chadillac
09-18-2012, 10:31 AM
On July 7th and 8th, I got a chance to help run the Michigan AR15.com Home Town Forum shoot. It is basically a way to get together with a bunch of fellow shooters in the same community and bond, compete and shoot with each other.
We, as volunteers, asked hundreds of companies to donate to the prize table to give back to the people that came out. Some were able to give, some were not. One of those companies was www.shootsteel.com. From the very beginning, Evan was all for helping us out to give some targets to the competition we were holding. When the targets arrived, I was amazed at how much Evan sent. He sent two 12” by 20” silhouette targets that use a hanging system, a 2x4 as the stand and a solid base to hold it all. Also included were two 10” gongs that have two holes on once side for hanging. Last but not least, two target stands that are basically for putting 1x2’s in and posting cardboard targets. All of this can be seen in the pictures. As you can also see in the pictures, I made some basic stands for the gong. Evan suggested using the following for hanging the targets:
Bolts - 1/2" gr5 or gr8 (in order - Bolt head, target, chain min 2 washers, gr2 lock-nut)
Gr 40 chain (high test) 5/16" min – or –
Gr 70 chain (transport) 1/4" min
He mentioned that he recommends transport chain more but it is harder to find.
All of the steel is cut with CNC laser cutting which you can read from the website why that is better. But a quick overview is that less heat is transmitted into the steel and therefore keeping the hardness of the steel.
All of the steel shot at the shoot was done at a distance of 30-45 yards.
So, before getting into the review, I just wanted to thank Evan for the support. He isn’t from Michigan but was completely willing to help out a local shoot.
On to the review now. The four steel targets were set up for our competition. Up until this point they had not been shot at once. The great thing about the way the silhouettes are hung is that it keeps the steel pretty free so it gives you a great report. This will be great for shooting at longer distances where the report from the shot may be all you have to know if you made a hit. Other steel that I have shot at that is welded to the stand will not give the same “ding” that this steel does when making a hit. The gongs give just as much of a report hanging on the chains. They do move quite a bit as well so a hit can be seen visibly.
Follow up shots on the silhouettes can be done as fast as you can pull the trigger from any caliber (these were rated up to .308 Winchester). There was not side to side movement, just a small amount of swinging back to front. The spring in the hanging mechanism really helps keep tension on the steel and keep it still while allowing it to hang free at the same time.
Follow up shots on the gongs will not handle quite as quick of a trigger finger as there was more movement fore to aft. With the chain that Evan suggested, movement side to side was minimal although more effected when hitting the either side of the gong rather than in the middle. Note, there are other ways to hang the gongs, I am speaking specifically about how we had the targets hung at the shoot. With that said, double taps on steel were attainable but the steel would be still swinging a little bit.
Durability of these targets is where I personally think they stand out. I have shot at AR500 before and owned some from an unnamed company and I still haven’t shot as much on the steel than was shot at the shootsteeel.com targets in just the two days of the event. If I had to guess, the 10” gongs have over 1500 shots from rifles .223/5.56 or higher and over 600 shots from handguns of 9mm up to 10mm. The rifle ammo was anything from 55 gr, to M193, to 62 gr M855. There was also a variety of 7.62x39 and calibers as large as .308.
Handguns of any caliber have no effect on the steel of any kind other than taking paint off.
Rifles obviously have more effect on steel but from all of the rifle hits, there are minimal pits in the steel compared to other steel I have shot at.
One thing I noticed from shooting at other steel in the past is that when it gets pitted, there can be fragmentation that comes back to the shooter(s). During the shoot, no one complained of this happening. While I have never seen dangerous fragmentation from any steel targets, it is something to consider and will likely happen at some point in the steels life. Protective eyewear should be worn regardless of what you are shooting at but especially important when shooting steel.
Another great feature of shootsteel.com steel is that it can be turned around and used on the back side when the first side gets pitted past the point of being safe. Because the steel is not welded to the stand, this can be achieved easily. We never did have to change sides during the event so I can’t say how well they will hold up when turned around but it gives extended life and therefore making it a better value than a welded piece of steel.
Just a quick word about the target stands. They are super light and very durable. They are perfectly even to post IDPA/IPSC targets on the posts. We had no issues with them falling over or any durability issues with them during the shoot.
All in all, this steel is the most durable and well designed steel targets that I have had the chance to shoot at. I would recommend buying from them. There prices are extremely reasonable and shipping does not cost much. Orders over $500 ship free as well.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v641/zdogg/steel001.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v641/zdogg/steel002.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v641/zdogg/steel003.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v641/zdogg/steel004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v641/zdogg/steel005.jpg
We, as volunteers, asked hundreds of companies to donate to the prize table to give back to the people that came out. Some were able to give, some were not. One of those companies was www.shootsteel.com. From the very beginning, Evan was all for helping us out to give some targets to the competition we were holding. When the targets arrived, I was amazed at how much Evan sent. He sent two 12” by 20” silhouette targets that use a hanging system, a 2x4 as the stand and a solid base to hold it all. Also included were two 10” gongs that have two holes on once side for hanging. Last but not least, two target stands that are basically for putting 1x2’s in and posting cardboard targets. All of this can be seen in the pictures. As you can also see in the pictures, I made some basic stands for the gong. Evan suggested using the following for hanging the targets:
Bolts - 1/2" gr5 or gr8 (in order - Bolt head, target, chain min 2 washers, gr2 lock-nut)
Gr 40 chain (high test) 5/16" min – or –
Gr 70 chain (transport) 1/4" min
He mentioned that he recommends transport chain more but it is harder to find.
All of the steel is cut with CNC laser cutting which you can read from the website why that is better. But a quick overview is that less heat is transmitted into the steel and therefore keeping the hardness of the steel.
All of the steel shot at the shoot was done at a distance of 30-45 yards.
So, before getting into the review, I just wanted to thank Evan for the support. He isn’t from Michigan but was completely willing to help out a local shoot.
On to the review now. The four steel targets were set up for our competition. Up until this point they had not been shot at once. The great thing about the way the silhouettes are hung is that it keeps the steel pretty free so it gives you a great report. This will be great for shooting at longer distances where the report from the shot may be all you have to know if you made a hit. Other steel that I have shot at that is welded to the stand will not give the same “ding” that this steel does when making a hit. The gongs give just as much of a report hanging on the chains. They do move quite a bit as well so a hit can be seen visibly.
Follow up shots on the silhouettes can be done as fast as you can pull the trigger from any caliber (these were rated up to .308 Winchester). There was not side to side movement, just a small amount of swinging back to front. The spring in the hanging mechanism really helps keep tension on the steel and keep it still while allowing it to hang free at the same time.
Follow up shots on the gongs will not handle quite as quick of a trigger finger as there was more movement fore to aft. With the chain that Evan suggested, movement side to side was minimal although more effected when hitting the either side of the gong rather than in the middle. Note, there are other ways to hang the gongs, I am speaking specifically about how we had the targets hung at the shoot. With that said, double taps on steel were attainable but the steel would be still swinging a little bit.
Durability of these targets is where I personally think they stand out. I have shot at AR500 before and owned some from an unnamed company and I still haven’t shot as much on the steel than was shot at the shootsteeel.com targets in just the two days of the event. If I had to guess, the 10” gongs have over 1500 shots from rifles .223/5.56 or higher and over 600 shots from handguns of 9mm up to 10mm. The rifle ammo was anything from 55 gr, to M193, to 62 gr M855. There was also a variety of 7.62x39 and calibers as large as .308.
Handguns of any caliber have no effect on the steel of any kind other than taking paint off.
Rifles obviously have more effect on steel but from all of the rifle hits, there are minimal pits in the steel compared to other steel I have shot at.
One thing I noticed from shooting at other steel in the past is that when it gets pitted, there can be fragmentation that comes back to the shooter(s). During the shoot, no one complained of this happening. While I have never seen dangerous fragmentation from any steel targets, it is something to consider and will likely happen at some point in the steels life. Protective eyewear should be worn regardless of what you are shooting at but especially important when shooting steel.
Another great feature of shootsteel.com steel is that it can be turned around and used on the back side when the first side gets pitted past the point of being safe. Because the steel is not welded to the stand, this can be achieved easily. We never did have to change sides during the event so I can’t say how well they will hold up when turned around but it gives extended life and therefore making it a better value than a welded piece of steel.
Just a quick word about the target stands. They are super light and very durable. They are perfectly even to post IDPA/IPSC targets on the posts. We had no issues with them falling over or any durability issues with them during the shoot.
All in all, this steel is the most durable and well designed steel targets that I have had the chance to shoot at. I would recommend buying from them. There prices are extremely reasonable and shipping does not cost much. Orders over $500 ship free as well.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v641/zdogg/steel001.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v641/zdogg/steel002.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v641/zdogg/steel003.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v641/zdogg/steel004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v641/zdogg/steel005.jpg