Metallic Sillouhettes???

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Guys, I have a customer who is wanting some life size sillouhettes for his target range at his hunting lodge.  Any one build any before?  Just curious what you guys used for material.  I'm kind of thinking AR 400 or 500 maybe 1/2" thick or so.  Any ideas?I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:This website has some good ideas and you can get an idea about pricing as well.http://www.arntzentargets.com/index.htm
Reply:Originally Posted by Hammack_WeldingGuys, I have a customer who is wanting some life size sillouhettes for his target range at his hunting lodge.  Any one build any before?  Just curious what you guys used for material.  I'm kind of thinking AR 400 or 500 maybe 1/2" thick or so.  Any ideas?
Reply:Yea, the yardage will come into play.  He says he wants them about 200 yards out.  I've shot thru 1/2" mild steel at 350 out before with two of my rifles so I know it has to be a good bit stronger than that.  He want's something that will hold up.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:Sounds like std metalic sillouhette targets. I think the NRA probably has a requirement for the competition targets. You could check with them. I believe that they are the governing agency for competeition.http://www.nrahq.org/compete/silhouette.aspAt the botton they list some info on targets. I would be supprised if they didn't have a publication that would list standard competion targets and how they are made.
Reply:That's going to be tough. Depends on what he expects for the length of service and how many rounds these guys are going to pump into them. At least they be out there at 200. You going to hang them or mount them solid to the ground? Hangin on chains would give a tiny bit of edge in absorbing shock. With half inch AR and a lot of rounds in the kill zone and you'll likey see some cupping real soon. These guys going to be using mostly hunting rounds or are they going to bring target loads?
Reply:"You'll shoot your eye out kid!"We used paper and cloth on wooden frames. But then, you may not have someone operating them, either!Last edited by tanglediver; 04-01-2008 at 01:21 AM.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Life size?  Whew!  Hope he doesn't have to move them very often!
Reply:Hammack,If the potential for ricochet is not a problem (in other words, adequate distance downrange from target) the targets could be mounted at a slight angel so as to deflect the round rather than having to absorb the full energy.If you look closely at the military armored vehicles (M60, M1 Tanks) you'll note that they are designed to minimize the potential for a perpendicular round strike.Even a 10-15 degree slope will greatly reduce the energy directed into the target.  A reverse incline and a sand base (since it sounds like these targets will be stationary) may be the solution.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:1/2 inch AR500 at 100 yards minimum for standard rifle rounds.  Eye protection still needed.Standard rifle rounds means no 50 BMG, no AP rounds, and no hyper-velocity wildcat solids either.Mounting at a slight downward angle helps by redirecting  some of the energy/velocity down instead of straight through and also increasing the effective cross-sectional area the round would have to drill through as well.  Big sand pit all around to catch/trap fragments would be nice as well.  And 200 yards away helps on most counts also: lower velocity than at 100 yards means lower energy bashing the target, and also farther for fragments to try and make it all the way back to the firing line.  Eye protection still needed though.Oh, check side clearance as well.  The fragments and splatters will SPLAT sideways when they hit the target.Hmmm, life size big game silhouette?  That elephant target is going to weigh about 2 tons!  1/2 inch steel x 12 ft high x 12 feet long (approximate).
Reply:Hammick just a thought! You could use 1/4'' ms for the majority of the body. Then use 1/2'' AR plate for the actual kill zone. Just make the kill zone on a set of hinges so it will swing away when hit.
Reply:Originally Posted by big wormHammick just a thought! You could use 1/4'' ms for the majority of the body. Then use 1/2'' AR plate for the actual kill zone. Just make the kill zone on a set of hinges so it will swing away when hit.
Reply:Originally Posted by big wormHammick just a thought! You could use 1/4'' ms for the majority of the body. Then use 1/2'' AR plate for the actual kill zone. Just make the kill zone on a set of hinges so it will swing away when hit.
Reply:Quite a while ago I was heavily into handgun metallic silhouette shooting.  I used to keep the club's targets repaired after they took some fast rounds.  Velocity is the damaging factor, it won't matter if they can swing or not, the cratering will be the same.  There is so much mass to the target that the bullet has completely disintegrated and transferred all the energy to the target before the target can begin to move.  Competition targets have to fall down to be counted as a hit, they sit on flat plates from 2-4" wide depending on the size of the target and the heaviest target was somewhere on the order of 50 lbs.  Sitting behind the shooter you could see the bullet impact through a spotting scope, there would be a spray of lead and jacket material and after a noticeable pause the target would begin to move.  The far targets (200 yards) took long enough that you would hear the clang of a hit before the target was moving enough to be noticeable.We used T1 for our targets, once we had money enough for good ones.  The originals were mild steel and took quite a beating once the unlimited class guns started showing up.  Once velocity starts going over 2,000 ft/sec mild steel craters badly.  Stock Remington 221 Fireball loads out of an XP-100 will bore about halfway through 1/2" plate at 50 yards.  25-06 and similar stuff will bore all the way through 3/8" mild steel at 200.  Longer bullets do more damage than short ones at similar speeds.If you can find somebody who is scrapping out armored trucks (Brinks,Wells-Fargo) you may be able to buy armor plate from them.   Used to be able to do that, there was some sort of affadavit you had to sign off on describing what the use was going to be for the material.  That was early 80s though so it may well be impossible to buy it now.Last edited by Alan N; 04-05-2008 at 07:46 PM.