-- the splatter goes along the plane of the plate, into the sky, berm or dirt and not back towards the shooter. But put a 'foot' on the plate, or a hard floor just beneath, and now a goodly portion of the splatter is heading back uprange after a splat off the plate and another splat off the floor.

You can try boxing the poppers with wooden frames to catch the splatter, or maybe putting some softer material on the floor around where the steel is to give the splatter less to splat off.

[ihatepickles]

Are you setting up your fault lines so that the muzzle is 26 feet or the shooter is 26 feet? I wished the minimum distance for steel was 15+ yards. I never feel splatter at that distance.

Jacketed bullets are a little worse for splatter, the jacket seems to bounce back more than just plain lead.

[Carlos]

The problem indoors with splatter is usually the walls and floor. Bullet splatter tends to follow the plane of whatever it hit last if it hits a hard surface. Much like dropping a water balloon onto concrete from three stories up, the 'splat' goes mostly outwards. Most of the time that works great for plates-- the splatter goes along the plane of the plate, into the sky, berm or dirt and not back towards the shooter. But put a 'foot' on the plate, or a hard floor just beneath, and now a goodly portion of the splatter is heading back uprange after a splat off the plate and another splat off the floor.

You can try boxing the poppers with wooden frames to catch the splatter, or maybe putting some softer material on the floor around where the steel is to give the splatter less to splat off.

Good advice. For several years, I ran the indoor USPSA at Phil Strader's old range, Shooters Paradise. THe framents coming back often came off the floor or steel placed next to the steel-lined walls. You might "boxing" the steel.

Regards,

Douglas

[BSeevers]

I think indoors you are shooting closer than "normal", like 8-10 yards for most all shots so it exgaggerates splatter, and you need the shields or wood frames or your roof might start leaking. haha

You will definitely start taking some lightbulbs out

[ChuckS]

I think indoors you are shooting closer than "normal", like 8-10 yards for most all shots so it exgaggerates splatter, and you need the shields or wood frames or your roof might start leaking. haha

You will definitely start taking some lightbulbs out

We had matches indoors with 25 yard deep bays and the splatter was no worse than outdoors, but as Bill pointed out, you will be loosing lighting!