Subsonic against steel???

[whatsit]

Am curious Guys, anyone shoot 220 or 225 gr OTMs against steel? Did you see projectiles break up or bounce?

Have some older T1 steel poppers and IPSC target centers that would be nice to shoot for practice if bounces are not a predictable result!


Thanks

Velocity is what kills steel / armor. Subsonic should be completely safe to shoot steel with. Think about it like shooting .45ACP rounds at it (roughly the same mass x velocity numbers). The main thing to be concerned about is the amount of spauling from the bullet -- that depends on your bullet type.
I've personally used 220 OTMs at just under 25 yards and haven't had anything bounce back. I should point out that all of our targets were either hanging / hinged or angled downward to deflect towards the ground.
I think shooting steel is one of the advantages of running a 300blk AR -- I can shoot steel "up close" where a 5.56 isn't recommended. Yes, you can get frangible 5.56 ammo to shoot steel with, but that's a short-range-only round and it costs about as much as .300blk anyway.

I say, just do it and have fun.

[rimshaker]

Heavy subsonic BLK and AR500 steel are a perfect match. And with a can, it's like music to my ears; even to bystanders.
Nothing like hearing a loud "gong" or a "clink" seemingly out of nowhere because the shot was so quiet.

[glocker17]

You don't have AR500 if subsonic ammo is damaging it. Maybe it got mixed up with a soft steel target for handgun use.

[plant.one]

3000 fps is the limit for damage threshold for AR-500 as i understand it. unless you're shooting steel core / AP ammo. m855 does not count as AP. there's videos on the web of it splashing off and barely taking the paint off.


i can tell you that speed kills... my .204 left giant craters in my brand new steel when i wasnt thinking and put half a mag of 32gr vmax on it at 70 yds thankfully it has two sides. lesson learned.

subsonic blackouts just go ding/splat.


if your subs are cratering it, its definitely not AR500, and likely just soft mild steel. sorry to hear you got burned

[68Guy]

Mine bounce, hard

What he said! I do a lot of training close in on steel and it is fun as hell with subs. BIG "goooooong" so you KNOW it was a hit. Of course we still practice safety and don't shoot steel any closer than 15 yards (usually we are 20-35 yards). Kinda pisses my shooting buddy off because when we get into that type of training, he has to put the .22 conversion kit in his 5.56 to hit steel that close. I get the gong, he gets "piiiing." So of COURSE I have to rub it in...

[polizei1]

I was shooting soft steel not long ago with Gemtech 187's and Barnes 110's. They were leaving huge craters in the steel with pretty impressive splash from 100yards.

Please make sure when shooting steel you're shooting at a safe distance and with steel designed to withstand the round you're using. Also, make sure the steel is "free floating" on chains, etc. or angled to splash down.

300blk is awesome, I don't care what people say! The energy is amazing.

[68Guy]

I use AR500 steel that hands on garden hooks and have a silhouette steel on a stand with a bolt and spring so those types of configuration take up a lot of the impact energy and thus I don't get ricochets. I still adhere to the "no closer than 15 yards against steel" rule the same as pistol. No damage to that steel with subs.

[68Guy]

I got some new AR500 steel in and shot it this weekend.
My subsonic 300blk took out large chunks of it, looks like craters.

We shot at least 200+ normal 55g .223 at it and none of it even left a mark.

The 300blk loads were 220g nosler hpbt at about 1050 fps.

Is this normal?

??? you got chunks out of AR500 steel with subs? You may want to verify that they actually sold you AR500 steel. I have shot hundreds of rounds with both 175 and 220gr subs at 995fps against AR500 steel and never get any marks. The 55gr XM193 will smack it pretty hard and if you hit it closer than about 75 years, it can crater. It is VELOCITY and not bullet size/type that typically causes the issues so subs are just too slow