Damage Range for Iron Maidens (.338 Lapua)

[sinister]

I just bought a 4 x 8 sheet of 3/8-inch AR500 from my local steel fabricator. He's cutting four E-types and three heads for me.

What is the mimimum safe range to prevent damage from a .338 Lapua Magnum (pocking, cratering, and shoot-through)?

I usually shoot 250 SMKs over 94 of RL25 or 96 of Retumbo from a TRG-42.

Thanks.

 

[jack23]

Re: Damage Range for Iron Maidens (.338 Lapua)

Just curious, how much was the ar-500 ? Thanks

 

[Shadow_Warrior]

Re: Damage Range for Iron Maidens (.338 Lapua)

Take a piece of the drop material (scrap) and do a little testing.

 

[sinister]

Re: Damage Range for Iron Maidens (.338 Lapua)

$540 for the sheet.

 

[The_Punisher]

Re: Damage Range for Iron Maidens (.338 Lapua)

Sheet! Thats almost 2x what it is here!

 

[Lowlight]

Re: Damage Range for Iron Maidens (.338 Lapua)

You really want to be at 300+, even then we've had a chunk taken out of a Larue at 300 yards... so minimum really safe distance 500 yards, 450 meters. Granted our stuff gets pounded, thousands of rounds worth a month, hopefully he is water cutting it as plasma will definitely cause the edges to crater and chip.

 

[sinister]

Re: Damage Range for Iron Maidens (.338 Lapua)

Thank you -- I figured I'd still have shoot-throughs or divets at 500.

I'm guessing the cost of AR500 here has to do with the fact we have no foundries in New Mexico -- it's all trucked in from Houston.

 

[Averagejoe]

Re: Damage Range for Iron Maidens (.338 Lapua)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: The_Punisher</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Sheet! Thats almost 2x what it is here! </div></div>

Would you want to go in a a couple of sheets Punisher? I need some steel done and can get it direct from one of the biggest Stamping and Tooling Companies in Michigan so they would also get us the Bulk Pricing Discount..

This is an open offer. Let me know what you want and I will get quotes for everyone.

 

[The_Punisher]

Re: Damage Range for Iron Maidens (.338 Lapua)

We had a few made up, start of last summer. Then turns out I play softball with a guy who gets it or similar Milspec in huge bulk. So a few of them that are irregular get sold cheap.

 

[Averagejoe]

Re: Damage Range for Iron Maidens (.338 Lapua)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: The_Punisher</div><div class="ubbcode-body">We had a few made up, start of last summer. Then turns out I play softball with a guy who gets it or similar Milspec in huge bulk. So a few of them that are irregular get sold cheap. </div></div>

I'm in if you are. You want to buy a few more sheets?

 

[Lowlight]

Re: Damage Range for Iron Maidens (.338 Lapua)

It all depends on how you hang it and how many rounds you subject it too...

We see them hit a lot and they don't show any real damage until they crack and break chunks off -- as in the Larue we have with a piece of his shoulder missing. No dents, divets or holes, but he sure as hell has a piece missing and that isn't the only one.

We dont' shoot steel at less than 300 yards and we break a ton of them even at that range because we do hit them with 338 or 300WM, even on our moving target which is water cut AR500 plate, under that stress that that distance they have a limited shelf life.

Witnessing a few rounds is no big deal, what happens after a few hundred is another story.