They shot holes in my steel again.
 

I need to vent a little bit. Went to the range today and we found several holes and some craters in the 500 Brinell plates hanging at 50 feet. I have two pair of those eight inch plates hanging at the 50 foot pistol range. Once before someone came in and fired a .30 '06 at them and put some deep craters in the 3/8 hardened steel. I found out who that was and got the word out. No problems till today. I know who did it and am really disappointed. He is the son of my best friend now deceased and I have know the son for 50 years and he is no stranger to guns. His mother had called and told me that he had been to the range. My range is on 100 acres of vacant woodland and I expect the occasional stranger to come by and shoot. No real harm and I have sacrificial mild steel targets at 50, 75, & 100 yards and I expect them to get shot full of holes and I put some there myself. But these are at 50' and pistol targets and cost close to $100 a pair.

Just disappointed in the lack of respect for others property. And what the heck were they trying to prove shooting a .30 '06 at 50'? I found their brass. :eek: :mad:

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

That sucks, Todd. I hate that you can't trust people anymore.

Are you going to confront him on it? It may just take a single conversation to get him to turn from one of the problems to another good set of eyes on your range.

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

great idea, talk with people before getting upset with them. my grandpa gets pissed at me because he expects me to read his mind and know when something needs done and do it instantly despite the fact that i'm a very absent-minded person. all he has to do is tell it needs done and i'll do it.

this guy sounds like he's in his late teens/early-mid twenties, and believe me, us youngsters don't always think things through.

and as for shooting a 30-06 at 50', maybe he was trying to teach himself to shoot from the hip?

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

Yes I will talk to him and no friendship is worth some targets but this man is in his 50's and disabled from a stroke. He has had hard times and his mother is helping keep from losing his house. I just gave him more wisdom than to do that. I think there was a friend of his with him and the blame may lay with him but after seeing what the first shot did to the targets I would have expected them to stop and not continue putting sever more holes in that steel. He is certainly no kid and he has sold all his guns to keep his home so the rifle didn't belong to him. I need more info before I say a thing. I just needed to vent here as it helps.

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

BASTAGES, Stone Them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

I have had that same thing happen. I finally put up signs for Pistol or .22 only.

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

Are your steel targets removable? Maybe a big 30-gallon tub buried in the ground up to the rim, put 'em in when you leave, snap on the lid, cover it with dirt?

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

sorry to hear bout things like this but it seems like more and more people cant respect others property like they used to. yea ,even way back you had stupid people but i was brought up to be thankful when something was loaned to me or had shown me a good time . return it in better shape than when i got it or show them you appreciate it in some way. The way of today is more like the world freakin owes em!

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

I have steel plates specifically for centerfire rifle and they still crater and eventually will get holes in them.

But youre right todd, they should be calling you and asking permission to even show up and shoot. My range is gated and I have the key so nobody hit it without my knowledge unless they hop the fence. then its clear cut tresspassing.

IMO, based on what youve said, he should know better. Steel at 50 feet is not only pointless its also very dangerous. when a hyper velocity bullet hits a very hard surface the bullet disintegrates and splatters in all directions, they are bound to have had some zingers fly past thier heads at least a time or 2. I shot myself in the belly with a .22 mag the same way. steel at 25 yds. bullet went in about an inch. Not once since have I shot steel with a centerfire closer than 100 yds. My steel centerfire plates are at 200 and 250 for safety reasons.

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

i'd be putting up a sign saying just what was done and why your ticked , embarressment can change attitude when explanations dont

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

Having been a former range manager, I know just what you mean.....All of our targets were ballistic steel...No steel penetrating ammo was allowed..No Green Tip..etc.....signs and warnings posted everywhere...in the club rules documentation...No .50BMG on ANY steel..etc...They still shot it up anyway...Unless you have someone to monitor every shooter for every moment its going to happen..Either out of stupidity or lack of respect, they going to shoot holes in the steel and anything else that is downrange.:mad:

We had a junker car in one of the bays we used for training and matches.....Big sign posted that the bay was 'off limits' to all members...Car had sign painted on the doors and trunk..DO NOT SHOOT...We took it out within a month as it was so full of bullet holes it was dangerous to use..no glass left either...:mad::mad:

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

REad this the other day, and this morning it dawned on me why someone would do this.
Alcohol or drugs. ??

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

As someone who has recently been disabled due to two recent brain surgeries, I can possibly offer a little a little insight. I know my thought processes are not always clear. He very possibly may have mistakenly forgotten he wasn't supposed to shootat that target. JR

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

I'd also print out the spec sheet and cost; I think Cabelas sells them, print out the webpage and that outa shellshock them a bit too.

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

Yep. The cost of the targets oughtta discourage future offense. The cost is why i make my own. Scrap is far cheaper than already made steel targets. all i do is shape them with a cutting torch and a grinder and weld them up.

Sorta the same reason citations usually come with fines, if the offense costs you money youre likey not to offend next time.. ;)

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

My momma would say, bad company corrupts good morals.

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

Oddly enough I did put up a sign after the first ordeal but if they don't read it or ignore what it says that is no help. I like the idea of putting a price sheet up.

Josh I am not fortunate enough to have the ability or the equipment to make my own so I have to buy. I have been taking down and storing in the outhouse the new Arntzen plates I got this spring but did not take down and store these handgun plates in the out house along with the rest (i'm a little lazy). The sad and disappointing part is I trusted this fellow enough that I gave him the combination to all the locks.

I talked to his mother this morning and she along with me could not believe he is responsible for this but I have a neighbor down there that witnessed the rifles laying on the shooting bench. My neighbors check up on the range when they hear gun fire. If the gate is up someone is in for a surprise but this time the gate was open meaning whoever was there new the combo and probably was there legitimately. They went on in to check any way and they new the fellow for years past. They did not notice the holes as they weren't looking for them. Will see how this turns out. It is possible but not likely that he is not responsible. Just need more info.

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

Next time I make some Ill grab some extra plates from the scrap yard and make you a couple todd. The ones I make for handguns are 6" steel pipe plugs about 1/2" thick used in the oilfield to cap off gas lines. They change them out when they get a little corroded, and they make perfect shooting targets. I get them free sometimes, just depends if im in the right place at the right time. But when i buy them fromt he scrap yard i still get them dirt cheep. most times less than a couple bucks each.

My rifle plates are from the same souce, excpet they are 18" gate valve plates. One I made is about 1.250 inches thick and still round I welded chain to it and hung it out at 250 yds. The other rifle plate is a 7/8" thick pipe plug thats been cut in half. It was 22" diameter at one time used for plugging 22" lines. Its all hardened steel. The rifle plates just get a little dent when a .30-06 smacks it. Thats about the most powerful thing we shoot over there so far.

The pistol plates I made at 50 and 25 yds are on mini rebar 'A frames' i welded up so they can swing. they hold up well to all pistol, even full power .44 mag, and rifle round up to .22 magnum, anything bigger n that gets shot at the big plates.

Like I said tho. Ill make you some. they only take me about 10 minutes to toss together and I got plenty of scrap rebar and the plates are only a phonecall away..

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

That is mighty kind Josh. I will pay any expenses incurred. Here are the plates they shot the holes in. I put the small ones away every time but got lazy hauling the eight inchers and leave them out. The picture was from back in the winter, well one of the past winters, ha.

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

here are mine. from the top.. 250 yd gong, 200 yd gong, and the 50 and 25 yd plates.

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

And you aint gonna sweat shipping costs or any costs Todd. My thanks for the 1911 jigs and fixtures you sent me. Ill PM you for you addy when i get them done.

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

Very well Josh.

Got a call back from the mother of the fellow that was at the range. He feels real bad about what happened and is going to take the plates to the shop and have the holes welded up. The story he relates is that he went to the car to get some hand guns and the young fellow that he had brought with him shot the plates. When he came back he told him not to do that to those plates. Well there are few "holes" in that explanation but I am going to go with it and not continue to fret. Not that big an issue after I slept on it. Glad he was not the instigator of the plate shooting.

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

thats good.

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

Sounds like the outcome will be OK and maybe it won't happen again.

I went to the local public range this morning. No one else there until a fellow showed up with his rifle. Now, this range uses wire to hang targets and clothes pins are a must to secure the target to the wire. I usually take a dozen as I did today. I had used eight and had four left for another target.
I walked down the 100 yd line to replace a target and when I got back, the clothes pins were gone. The new arrival had got my pins without asking and had hung a target at the 50 yd stand. I don't like people stealing so since I already had my 50 yd target hung, I decided to move to the table beside him.

My Anschutz removed all four of my pins from his target and it hit the ground. He packed up and left without saying a word.

I would have given him pins and targets if he had asked but to just take them really rubbed me the wrong way.

Re: They shot holes in my steel again.
 

Too perfect! :lmao2: