First Attempt

[drakeshead gunner 26]

After my last project I found my self incredibly bored on my dinner hour so decided to have a go at making a target tree, made with 50x50x 4mm angle 6mm manganese flat bar and an 8mm round bar as the pivot point. Targets flip side to side as shot. Will post another picture when it's painted up.

[air gun ant 1,666]

looks good mate, how did the fox target hold up?

[SportingShooter 0]

How hard is the steel for the "branches"?

[matlee 1]

The tree looks good ! Ideal for a 22!

[drakeshead gunner 26]

Believe it or not ant I havnt used the fox yet. Have an 18 month old lad so don't get out as often as I'd like and when I do iv got to keep people happy by seeing to the bunnies ect. The branched are 6 or 8mm (I forget) and are made from manganese steel flat bar and according to Wikipedia it's a very hard steel. It is going to be tested on the .22 and also a .243 so ill post results when I eventually get around to it. Thanks for your comments.

[drakeshead gunner 26]

It has a tensile strength of 880 n/mm squared. If I'm reading it right.

[SportingShooter 0]

Should be interesting to see how it stands up to the .243 then

[drakeshead gunner 26]

So I finally got a day free and took my targets out for a bashing. Spinner worked a treat, only slight issue was that at times it would flip to the other side but then bounce back half way to a non shootable position. Thinking of adding a slither of foam to act as a cushion and absorb some of the impact. There was a slight breeze right to left while zeroing in meaning a had to give a half mildot to compensate but managed around a half inch group on paper which I was happy with. My self and a friend put a hundred plus rounds down at the targets which was very fun as the competitive side of man always comes out. Then it was time to bring out the .243 to test the fox target, I was unsure how the 10mm manganese plate would hold up to a 58g Winchester varmint X ballistic tip. Spotting scope on target and Jordan placed it right in the middle of the chest plate, and to my supprise the plate did not penetrate. Jordan made the rifle safe and I ran down range to inspect the damage, the round had made a 3-4mm hole in the plate but no penetration, back up the range and if was my turn behind the tika t3. Head down on the scope and put another shot on the target just left of the first holes touching, and same again a small hold but not complete penetration. So end result is the plate withstood the round but 2 or 3 more rounds and I think it would have gone through.

[drakeshead gunner 26]

[Deker 3,478]

What do I know, but this is the result of a few calibres on 12mm steel plate at 100 yards.

 

None went through, and its interesting to note the twist pattern on the back of the plate (and to some extent on the front with the .308), some of this was near dusk as well, and the firework display was a bit special.

Front back side

Edited April 6, 2015 by Deker