standeford
Marksman
I got in on the 3/8" AR500 targets Field King sold and I had a chance to shoot them today. Since there were some questions about how AR500 holds up to centerfire rifles I took before and after photos.
So NIB:
The 9" target took about 100 rounds from a .308 using FGMM, all from around 350 meters. The 6" about 200 from a 7mm WSM using 168 grain VLDs @ about 3040 fps, between 500 and 350 meters. Both targets handled everything just fine with no pitting.
So the 12" took about 50 hits from a 30-06AI. 210 VLDs @ 2900 fps. Most of them 200+ meters, lead splatter but no marks on the target that could be felt.
Up close you should be able to tell that the marks are all on the surface.
Since some of the questions I mentioned above were along the lines of how AR500 holds up at 100 yards, I moved in to 94 yards and put 3 rounds on the target. I don't normally shoot big rifles at steel that close, and I definitely don't recommend anything closer. With flat steel you won't get a ricochet directly, but with that much energy still moving you could catch a second bounce.
Anyway, each of the 3 rounds left a small crater. Looks like the steel flowed a little. You can see two of them near the edge of the penny added for scale.
Another angle, where you can tell that the VLD opened up a little before it came apart. It isn't exactly a deep hole but it can be felt.
I wouldn't use a big rifle on these this close again even though there is no danger of punching through. Over time they could probably take hundreds more rounds but eventually they'd pit too much to be safe. Keep in mind this was a hot load and a heavy bullet, I doubt FGMM out of the 308 would have done the same. Should have hung on to a round to see.
AR500 is supposed to have trouble with very fast rounds. If I can find time to run the press I have a 22-250AI 50 grain load that goes ~4100fps. See what that does next weekend.
So NIB:
The 9" target took about 100 rounds from a .308 using FGMM, all from around 350 meters. The 6" about 200 from a 7mm WSM using 168 grain VLDs @ about 3040 fps, between 500 and 350 meters. Both targets handled everything just fine with no pitting.
So the 12" took about 50 hits from a 30-06AI. 210 VLDs @ 2900 fps. Most of them 200+ meters, lead splatter but no marks on the target that could be felt.
Up close you should be able to tell that the marks are all on the surface.
Since some of the questions I mentioned above were along the lines of how AR500 holds up at 100 yards, I moved in to 94 yards and put 3 rounds on the target. I don't normally shoot big rifles at steel that close, and I definitely don't recommend anything closer. With flat steel you won't get a ricochet directly, but with that much energy still moving you could catch a second bounce.
Anyway, each of the 3 rounds left a small crater. Looks like the steel flowed a little. You can see two of them near the edge of the penny added for scale.
Another angle, where you can tell that the VLD opened up a little before it came apart. It isn't exactly a deep hole but it can be felt.
I wouldn't use a big rifle on these this close again even though there is no danger of punching through. Over time they could probably take hundreds more rounds but eventually they'd pit too much to be safe. Keep in mind this was a hot load and a heavy bullet, I doubt FGMM out of the 308 would have done the same. Should have hung on to a round to see.
AR500 is supposed to have trouble with very fast rounds. If I can find time to run the press I have a 22-250AI 50 grain load that goes ~4100fps. See what that does next weekend.
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