I found some mild steel plate in the back yard I was not using and made a 20"x20" steel target.
I had made up some powder puff 30-06 rounds with 11.5gr Red Dot powder.
1300-1450 fps depending on bullet used.
My wheel weight 170gr bullets would put the smallest dimple in the surface The diameter of a pencil eraser and .005" deep or so.
The bullets would completely fragment and leave a huge splatter pattern on the plate.
The 150gr flat point jacketed loads would not dimple it .. neither would the 155 A-Max.. same load.
So this would be a good pistol steel I would think.
I set it up at about 50 degree angle and bullets hit and fragmented and ended up in the ground directly under the plate.
I stepped up the heat with the 30-06 with a 150gr flat base soft nose spitzer round going just under 3000 fps. Hornady #3031 bullet.
Sailed right through the steel plate.
Next up was my .223
60gr Vmax just under 3000 fps.. Did not go through but made a huge divot and large bump on the back side.
50 yards.
Next round was the New sierra 69gr Tipped match king (TMK). Same FPS.
It made the divot a little bit deeper than the 60gr Vmax.
Next up was the 7.62x39 AK with factory loaded Wolf 123gr FMJ
Now I figured we would get another window in the steel like the 30-06 stuck into it.
NOPE!
So we shot it 2 more times.. NO DICE. The crater depth was actually about 1/2 of the .223 rounds
Now FMJ does not mean steel core..Do not confuse that.
But I really thought it would go through.
Happy shooting and be safe.
I had made up some powder puff 30-06 rounds with 11.5gr Red Dot powder.
1300-1450 fps depending on bullet used.
My wheel weight 170gr bullets would put the smallest dimple in the surface The diameter of a pencil eraser and .005" deep or so.
The bullets would completely fragment and leave a huge splatter pattern on the plate.
The 150gr flat point jacketed loads would not dimple it .. neither would the 155 A-Max.. same load.
So this would be a good pistol steel I would think.
I set it up at about 50 degree angle and bullets hit and fragmented and ended up in the ground directly under the plate.
I stepped up the heat with the 30-06 with a 150gr flat base soft nose spitzer round going just under 3000 fps. Hornady #3031 bullet.
Sailed right through the steel plate.
Next up was my .223
60gr Vmax just under 3000 fps.. Did not go through but made a huge divot and large bump on the back side.
50 yards.
Next round was the New sierra 69gr Tipped match king (TMK). Same FPS.
It made the divot a little bit deeper than the 60gr Vmax.
Next up was the 7.62x39 AK with factory loaded Wolf 123gr FMJ
Now I figured we would get another window in the steel like the 30-06 stuck into it.
NOPE!
So we shot it 2 more times.. NO DICE. The crater depth was actually about 1/2 of the .223 rounds
Now FMJ does not mean steel core..Do not confuse that.
But I really thought it would go through.
Happy shooting and be safe.