AR500 -AR50 - AR450?

[The Dakota Sniper]

Guys, I'm hosting a local match for the VFW in our area. All proceeds will go to the local VFW. It's going to be a annual fun match for the kids, vets, and shooters.

Anyways,

My local steel has decided to donate their time, and the steel. I just have to tell them what I want. The Steel they have is ar50 and ar450 if i'm correct. They would have to order AR500 plates which they wouldn't be able to "donate" because they would have to order it in.

Any of you steel guys out there and give me some advice on the above steel? I won't be welding just using chains to hang the targets. Is one way better than the other or are they really comparable at that 300-600 yard mark? The shoot does have restrictions for super fast rounds and S/A only.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[MotorOilMcCall]

Not sure what AR50 steel is... it's not a trade name that I can find.

Grade 50 steel ( like ASTM 572) is low strength, 50ksi type steel. It's soft, structural steel, that won't hold up to a ton of shots... its a low carbon, basic steel, not designed for impacts or abrasion resistance.

AR450 is an Abrasion Resistant Steel, much like AR500. It's tensile strength is between 3-4 times that of a Grade 50 structural steel. You'd be hard pressed to shoot AR450 out, especially with match ammo. Just don't let anyone shoot the green tipped XM ammo at it (it'll leave pits). They won't ring quite as nice as AR500, but you'll still see the impact cloud, and they'll still make a decent ring/thud.

 

[MotorOilMcCall]

FYI, both are easily weldable as well. If you have to drill holes for hangers, see if the metal shop has a punch brake they can use on the AR450, you'll kill a box of bits trying to drill it... A torch/plasma cutter is another option for holes.

If you absolutely have to drill, start small and work up in size slowly, and buy a cheap drill dr...

 

[The Dakota Sniper]

They have a Plasma machine that can do nice cuts.

450 will be great for me.

 

[Sniperwannabee]

Once you heat up ar 500 you ruin it. It has to be water jet cut in order for it to maintain its bullet proof capability

 

[MotorOilMcCall]

Sniper, that's only with a general heating, which anneals the steel and removes the heat treat.

You'd have to get a broad coverage at 1400+F for a few minutes to remove the heat treat from 3/8" plate... A plasma cutter or even torch is such a localized heat, it won't have any effect on anything even a 1/2" away from the cut (plasma leaves almost no annealed area around it).

Welding a bolt to it, or a chain link is NBD, it won't have any real effect on the durability of the plate for shooting, just make sure you weld to the back of the plate, not the top, otherwise I can promise you early on in the match, somebody will hit the weld and bust if off... his name will probably be Murphy...

 

[Butch1]

I own a machine shop and have machined armor panels for military vehicles. The company had their own specific grade which was A46100. We were allowed to plasma torch it to profile and machine holes and slots for attachments. So if the military has no issue with plasma cutting their armor, i think it is fine for targets. In fact all of my targets are made from AR400 and have held up with no issues from .22 up to .338 Lapua and 200-1300yds.

 

[pdmedley]

Yep, no issues with plasma unless you are concerned with edge integrity. The heat signature is too narrow to be of any concern on targets

 

[Stevo3556]

Know this is an old thread, but as another data point if someone else is researching this.
I had a friend who owns a plate steel co cut up some salvage AR400 3/8" and 1/2", looked brand new just left over from a job, into about 20 different targets. I mig welded some hinges to one of the targets. We have shot them well over a thousand times from 300 to 1200 yards with up to a 300 WM with no signs of wear or damage. We started out with some drops that were mild steel 1/4" to 1/2" just to test out hanging solutions until I received the AR400 targets. They were fun to shoot, but would not last long.......

Steve