Why shoot reactive targets? Well, man does not live by paper alone. While it's satisfying to drill little groups in paper, for sheer fun, nothing beats ringing a gong at 1000 yards, or sending a silhouette flying off a rail at 600. Paper targets also don't work well when the wind is howling or rain is falling. Steel functions no matter what the weather. Reactive targets also provide "instant gratification"--immediate confirmation of a hit. That definitely enhances the shooting experience, especially with new shooters. Reactive targets are ideal for military and tactical training, where it is impractical to send men downrange to replace or score targets. In this article we review some of the best reactive targets for long-range rifle shooting. In addition, we feature a new, high-tech wireless target cam system with a remote LCD monitor. The target cam lets you see your shots clearly from more than 1000 yards away.

Lady Slaps Steel -- Watch Jason's GF shoot steel targets with a 6.5-284 and .223 at 300 yards, 400m, and 1000 yards.
MPEG Files 3.2-5.1 MB	6.5 @ 300 mild steel	6.5 @ 400 armor	6.5 @ 1000 mild steel	223 @ 300 mild steel	223 @ 400 armor

Important Facts about Steel Targets

Steel Hardness
All metal targets for long-range use with high-velocity rifles should utilize special steel rated at 500 Brinell hardness. Some companies advertise "Armored Steel" which may (or may not) be suitable. True "Armor Plate" is 500 Brinell steel that has been ballistically tested and certified. The better target-makers will give you specific hardness tests for their plate material. Note, the process of cutting and welding 500 Brinell steel can reduce the surface hardness signficantly. In particular, the heat from welding softens the steel.

Laser vs. Plasma (or Torch) Cutting
Generally speaking, laser-cut steel target plates are stronger and longer-lasting than plates cut by gas torch or plasma. The reason is quite simple as David Kasinski of Metal Spinning Targets explains: "Heat softens steel. With laser-cutting, the heat penetrates just 1/16" into the surrounding steel. With a torch or plasma cutter, the heat can penetrate up to 1/2" into the steel from the edge of the cut. Welding 500 Brinell steel softens it for the same reasons."

Bolts vs. Welds
Bolt-on target plates are normally better than plates with welded attachments for three reasons. First, the heat from the weld penetrates the steel, reducing the surface hardness. Second, the weld is generally more brittle and is usually the first part to fail. Lastly, with a bolted attachment it is much easier to detach and reverse the target plate, extending its useful life. Likewise, bolted fixtures allow you to easily swap plate designs or replace a worn-out target.

Spring Reset vs. Gravity Reset
Poppers with springs tend to return to vertical faster than pendulum targets. However, spring rates, ideally, need to be set for the calibers you are shooting. Something set up for a .223 won't necessarily work optimally with a .308. Moreover, springs tend to wear out, and if they are welded in place, the welds are a weak point. Gravity-actuated swingers usually require less maintenance, but for best performance, you want to select a target calibrated for the impact force of the particular round you're shooting.

Long-Range Rifle Reactive Targets in Review

The Gong--The Sweet Sound of Success
A medium-sized swinging gong is one of the most useful and versatile long-range reactive target. Surface area is large enough to allow a hit even if your zero is slightly off. The audible clang alerts iron sights shooter to a hit even if they don't have a spotting scope. A gong in the 18"-20" range is big enough that most good shooters can hit it reliably at 1000 yards when conditions are good. For middle distances, 400-750 yards, we like the $145 gong rig from DS Welding in California. A 10"-diameter Armored Plate hangs from a sawhorse-type all-steel frame. Value-priced, this unit swings easily and rings reliably, and the four-legged design works well on bumpy or uneven ground. The axle slides out of the side A-frames so the whole assembly stows flat for transport. If you need extra ground clearance for the gong, you can use ordinary pipe sections to extend the legs. DS Welding, www.steel-targets.com, produces a wide variety of reactive targets, including steel targets used at the Steel Challenge and Cowboy Action National Championship.

Many local steel fabricators can sell you a round steel plate you can hang from a chain. But keep in mind that a proper gong is more sophisticated. First it should be hardened steel. Second, it needs to be the right diameter and thickness. If it's too heavy it won't swing when hit. If it's too thick or the steel isn't surface-hardened the gong won't "sound off" with a clang when hit. Jason Baney, our 1000-yard Editor, has done a lot of long-range shooting at steel targets. He reports that "the bigger and thinner the gong, the louder it rings". Also the best-ringing and most-durable gongs are attached with a bolted "clasp" on a transverse axle rather than a chain. (You can snap a chain with just a few hits.) In addition to the D&S Product, MetalTargets.com sells a cost-effective gong, rated for high-velocity rifle ammo. Choose from 10" ($78), 12" ($99), or 15" ($115) diameters. Prices include a swinger frame made of 3/4" HR bar. For $25 more you can order a heavy-duty base (as shown in picture).

MGM Precision Rifle Target
Mike Gibson Manufacturing (MGM) produces some of the best steel targets you can buy. MGM's Precision Rifle Target is one of our favorite reactive targets because it is just about ideal for 600-yard practice, yet it has a smaller, secondary hit zone that can be used for super-precise work at 100 yards. Built of Brinell 500 steel, it is tough. The torso-sized plate is big enough to use for zeroing at 500 and 600 yards if you are within a couple MOA to start. A shot through the 5" diameter center hole flips open a door that is easily seen with a scope. This offers just the right amount of challenge for a varmint-silhouette competitor or a long-range prarie dog hunter. At $370 the unit is pretty expensive, and it is heavy enough that you'll probably want to truck it into position.

MGM also notes: "The head shot overall area is 3.5" wide x 1.75" tall, with the "eye" area 1" x 3.5", and the "nose" area 1.25" wide and .75" tall. Chest is a 5" diameter circle. Changes not shown include: 1) The head is wider to allow us to use a 1" diameter hinge pin, instead of the 1/2" shown, 2) The body will be 28" tall instead of 30" 3) We have moved the hinge location for the chest shot closer to the chest hole, making the shot required to close the door about 1.5" wide x 6" tall." Target doors are available in two different thicknesses. Specify Standard Duty for .223, or Heavy Duty for .308 and larger calibers. Note: if you are using this at 200 yards and beyond, tell MGM to move the door hinge back outboard so it is easier to reset.

Lolli-Poppers--Marksmanship in Motion
This MGM product is popular with shooters who don't want to lug a heavy target frame into the field. Also, you get VERY positive feedback as the target swings back and forth dramatically went hit. Lolli-Poppers are easy to store and transport--everything folds completely flat. The price is $354 with base and two 8", 6", or 4" plates. However, just one well-placed shot can break a fiberglass wand, which costs $35.00 to replace. This is NOT a target for a novice or for finding your zero. Lolli-Poppers are best employed once your rifle has a "dead nuts" zero for elevation. To minimize the risk of snapping a support wand, always wait for the Lolli-Popper to stabilize before shooting. The units come with "Shaft Protectors" but they only shield the top part of the wand.

Designer Mike Gibson explains how the Lolli-Popper works: "The purpose of this target is to eliminate the need to send a runner 2-300 meters down range after every shooter to reset the steel. After every shot, the flexible shaft allows the target to move (assuming that the marksman hit the target). In a close range application of repeated hits on the target, it could move as much as 36" total, and if it is hit on the edge of the target, it will begin to move side to side. Usual movement will be 6-10", depending on range, caliber of bullet, etc. During our testing, we shot one of these 1,000 rounds with a .223, 20 rounds with the 30/30, 60 rounds of .223 SS109, and various other rounds at 30 yards. While you do see some dimpling on the front of the target, the back of the target remained completely smooth. Nothing had enough of an impact to bulge any part of the back of the target."

Why Steel Targets Live or Die—by Mike Gibson Mike Gibson is the owner of Mike Gibson Manufacturing (MGM), one of America's leading suppliers of hardened steel training targets. ALL standard MGM targets are offered with 500 Brinell hardness steel, suitable for rifles up to 300 WM (at distances past 150 yards or so). Quality steel targets are not inexpensive. Therefore you want to buy a product that will stand the test of time and survive hard use. Mike explains the features that are important for durability and long target life. MIKE: I don't have the time or space to address every conceivable factor impacting the life (and death) of steel targets. Nor will I deal with the highly technical side of bullets impacting steel, such as how deep did each bullet penetrate a specific type of steel. I don't care how deep one bullet penetrated a piece of steel. I want to know what thousands of rounds will do to it! Hopefully the following information will simplify this target business, and eliminate some of the "mystery metal" characteristics that tend to surround targets today. Steel Hardness and Target Durability Hardness is of course the single most critical element affecting target life. The hardness of steel is most typically measured on one of two scales. Brinell or Rockwell. Rockwell is used primarily in machine shops. Brinell would most commonly be used in a welding or heavy equipment repair shop. There are conversion tables available, but we have not included them here. Someplace back in time, maybe 50 years ago, U.S. Steel developed a product affectionately known as T-1, designated by the ASTM (American Society for Testing Materials) as A-514. Some time after that, shooters decided it was a great steel to use for targets. It did a great job then, but there are better products out there now. The catch is, virtually all of them are heat-hardened steels, so there are some complications related to repairing them. The easiest and best way to repair damage to steel targets is to purchase steel that isn't easily damaged. Pretty basic, but frequently overlooked while trying to save a relatively inconsequential amount of money. That's why we use the 500 Brinell hardness material on everything we sell. Mild Steel (like I-beams, angle iron, channel, pipe is 112-163 Brinell. T-1 (ASTM A514) which has been the target steel of choice for years, has a Brinell hardness of 235-293. All our standard targets are 500 Brinell (460-540). This converts to roughly a 52 on the Rockwell scale. ARMOR PLATE is 500 Brinell, and has been ballistically tested and certified. You will notice that each material has a range of hardness that is acceptable to the manufacturer and the ASTM (American Society for Testing Materials). I suspect that, with the exception of the Armor Plate, this is because each material is designed for a particular application or purpose. The hardness will affect that application, but hardness is not the primary design criteria. It is easy to see that the harder material is, the better it will stand up in a target application, as long it is not brittle. Some steel (like tungsten carbide) is harder, but you can break it with a hammer. Target steel has to have the right amount of hardness, coupled with the necessary chemical properties to make it tough, and able to stand up to the impact and vibration a target is subjected to. Ability to Move Extends Target Life Two other major factors to consider in target design are weight and movement. Physics: An object at rest tends to stay at rest. If your target is too heavy for the bullet to move, or is designed to not move, the target face has to absorb 100% of the bullet energy, and is consequently going to sustain more damage than a target that can fall down, or is spring loaded. The same is true for a stationary target. We have seen penetration much deeper on a 3/4" 500 Brinell immobile target, than on a 3/8" target of the same hardness, that could move. There are some applications where you have to go thicker, simply because the bullet carries enough energy to penetrate the target plate.

Remote Target Cameras: High-Tech Target Viewing Hearing the ring of a gong or watching a silhouette tumble provides immediate positive feedback to the shooter. However, from a training standpoint, the reason to shoot steel rather than paper is to allow the shooter to confirm hits that could not be seen through his optics. Now there is another potential solution for long-range shooters--the remote video camera. Using wireless technology, the shooter can see, in real-time, the camera's image of his target, at distances of 1200 yards or more. Camera-monitored targets, as well as digitally-plotted electronic targets, have been used for quite some time in Europe. At many modern European ranges, each firing point has a display screen. This allows iron-sight shooters to "see" their hits without a spotting scope. Currently, most of these systems are employed at 300m or less, and the vast majority are employed on 100m/50m ranges. Normally the target systems require physical wiring from the target back to the Control Center and then to the shooting stations. Some of these systems even allow shot-by-shot automated scoring. When you complete your string your score is calculated, logged, and displayed on your monitor. With a remote camera and a wireless transmitter, a shooter can place his target anywhere within radio range. The image of his target appears in a battery-powered LCD display screen. With a plastic transparency over the screen, you can plot your shots by number with a wax pencil or sharpie. The system is amazing. Squeeze the trigger, turn your head to the monitor and you can witness shot impact in real-time. Kirk Roberts, designer of the system tells us: "The color LCD screen is 3.5" diagonal. That may sound small but the resolution is excellent and it is very easy to see bullet placement. Together, the screen and receiver draw under one amp. The memory-free battery that comes with the unit will run the target-cam for up to 10 hours. It has a switch to turn the unit off while you are not shooting (not so easy to do with the camera/transmitter). The camera and transmitter run on a similar, but larger memory-free battery to match the 10 hours "constant on" of the screen/receiver. All units run on 12 volts DC and chargers will be supplied. The transmitter/receiver transmits around 1.5GHz and has 4 channels, one screen/receiver can be used with up to 4 camera/transmitters and can be switched between the multiple targets." Currently the usable range of the unit exceeds 1100 yards. Kirk is working on a repeater to extend the range well past one mile. The photos show Kirk's latest working prototype. Kirk hopes to have finished production units for sale by March of 2006. Kirk tells us: "So far the biggest aid it has been for me is the instant feedback. If I pull a shot or fail to read the wind and correct I instantly know. It is easy to mark your first,second, third shot with a small dry erase pen on the protective film over the screen." For a serious competitor, particularly an iron-sights shooter, the remote target cam is the best thing since sliced bread. With the video camera positioned within a few feet of the target, the image is always clear and sharp. Heat, glare, or mirage won't distort the image as it might with a conventional spotting scope. The remote target cam is also a great potential labor-saver for match directors. With a set of cameras trained on each target, a club no longer needs a "pit crew" to pull and mark targets. Overall we think the remote target cam (provided it is properly positioned and armored) is a great advancement. Expected price is around $700.00 for a complete "turn-key" system with case, camera, camera mount, LCD display, receiver, and transmitter.

Evaluation of AUTO RESET POPPER by Metal Spinning Targets DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY COMPANY D, 2nd BATTALION 5th SPECIAL FORCES GROUP (AIRBORNE) FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY 4223-6214 1 MARCH 2004 SUBJECT: Test and Evaluation 1. This test and evaluation is for Auto Reset Popper,by Metal Spinning Targets, www.metaltagets.com, Mr. David A. Kasinski. 2. Test was performed using standard Army M885, 5.56 ball and M118, 7.62 Match grade ammunition. M885, 5.56 ball were fired from Colt M4A1, (14.5" barrel); FN 2000, (16" barrel), (Test Prototype); M118, 7.62 Match grade were fired from M24 Sniper Weapon (Remington 700); Knight Armament SR-25. Tests, distances and weapons: M855, 5.56 ball, 100m; 200m and 300m with M4A1 and FN 2000. M118, 7.62 Match grade, 300m: 500m; 700m and 850m. Results from testing: In the FN 2000 and the M4A1, effective visual reaction to the force of impact is seen as well as heard. It is in fact more visible at 100m than it is at 200m or 300m. At 100m the target is spotted (mark of impact of the bullet), the "clang" of impact is heard and the popper sways back and resets. At 200m the target is spotted, the popper sways back slightly and the "clang" of impact is heard. At 300m the target is spotted, the popper sways back slightly and the "clang" of impact is heard. In the M24 Sniper Weapon and the Knight Armament SR-25, effective visual reaction to the force of impact is seen more then heard. At 300m the target is spotted, the popper is thrust back and resets, and is heard in a delay of time. At 500m the target is spotted, the popper is thrust back and resets, and is heard in a delay of time. With both the 700m and 850m the target is spotted, the popper sways back and resets, and is heard in a delay of time. 3. Initial testing was performed at Fort Campbell Ranges and user reaction to the target system was common across the board. "User friendly, simple and effective training tool, unlike the LaRue Mechanized Silhouettes, requires no battery recharging, all you have to do is repaint the surface when excessive spotting. Movement and setup is a one-man job, unlike some systems that require a two-man lift, and movement is a major tasking." Several actual comments follow. "If the standard military qualification ranges utilized this type of target, soldiers would get immediate feedback and would greatly improve their shooting abilities and confidence." "This is the type of target that I'd like to have at my home for my use and hunting preparation." "Best metal I've ever used, more cost effective than bulky mechanical targets, and better feedback than paper, not to mention no walking." "The best made, best use, lowest maintenance popper target available." Synopsis - The Metal Spinning Target's, Auto-Reset Popper is superior and more cost effective than current target systems being purchased. The quality control and design is simple and extremely effective for a wide range of applications. As with most things, the more gizmo's and gadget's you add to them, the more fragile, expensive, and hard to fix, this is the best tool for reactionary shooting. 4. Recommend purchasing 25 Auto-Reset poppers per Battalion for deployment range building. Ranges would consist of M4A1 - 100m; 150m; 200m; 250m and 300m for 5 lanes. M24 - 300m; 500m; 700m; 850m and 1000m and variations in between. This would give each Battalion the flexibility to design and setup variations, challenging and improvement scenarios. Also recommend researching dueling trees and plate rack systems for use and positive reaction training for operational teams.

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TOPICS: Poppers, Targets, Steel, Brinells, Lolli-Popper, Lollipop, Gong, Swinger, Spinners, Bullseye, metal, metallic, silhouette, Silhouettes, Ram, Pig, Turkey, Chicken, IHMSA, Sniper, Pendulum, Torso, Steel Plate, Brinell 500, Laser cut, MGM Targets, Mike Gibson, Spring-loaded, Plasma, highpower, high-power, Video, Camera, TargetCam, Target Camera, Remote, Display, LCD, Target Shooting, Ballistic Technologies, Cube, Polymer, TobeyKnockers, Resettable, LaRue, LaRues, Tactical, Rockwell, Battery, Receiver, Monitor, ASTM, T-1.