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View Full Version : Buffalo Bill Steel Silhouette Target, Trailered



Just Duke
10-05-2008, 08:05 PM
Being we have an incredible shortage of live Buffalo to shoot here in Vegas at least until I get relocated, (some are in the buffet lines though) I am going to work with a fabricator to make a full size target that is trailer-able. Wheels would remove to setup. I was wondering what is the least amount of steel thickness I could use?




This is what Bill should look like.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd255/EBRSOPMODS/LEVER%20ACTION%20SHOOTERS%20SOCIETY/bison2.gif

MtGun44
10-05-2008, 11:42 PM
Depends on the steel alloy. With quality armor plate, 3/8" should be
fine but with ordinary mild steel you will probably need 5/8 or more to avoid
denting it. We shoot 1/2" armorplate pepper poppers with .223 and .308
at short ranges without any real damage.

If you are only going to use low vel cast, you may be able to get away with
softer steel alloy, but I suspect the thinner and softer (mild steel) will dent from
the tremendous momentum of those big ole slugs. I have seen amazing
damage to mild steel pepper poppers with 12ga shotgun slugs, 1" diam cavity
about 1/4" deep and a huge dent that showed up on the back of 3/8" mild
steel that had withstood literally hundreds of thousands of pistol hits. Only
did that ONCE, nearly ruined the pepper popper.

I suspect that your BP buff guns will hit at least as hard as slugs. Slugs
start at about 1600 but are dead soft lead. Your's should start slower,
but probably a bit harder boolits and much heavier for the area of impact.

I'd get a 12" square sample of whatever you might want to use and shoot it
at 100 yds with a typical load and see what damage it does. There are two
basic classes of damage, actually digging out steel and denting. The 12ga
slugs did both to mild steel. Even high vel jacketed won't dig or dent 1/2"
armor plate. .223 will drill a prefectly round smooth hole thru mild steel about
1/2 or 3/8 inch thick, dig a deep blind hole in thicker mild steel. Testing is the
only sure thing, esp since that steel buff is gonna be pretty expensive, I'd
imagine. Gonna be a heavy sucker, too.

Bill

mikenbarb
10-06-2008, 03:17 PM
May I make a suggestion of making them out of a minimum thickness of 5/8 or 3/4 T-1 type steel. Another great couple alloys to use would be AR or Naval plate if you can get in your area. I would also consider making all smaller parts(Tail) hinged as they will bend or snap off when hit with high caliber rounds if solid mounted on the target.
If you want to get real fancy, Make them out of Stainless steel. WOW, That would look nice and never rust but would have to be buffed to a low gloss so it dont reflect sunlight into the optics.
Are these going to be cut with a plasma water table or robotic type machine?
Thats a real cool idea and will look great when their done. Please share some pics of the finished product because im sure lots of members would love to see what they turn out like.
Also consider making wheel covers out of the same material so you dont have to remove them every time you shoot. Just make a half circle that would slip over them to protect from bullet splatter and ricochets. One of the biggets things to consider with this target is metal fatigue and work hardening and after hundreds of shots, The metal will be half the strength as when it was new or may harden and crack depending on the alloy used.

Just Duke
10-06-2008, 03:21 PM
Hey Mike! :-D We did consider you in this build but was not sure it would fit in a "Flat Rate Box" lol. This bad boy would have to be made locally as shipping would be the killer. ;)
Stainless? Nothing rust here in Vegas.

KCSO
10-06-2008, 03:33 PM
For B/P rilfles at over 100 yard range 1/2 mild will be enough. it willl dent slightly but will last for years. I have buff made in 1982 still in use with no repairs, IF you can keep the high power fellows from takinng a poke at them!

mikenbarb
10-06-2008, 04:17 PM
Duke, I can just cut it up in small pieces like a jigsaw puzzle and when you get it, Just put it back together.LOL.:shock: I will take the ride out to deliver but you gotta make sure you got lots of ammo for us to try it out.;-)

For B/P rilfles at over 100 yard range 1/2 mild will be enough. it willl dent slightly but will last for years. I have buff made in 1982 still in use with no repairs, IF you can keep the high power fellows from takinng a poke at them!

scrapcan
10-06-2008, 05:39 PM
I have seen a 270 punch nice round holes in AR400 plate at 100 yds with facotry jacketed ammo. Make sure you do as suggested above and keep the high powered rifles away from you dear buff.

Duke,

You should talk to the guy that is in your area that posted on your bigger pot thread.

missionary5155
10-06-2008, 07:01 PM
Greetings... I understand this is about another matter... but if anyone shows up at a shotgun shoot and wants to use ROUND BALL instead of slug... I personally would NOT let that shooter plow my steel with RB.

Just Duke
10-07-2008, 12:01 AM
You should talk to the guy that is in your area that posted on your bigger pot thread.


Thanks Manly I sent him a PM a day or so ago but he might be away for the week end.

Jon K
10-07-2008, 02:10 AM
Duke,

How big is that guy? What size? T-1 3/4" or thicker if you can handle it. Make it to last and make it Idiot Proof. Even at 1/2 T-1 it will bend and bow with constant pounding, then you'll enjoy straightening it(Tylenol Extra Strength time)

Jon

Just Duke
10-07-2008, 02:32 AM
Duke,

How big is that guy? What size? T-1 3/4" or thicker if you can handle it. Make it to last and make it Idiot Proof. Even at 1/2 T-1 it will bend and bow with constant pounding, then you'll enjoy straightening it(Tylenol Extra Strength time)

Jon

Hi again Jon. Full size of course. T-1 AP plate I am told by the metal guy here is $800.00.
I am planing on being able to pound the other side. 100 yards though is to easy at least for me.
You coming out and shooting with us when I get Bill done Jon? Consider this a cordial invite for all the phone help and great conversation. Nice and cool this winter. ;)

Jon K
10-08-2008, 02:10 AM
Duke,

Thanks for the invite, I may take you up on that, depending on how I feel after surgery, now scheduled for Dec 1.
Keep us posted on progress.

Jon

mikenbarb
10-08-2008, 07:01 PM
Hello again Duke. I had another thought on this.(Smell the wood burning?LOL.) What you should consider also is the vital area to be cut out and put on a hinge system so when you hit that area, It will have a nice swing to it and a definate way to tell of a good hit on the target. Just a thought.

Just Duke
10-08-2008, 07:26 PM
OH YEA! I have already thought about it. Also thought about a mechanism to make the eye :shock: get three times as big. lol
I left you a phone message as I am good to good on the other project Mike.

Sako222
10-08-2008, 08:49 PM
Yikes,

Full size that'll be a big heavy piece of plate. Suer size shillouete. Thickness would depend on projectile & velocity choice. As others have pointed out modern centerfires would daylight the thing pretty quick.

Yeah, we could burn out the profile and rig up some running gear. What thickness of plate were you quoted? I can see if I can get a better price through buisiness connects or piece together some drops from our yard.

Sako

Just Duke
10-08-2008, 08:52 PM
Yikes,

Full size that'll be a big heavy piece of plate. Suer size shillouete. Thickness would depend on projectile & velocity choice. As others have pointed out modern centerfires would daylight the thing pretty quick.

Yeah, we could burn out the profile and rig up some running gear. What thickness of plate were you quoted? I can see if I can get a better price through buisiness connects or piece together some drops from our yard.

Sako

This would be for cast bullets out of the Sharps 45-70 and Winchester 1886 in the same caliber.
The guys at PS metal have a CNC table but price is through the ceiling for metal. Feel free to give me a jingle. I believe I left my phone number in your PM box Sako.
You up for some cat hunting this winter with the wife and I?

Scrounger
10-09-2008, 01:02 AM
Once had a steel human size silhouette target. It had heavy springs attached to the back. When you shot it, the silhouette was pushed over by the bullet, compressing the spring. In a second or two the spring forced the silhouette back up to an upright position.

Southern Son
10-09-2008, 06:11 AM
Duke, The guys I shoot with have a larger than life sze buff set up at 600 yards from one firing point and 1000 from another. They hung it off a horizontal bar running off a virticle pipe. The verticle pipe slid over a second slightly smaller verticle pipe that went into the ground. Whenever the buff started to get a noticeable bend in him, they just spun him around and we would shoot him while he faced the other direction. They painted one side white and the other black so that if the light conditions changed and one colour was hard to see, we would just spin him around. That buff was just mild steel and about 3/8 inch thick. He has quite a noticable dish shape to him most of the time.

Just Duke
10-09-2008, 01:43 PM
Thanks SS that pretty much what I was thinking. I would tote this bad boy into the desert most of the time for I not real range nazi friendly.

Just Duke
10-16-2008, 11:22 PM
Moo!......

Just Duke
10-18-2008, 07:38 PM
I will give you a jingle today on picking up the sample plates Sako.

HABCAN
10-23-2008, 01:55 PM
We have a buff at Nosehills, cut from donated 4'x8'x1/4" mild plate. He's set up at ~800m/ yds. Would you believe MANY modern jacketed loads do NOT penetrate? But OTOH, any hit 'rings'.

Just Duke
11-26-2008, 05:37 AM
I think were good to go on this build Sako.

brad925
12-08-2008, 04:30 PM
We have been using 1" thick rubber belting to hang targets on at 100yds at our range. They have taken tens of thousands of rounds will no real effect to the face they just seal up. Thinking if the body of the buff was made out of this with a replacable kill zone of steel it would be cheaper to replace.