7.62x39 vs 5.56 on steel targets?

**Misery Loves Shotguns** · June 8th, 2019, 10:30 PM

I shoot my 5.56 AR at steel plates from about 50 yards normally and want to build a 7.62x39 AR. It normally does minimal damage if any. What I'm wondering is if the slower, heavier bullet will do less damage to my steel or perhaps more. Thoughts?

**raxar** · June 8th, 2019, 11:30 PM

Originally Posted by Misery Loves Shotguns

I shoot my 5.56 AR at steel plates from about 50 yards normally and want to build a 7.62x39 AR. It normally does minimal damage if any. What I'm wondering is if the slower, heavier bullet will do less damage to my steel or perhaps more. Thoughts?

Velocity is what hurts steal, x39 will leave less of a dent than 5.56

**Berncly** · June 9th, 2019, 01:47 AM

What Rax said.

Long before the days of AR500 I used to shoot steel plates, maybe 1/2 inch thick, I can't remember.
556 punched a clean hole right through it.
762x39 made it through but lost its metal jacket along the way and left it on the steel.
My impression was that the 556 was the superior harder hitting round.

**borekfk** · June 9th, 2019, 09:34 AM

I used to shoot steel until my range banned it because they don't like fun lol. Anyways, the first time I got a AR500 plate out I shot it with an SKS and a .357 Mag lever rifle, and the .357 left a larger dent than the 7.62x39mm. Kinda weird but whatever.

**Mr_Gixxer** · June 9th, 2019, 11:07 AM

I've been shooting both at AR500 from shootsteel for years and only the 556 leaves a small chip.

**Misery Loves Shotguns** · June 11th, 2019, 09:58 PM

Interesting. Thanks for the input, guys.

**Emptymag** · June 11th, 2019, 11:28 PM

Not testing exclusively against target steel, but I thought of this video after reading the posts here.

**Hawk** · June 12th, 2019, 09:43 AM

Just don't shoot bi-metal jacketed bullets (like Wolf). They will crater (damage the surface) on the AR500 at that distance.

**ExFlyinguy** · June 12th, 2019, 09:48 AM

Putting an angle to the target surface(toward the ground) would help at that distance as well. Smaller & faster usually equals moving the target further away

**Hodgie** · June 12th, 2019, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by Hawk

Just don't shoot bi-metal jacketed bullets (like Wolf). They will crater (damage the surface) on the AR500 at that distance.

I’ve shot my Challenge targets under 50 yards with hundreds of rounds of wolf and other cheap bi metal bullets with zero craters or any real damage at all.

That being said not all AR500 is the same. I made sure to buy rifle caliber rated steel up to .50 cal.