Aguila Blanca
Staff
1/2-inch isn't overkill at all. It may be underkill. Unless you used AR500 steel, you will get cratering.dyl said:I went overkill with the 1/2 inch thick because I didn't want it to deform or have any craters with pistol Rounds. Ever.
The indoor range where I shoot has a very old plate rack. The original plates were either 3/4" or 1" thick. There are used only for handguns -- no centerfire rifle at this range. After many years of competitions and practices, the plates were heavily cratered. During a match, with the plate rack set probably forty to fifty feet from the shooters, one of the guys was hit in the leg by a ricochet. It wasn't a bruise -- it was a wound, and he went to the emergency room to get sewed up.
The rack was retired temporarily, until the current manager was able to obtain a set of new, 1/2" thick plates made of AR500 steel.