Bobcat Steel targets tested today

[Revvin' Evan]

So me and a bunch of friends hit the farm in Howard County today for 4 hours of shooting. I've had a couple Bobcat Steel 12" AR500 3/8" steel plates for a while and just recently got their 45% IPSC torso in 3/8" AR500 and auto reset torsion popper mounthttp://bobcatsteel.com/?wpsc-product=auto-reset-torsion-popper. Until now I had only used pistol calibers on them. The plates show no damage with .22 up to .357mag or .45acp FMJ shooting at a distance of 10 yards. I had one of the plates at 60 yards where we threw some much bigger/faster lead at them.

At 60 yards:

.358 Winchester lead soft point did almost no damage. I could barely feel a dimple with my finger. This big rifle round did snap the wire holding the target up every time though

.50 cal hollow point from a muzzle loader did no damage

12ga slug did no damage

7.62x39 jacketed hollow points did no damage

All together the 60 yard plate took 10 .358 rounds, 4 12ga slugs, 7 .50 cal muzzle loader hits and about 50 7.62x39 hits from an AK.

I couldn't be happier with the steel targets from Bobcat. They make shooting much more enjoyable. My friends (none of which are avid shooters, just hunters and occasional shooters) got a huge kick out of shooting steel for the first time. All in all, a great day shooting today.

 

[sykesville]

Love shooting at steel targets! Thanks for the review.

 

[damifinowfish]

I think tball cratered his bobcat torso target with his muzzle loader at 100 yards but I am not sure what lead bullets he was using.

 

[Revvin' Evan]

I think tball cratered his bobcat torso target with his muzzle loader at 100 yards but I am not sure what lead bullets he was using.

Wow. Must have been something serious. With the small dimple the .358 made, I couldn't imagine a front stuffer coming close to that kind of velocity.

 

[Uppercase]

I tested my new IPSC 66% on Saturday at Del Marva, held up pretty well. Was just shooting .223 but still managed to get a tiny dimple, and hit one of the mounting bolts which did a little damage to the bolt.

We had it out at 200 yards and didn't have it level, ended up knocking it face first over another piece of steel which left it in an awkward position and bent the mounting bracket, which was all our fault.

Still pretty descent though. I did have one complaint, the base 2x4 slot was too small and ended up having to use a saw to make the 2x4 fit.

 

[Bobcat Steel]

Glad these are working out for everyone!

I think tball cratered his bobcat torso target with his muzzle loader at 100 yards but I am not sure what lead bullets he was using.

I'd be very interested in knowing more here!!

I did have one complaint, the base 2x4 slot was too small and ended up having to use a saw to make the 2x4 fit.

This was addressed a few batches ago. We have switched over to a thinner wall tube that is a few inches longer. You now have an extra 1/8" in both directions. The added length limits the angular lean of the 2x4 within the thinner tube. It is something like 1.5" forward at 6 feet.

 

[tball]

I highly recommend Bobcat Steel AR500 targets!

Glad these are working out for everyone!



I'd be very interested in knowing more here!!

We did a test on the 66% and 25% AR500 steel torso targets. We shot .308, 30-06, 7.62x39, .223, 8mm rifles at them with not even a scratch at 200 meters. I've shot them at least 100 times with my .50 cal black powder slugs at 100 yds. One .50 cal shot must have had a heavier charge put a slight ring on the surface of the torso. I would call it a circular scratch more than anything. I loaned it out to some of the other guys who have had at it with their black power rifles without a scratch. I have shot at a lot of different kinds of steel plates and the Bobcat AR500 steel targets have held up to my black powder and centerfire rifle and pistols better than anything else I've tried. I have two AR500 torsos and am getting a couple of AR 500 Zombies that Bobcat Steel cut special for me. I have some of their steel bases and plate holders too. They are all made out of quality material that has stood up to heavy use. I can't wait to take my AR500 steel Zombies out to the range.

I have shot a lot of steel plates and have not seen anything hold up as well as the Bobcat Steel's AR500 steel plates. I highly recommend Bobcat Steel products. They are top quality and I believe will stand up to anything you throw at it. Kimball is a great guy to work with. He gave me a lot of great advice and has done some custom work for me. I will be buying more AR500 steel from them in the future.

 

[mcbruzdzinski]

Can we use them at the AGC?

 

[tball]

PM sent.

 

[tball]

Damifinowfish. I checked out my targets today. The target that got cratered was one of my NRA steel targets that was not made out of AR500 steel. It was my 1/2" thick steel NRA Pig target that got dimpled when shot with black powder. The AR500 steel targets have stood up to everything we threw at them.

I got my AR500 steel Zombies today. I got them mounted on a frame and am ready for a Zombie hunt.