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Hansam · February 24, 2012, 05:40 PM

My kids and I shoot at steel targets all the time.

I have lightweight spinners set up at 25 and 50 yards for the little ones and their .22 rifles. I then have heavier weight (1/2" thick AR500 gongs) at 100 and 200 yds for those of us shooting centerfire rifles. I also set up those same types of gongs at 25yds for handgun practice. I don't use the rifle gongs for handguns.

Never had a ricochet with rifles or .22lr yet. Maybe in the future but not so far. The key believe it or not is high velocity. At high velocity the bullet strikes the target and simply shatters. I HAVE had handgun rounds come back though... I learned the hard way although it wasn't too painful, just scary. I figured I'd save money and hang the rifle gongs (which get dented and cratered from rifle fire) and hang them at 25yds to shoot handguns at. One fateful day I shot at a gong (and by the looks of the gong) the fmj .45 bullet struck a crater that had been made by a rifle bullet and pulled a U turn. It buzzed past my head and I almost soiled myself.

With clean faces on the gongs the handgun ammo tends to ricochet into the ground or strike, expand and fall. The slower the round the more chances there will be of a ricochet.

February 24, 2012, 05:40 PM	#6
Hansam Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2012 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 763	My kids and I shoot at steel targets all the time. I have lightweight spinners set up at 25 and 50 yards for the little ones and their .22 rifles. I then have heavier weight (1/2" thick AR500 gongs) at 100 and 200 yds for those of us shooting centerfire rifles. I also set up those same types of gongs at 25yds for handgun practice. I don't use the rifle gongs for handguns. Never had a ricochet with rifles or .22lr yet. Maybe in the future but not so far. The key believe it or not is high velocity. At high velocity the bullet strikes the target and simply shatters. I HAVE had handgun rounds come back though... I learned the hard way although it wasn't too painful, just scary. I figured I'd save money and hang the rifle gongs (which get dented and cratered from rifle fire) and hang them at 25yds to shoot handguns at. One fateful day I shot at a gong (and by the looks of the gong) the fmj .45 bullet struck a crater that had been made by a rifle bullet and pulled a U turn. It buzzed past my head and I almost soiled myself. With clean faces on the gongs the handgun ammo tends to ricochet into the ground or strike, expand and fall. The slower the round the more chances there will be of a ricochet. __________________ This is who we are, what we do. Last edited by Hansam; February 24, 2012 at 05:42 PM. Reason: Spelling corrections.