Do-All Steel Resetting Target

T

TBT

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I have a Do-All Steel Resetting Target (for 9mm to 30.06) that I have had for a while. I picked it up a few years ago because I was tired of punching paper. After assembling the target I noticed that the directions warn that you cannot shoot closer than 30 yards because of ricochets. I figured to hell with that and put the target away. I’m not a bull’s-eye guy that wants to stand so far back that I can barely see the target.

I’ve been thinking again on this though. Do you really have to be that far back or is it more of a warning like the ones that come in your gun manual that say that you should never carry the gun loaded?

Personally, I can’t see how a bullet can hit that target and come back at you. The way that the thing swings back you would think that the bullet would have to travel down into the dirt or back and down into the dirt. I would be shooting 9mm and 45ACP 230 ball at it.

Is this just a protection the company is using or is this a serious warning to abide by? If you can get closer than 30 yards to the thing how close is safe?

Thanks for any help. Hopefuly I'm not being an idiot even thinking about moving closer than 30 yards ...
 
Odds: low.
Possible: very.

Anything hit dead on will come straight back. I once hit a baseball straight back at a pitching machine at 80mph. Knocked it right over. I'd rather not be that pitching machine, and certainly not if what's coming back is a bullet or a piece of one!
 
I've got 3 of the spinner ones for 22 rimfire and never had a ricochet back at me from any distance however I have had some side ricochets due to hitting the frame instead of the spinner . Get a can of cheap orange paint to paint the spinners with , its cheaper than the stickers and lasts longer too . Paint both sides of the spinners so when you shoot the paint off one side you can repaint it and turn the target around and shoot the other side while the first side dryes .
 
I once hit a baseball straight back at a pitching machine at 80mph.
Click to expand...
This reminds me of something that happened to me when i was ~14. We were smacking golfballs with an aluminum bat, when i had the bright idea of pitching them. One or two popped straight up, and in a lob that is still slow motion to this day, the next toss connected hard, and the golf ball rifled right back at me, missing my right eye by about 3 inches (i could feel it go past the side of my face). I ducked, of course, but the dude that hit the ball, in between laughing so hard he almost puked, said that the ball was already about 50 yards out and starting an upwards climb by the time i moved a muscle.

Last time i did that!
 
Would there be a difference in probability of 22's coming back at you and a 45/9 coming back at you? Is one more like to do that than the other?
 
I have the do-all's for rimfire. Never had a round come back at me. I remember reading (I believe here on TFL, YMMV) that 22lr may have a higher probability of bouncing back. No idea if that's true.

At any rate, I have a friend with do-all's for pistol calibers up to .44mag. We've never had one of those come back either. We shoot from 7, 15, or 25 yds on the pistol do-alls.

As someone above said:

Odds: low
Possible: very

That's probably a fair assessment.

Wear eye protection and I wouldn't worry.
 
Are bullets that come back at you (even if it is rare) generally lethal? I mean, is there still enough energy for the bullet to penatrate or are you basically looking at getting socked a good one and little else?
 
I shoot steel targets a lot in competition, IDPA, ISPC, Steel Challenge. These are shot at all distances from very far to maybe 20 feet. The ricoshes that you occasionaly get are very small fragments, it seems like the .22s are the worse, I did have some that drew a little blood on the face. The most important thing is to wear eye protection. I shoot mostly the .45acp LSWC, and dont remember getting anything comming back on it.
 
Hello again...

Take a look at my entry (it's the very last on page three, currently) in the "I Got Shot at the Range" thread. It's about metal targets and I'm too lazy to do it all again.

The thirty yard rule is probably more for other shooter's benefit and comfort.

Handgun bullets general break up - splatter - on steel targets. This type being a mover might allow bullets to hold together more than a stationary target.

Wear protective equipment - as you should anyway - and be careful of the sides of the target for secondary splatters.
 
IDPA's standard is that you need a 10 yd minimum for steel. This should vary depending on the quality of the steel and if it has many pock marks. If you can vary the angle of the steel so that it is slightly downward facing that should help.
 
I'm probably going to give this a shot this weekend. I'll not go closer than 15 yards I imagine. Hopefully I don't get shot. :)

Thanks to those for the offered advice.
 
Please report back and let us know how it goes. I'd like to get a reactive target, but (as you said) would like it to be a 10-20 yards rather than 30.

Cheers,
ChickenHawk
 
I was shooting a "dinger" (large steel plate hanging on a chain) at about 100 yards once. Shooting prone, I had a FMJ 30-06 drop just in front of my face with enough force to spray dust in my mouth. To say "surprised" would be a bit of an understatement. :D

Other than that, I've never experienced a ricochet using any caliber unless I hit the frame.

Pops
 
FMJ rounds are more likely that plain lead to richochet stuff back at you. Reason is the jacket tends to keep the bullet intact, whereas a lead bullet tends to come apart.
 
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