Steel Core Ammo at Indoor Gun Ranges

[daustin]

An interesting one from a local gun range. Someone came in and was blasting away some steel core ammo against their backstop and the spall damage has quite an interesting spread. They said that the damage to the backstop was quite significant as well. It makes me think a lot about armor plates and the effectiveness of spall coating. I was very interested in the lateral spread here with an unknown number of rounds with little in the vertical spread.

[Daycrawler]

I know a guy who told me the towlAban were wearing steel plates. He said they could hit one in the chest and the guys on the right and left would drop. They found the guys wearing cut out steel plates with no spall protection. So for what that's worth do your homework on body armor. I use ceramic and it's very heavy. Good armor can cost a few thousand bucks.

[raxar]

All bullets spall when they hit steel, a steel core has nothing to do with spalling.

[Walleye Hunter]

I know a guy who told me the towlAban were wearing steel plates. He said they could hit one in the chest and the guys on the right and left would drop. They found the guys wearing cut out steel plates with no spall protection. So for what that's worth do your homework on body armor. I use ceramic and it's very heavy. Good armor can cost a few thousand bucks.

If I had your money, I'd have a few sets.

[Walleye Hunter]

What I'm thinking on that target in the OP...the plate behind the target is on an angle and deflecting most of the lead/steel downwards and that is why there isn't a lot of vertical spall.

[JoshIronshaft]

Steel body armor has to be the greatest joke perpetrated on the 2A community in the last 15ish years.

[Noah_Zark]

What I'm thinking on that target in the OP...the plate behind the target is on an angle and deflecting most of the lead/steel downwards and that is why there isn't a lot of vertical spall.

The steel plate that was behind that target was not installed correctly at all. The plate should be 35-45 degrees inclined down and toward the rear so that the bullets are directed down and into the sand / shredded rubber, etc. Targets look like that when they rest directly against or very close in front of steel.

Noah

[raxar]

I know a guy who told me the towlAban were wearing steel plates. He said they could hit one in the chest and the guys on the right and left would drop. They found the guys wearing cut out steel plates with no spall protection. So for what that's worth do your homework on body armor. I use ceramic and it's very heavy. Good armor can cost a few thousand bucks.

Yes, unsubstantiated war stories are always a reliable source of information. That's how I know you can "shoot m16 bullets out of an AK-47"

[esh21167]

All bullets spall when they hit steel, a steel core has nothing to do with spalling.

I concur.

The steel plate that was behind that target was not installed correctly at all. The plate should be 35-45 degrees inclined down and toward the rear so that the bullets are directed down and into the sand / shredded rubber, etc. Targets look like that when they rest directly against or very close in front of steel.

Noah

This makes the most sense.

And you have to love the mystique about the range's 'warning note.' Heck, if you had a Century Tantal or an IO rifle, that pattern could be pretty common.

[Daycrawler]

If I had your money, I'd have a few sets.

If I had your money I could burn mine!

Yes, unsubstantiated war stories are always a reliable source of information. That's how I know you can "shoot m16 bullets out of an AK-47"

Considering what he did for a living he was very reliable.