Looking for info from anyone that has experience or insight into steel thickness and target damage:

Full-scale ram targets are 3/8-inch thick. If a free-standing ram was made out of hard steel like AR500 or T1 but was only 1/4" thick, could it withstand being hit by lever action ram loads at 200m without incurring too much damage?

Thanks for any informed opinions.

Dustin

I have a 1/4" AR500 full size ram and it handles factory load 30-30 just fine.

Dustin, I've made turkeys out of 1/2 hot rolled A36 steel and it takes the hits well. I have a ram made of the same but havent shoot it yet. This only applies to cowboy not HP
Also I'm not sure they make 1/4 AR500. 3/8 is as thin as I've been able to find it. Be sure to ask for the Hardox grade as all AR plate is not through treated.
If you buy 1/2 Hot rolled over 3/8 Hardox you will save about $200 bucks or more.
I will be at Ridgway for the LAR regional and already have targets made.

1/4" AR500 is available. I use it on all my 1/2 scale targets as well as my full size ram.

The 1/4" full size ram handles factory load 30-30 and rings nicely.

http://custommfgco.com/targets/ makes my targets and will produce anything you want for reasonable prices. I had them do a set of full scale animals in 3/8" AR500 for the chicken/pig/Turkey and 1/4" for the ram. Instead of welding on feet, I had them punch holes so I could hang them as swingers. The full set was $378.

Here is a pic of how the full size swingers are mounted. I used 3/8" carriage bolt hardware. 1/8" steel cable connects to eye bolts in 2x4's with 1.5" holes in the 2x4 for the t-posts to slide thru. U-bolts on the t-posts hold the 2x4's up and make leveling adjustments quick and easy.

The targets have held up for almost 2 years with only a couple of 25 cent replacement carriage bolts.

CamP did they charge you shipping?

Another Dang 9 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 16, 2019 9:34 pm CamP did they charge you shipping?

They are local to me so I picked them up at their shop in Dallas, but they will ship.

They are a huge manufacturer of commercial metal products. They dont make a lot of money on steel targets, but their management staff are are all avid shooters so the target side of their business is more hobby than profit center.

Travis Frazer is the man to talk to there. He'll build anything what you want. His number is 214 428-5173

Thank you. VERY helpful info!

Dustin

I have to mention, that the weight of the ram would be lighter, not sure if that would be regulation due to the fact that targets are too easy to knock over?

Is that even regulated, how about a ram that is too heavy?

just thinking out loud, Dennis

dustinflint wrote: ↑Sat Aug 17, 2019 1:59 pm Thank you. VERY helpful info!

Dustin

Dustin,
I don't think you can change the target thickness. This is what it says in the rule book.
Paul

Target steel thickness is a very large factor in the weight of the targets.
Fullsize High Power Rifle targets should be made of steel which is of the
type specified in the NRA Silhouette Handbook, and should be 1/2” thick
for chickens and pigs; and 3/8” thick for turkeys and rams.
All half-size Hunter’s Pistol targets, that are used for Cowboy competition, should be 3/8” thick. Smallbore Hunter’s Pistol targets shall be the
same size as Hunter’s Pistol except that the rams should be 3/16” thick,
turkeys and pigs should be 1/4” thick, and chickens should be 3/8”thick.
Smallbore Rifle targets may be no less than 1/4” and no more than 1/2”
thick for the chickens. Pigs, turkeys and rams will be 1/4 inch thick. All
silhouettes of the same type shall be of a single uniform thickness.
Air gun Silhouette targets should be made from 1/8”inch thick cold rolled
steel and heliarc welded to bases of the same material.
The “feet” and the top of the stands must be the same size with a maximum variation of 10%. Where solid rails are used, pads for each animal
should be used and the pad will be considered the stand. For full size targets,
the chicken should stand on a 3” x 4” foot, each foot of the pig should be on
a 2” x 4” foot; the turkey should stand on a 3” x 8” foot; and each foot of
the ram should be 4” x 5”. The top of the stand should not be less than 6”
above the ground for High Power Rifle and Black Powder Cartridge Rifle
competition.
For one-half size targets used in Cowboy, all feet should be 2” x 4” long.
On the one-fifth scale targets used in Smallbore Rifle all feet should be
1 inch wide by 2 inches long. For cast Smallbore Rifle targets that have
casting marks or dimples on one side, the smooth side must face toward the
shooters for consistent appearance.

Thanks everyone. We got it figured out with some helpful info here and from Facebook.

Dustin