Hi folks,

My wife and I have just bought some land and want to set up a small range for our own entertainment and education. I'd like to have a gong built and I'd like to use my big rifles (.375,.404J,.470)on it. What do I have to know to do it safely and without needing a new gong every other week?

Thanks,
Dean

Think there was a similar thread a year or so back with lots of advice. Try searching here.

2" thick blind flanges, either hanging from chains or using angle iron to be feet. ricohette is a REAL issue

T-1 is the best. AR plateis good. Mild steel is junk!

Angel the top towards the shooter and spatter will mostly go to ground. Plate should be at least 3/8" , 3/4" would be better. 50 yds should be OK.

Keith

my 450 marlin with 350gr cast leaves welts sticking out 1/16" on the backside of 3/4"soft plate! have fun Clint

I have had a 8in x 8in of 3/4 wearalloy plate ( steel used to re-build digger buckets and dozer blades) on a stand with the top leaning slightly toward the shooter for a couple of years now and it has taken hundreds of 404 Jeffery rounds, as well as plenty of smaller stuff and it is undamaged. One tip I should pass on is that if you like to spray paint the plate to see exactly where your shots are landing DONT leave the spray can near the steel plate stand. I did and the splash of the bullet punctured the can and the paint went every where. It did show me that the splash was going down which is where you want it though.

Von Gruff.

I recently made a couple gongs out of 3/4" plate steel. Initially I wanted AR 400 or 500 but it was so expensive to buy that I just cut them out of some "regular" plate that I bought for 50 cents a pound figuring I could shoot up a lot of them cheaper than buying 1 piece of abrasion resistant. I cut 9 inch diameter circles and built a stand they hang from so they can swing to take up some of the energy. So far i have shot them with 375h&h, 416 rigby, and 458 win mag and they seem to hold up alright. I have been shooting them at 100 and 200 yards and they do get a welt where the bullet hits but nothing really significant. The other nice part of the swinging target is that the bullets (or fragments of bullets) seem to get deflected into the ground about 1 foot in front of the target. Also, as already mentioned by others, spray painting them white or orange makes it really easy to see the point of impact. Good luck, Jason Johnson