How Far to Shoot Steel Targets, and Which Steel for Which Gun

How far away to shoot steel, by caliber

Each figure is a maker's own minimum, from its product pages or its published chart.

Caliber	Most makers say	Range we found	Who says so
.22 LR	10 yards	7 to 30 yards	10: Challenge with a pistol (rimfire dueling tree), Double Tap. 15 to 20: Challenge with a rifle. 7: one Challenge auto-reset plate. 25: Grizzly. 30: Do-All (Prairie Popper).
9mm, .40, .45 ACP	10 yards	7 to 30 yards	10: Challenge (handgun dueling tree), Bash, Top Tier, Highwild, Angry Hornet, Double Tap, Revolution, EZ-Aim (30 feet). 7: Challenge (handgun stake target). 25: Birchwood Casey's Ace of Diamonds, Grizzly. 30: Do-All (Double Blast).
.357 and .44 Magnum	Only on a plate rated for magnums	7 to 15 yards	15: Double Tap, on 3/8" and 1/2". 10: Bash (5/16" to .357 Magnum, 3/8" for .44 Magnum). 7 to 10: Challenge's rifle-rated targets, which take "all handguns". Not rated: Challenge's handgun-only targets and Caldwell's portable resetting targets.
5.56 / .223	100 yards	30 to 200 yards	100: Challenge, Bash, Top Tier, Highwild, Angry Hornet, EZ-Aim, Double Tap on 3/8". 75: Double Tap on 1/2". 30: Challenge's short-range AR550 targets. 200: Do-All's Double Blast.
.308, .30-06	100 yards	30 to 200 yards	100: Challenge (rifle-rated dueling tree, within each target's energy limit), Top Tier (10" bullseye gong), Bash, Highwild, Do-All, Double Tap. 200: Double Tap for .30-06 on 3/8". 30: Challenge's short-range AR550 targets.
.300 Win Mag, .338 Lapua	1/2" plate only	100 to 200+ yards	Bash: 1/2" only, from 100. Double Tap: 1/2" only, from 200. Birchwood Casey rates its Ace of Diamonds for non-magnum calibers only.
Shotgun	Depends on the load	10 to 100 yards	Challenge's Supernova star: birdshot and buckshot from 15. Its portable star's page says 100. Double Tap: birdshot 10 to 15, buckshot 25 to 50, slugs 50 to 100. Bash: 12 gauge slugs on 1/2" only.

Why makers give different distances

A minimum distance belongs to one target, not to steel in general. Four things move it:

• Thickness. Double Tap rates 5.56 from 100 yards on 3/8" plate and from 75 on 1/2"; .30-06 from 200 and from 100.
• Grade. Challenge rates its short-range AR550 targets for rifles from 30 yards; its AR500 rifle targets start at 100. Double Tap adds a caution: harder steel lasts longer, but on its own it is no reason to stand closer.
• Angle. Bash says a static plate that is not tipped 20 degrees down can throw fragments back at the shooter.
• Condition. Challenge calls a flat plate "very important for safety"; Double Tap says pitted or cratered plates raise the risk of ricochet.

So a 9mm plate can carry a 10-yard rating from one maker and 30 from another. Follow the rating for your target.

Which thickness for which caliber

Bash and Double Tap both publish charts by thickness, and on both each step up takes more energy at the target.

Thickness	What makers rate it for	Energy limit at the target	We sell
3/16"	Rimfire. Bash: a .22 "will not rotate thicker paddles".	Not given	Bash rimfire dueling paddles; the rimfire plates in Challenge's shoot-to-reset rack
1/4"	Challenge: non-magnum handguns, and its .22 LR targets. Double Tap: rimfire only.	Double Tap: 700 ft-lb. Challenge's KYL rimfire spinner: 400.	Challenge's handgun stake target and rimfire dueling tree
5/16"	Bash: handguns to .45 ACP on its paddles; its chart adds .357 Magnum.	Bash: 900 ft-lb and 1,500 fps	Bash 5/16" round gongs
3/8"	Bash: every handgun on its chart, rifles to .30-06. Top Tier: most pistol and rifle calibers, naming 9mm, .45 ACP, .223, .308 and .30-06. Challenge: its rifle-rated targets. Double Tap: most rifles, from 100 to 300 yards, but no magnum rifles.	Bash: 3,000 ft-lb. Caldwell: 3,500. Double Tap: 2,100. Challenge: 1,000 to 2,700, by target.	Bash 3/8" round gongs, Top Tier's 10" bullseye gong, Challenge's rifle-rated dueling tree
1/2"	Bash: magnum rifles to .338 Lapua, and 12 gauge slugs. Double Tap: magnum rifles from 200 yards.	Bash: 4,500 ft-lb. Double Tap: 4,000.	Bash 1/2" AR500 and AR550 round gongs, Bash 1/2" dueling paddles

AR500 vs AR550 (and SR500)

The number is the steel's Brinell hardness: about 500 for AR500 and 550 for AR550, as Double Tap puts it. Challenge Targets says AR550 is slightly harder but "can be brittle and susceptible to cracking", that most target designs do not benefit from it, and that the harder plate can reduce pitting. Its short-range targets put the AR550 plate on four compression springs to prevent that cracking.

SR500 is close to AR500 in hardness but made to tighter standards, by Double Tap's account. Grizzly rates its 3/8" SR500 stake-in for rifles up to .308, with pistols and rimfire from 25 yards.

Bash's advice on grade is short: certified AR500 or AR550, and beware of cheap steel targets, which it says are prone to spalling, flakes of plate that break off on the hit.

What we sell in AR550: Bash's 1/2" round gongs (6" to 24") and silhouette gongs, and Challenge's short-range rifle targets in USPSA, FBI-Q and full-man shapes.

What ammo to use on steel

• No steel core or armor piercing. Challenge, Bash, Double Tap and Angry Hornet rule it out, and EZ-Aim warns that armor piercing may damage any AR500 target. Bash also rules out tracer and any bullet "with steel on or in it".
• No green tip. Infinity lists green tip (M855) among the steel-core rounds not to shoot at its steel. Bash rules out any steel in the bullet, and Double Tap any penetrator round.
• No steel shot. Angry Hornet and Double Tap both rule it out.
• FMJ: the makers disagree. Challenge says its stake and static targets are "built to withstand all standard FMJ ammunition", and Double Tap suggests ball or FMJ and warns that soft and hollow points may damage targets. EZ-Aim says FMJ "may damage any AR500 Target". Do-All rates several of its spinners and .22 targets for soft-nose lead only.
• Speed limits are mostly at the target, not the muzzle. Challenge, Bash, Caldwell and Angry Hornet cap impact speed at 3,000 fps, Double Tap and Infinity at 2,850 (two Challenge Stake-N-Shoot targets give 3,100 at the muzzle instead). A bullet slows as it travels, so a fast rifle round may need more distance to get under the cap; Infinity says some need more than 100 yards.
• Magnums need a magnum rating. Challenge's handgun-only targets are rated for "all non-magnum handguns", and Caldwell's portable resetting targets are "not intended for magnum velocities". For magnum rifles, Bash and Double Tap call for 1/2" plate.

Is it safe to shoot steel targets?

Challenge Targets says steel is very safe when the target is properly designed, tested and used at the recommended distance. Bash adds that a ricochet of bullet, bullet pieces or target material "is always possible", and that its rules reduce the risk rather than remove it. What the makers ask:

• Eye protection for everyone. Challenge: "All shooters and bystanders MUST wear approved safety glasses when shooting steel targets." Bash and Angry Hornet add hearing protection.
• A flat, undamaged plate, tipped forward. See hanging and angle and worn plates.
• A clear lane. Double Tap warns that a bullet that hits the ground, a berm or an obstacle before the plate breaks up unpredictably, and Bash says to know what is behind your target. Nobody goes downrange while anyone is shooting.
• Soft ground under the target. Double Tap says concrete or frozen ground throws fragments upward, and suggests soft ground, sand or gravel.

How to hang and angle steel targets

Every maker that gives an angle tips the face forward, so fragments go into the ground:

• Bash: 20 degrees down on its 3/8" chain kit, rubber strap kit and angle top mount.
• Challenge: 5 to 20 degrees on its static stands, 20 to 30 on its AR550 short-range targets.
• Top Tier: about 15 degrees on its 2x4 steel target hanger.
• Double Tap: 15 degrees on its chart, 10 to 20 in its written guide.

Chains and straps let the plate swing with the hit. A gong hook on a 2x4 or a T-post does the same with less hardware, and Bash says the free swing helps the plate last. A static mount holds a fixed angle; Bash's top mount and Top Tier's hanger both come with compression springs.

Gong hooks and T-post hangers we sell:

• Bash top post 2x4 gong hanger
• EZ-Aim gong hanger with recoil spring
• Angry Hornet T-post starter kit with a 6" gong
• SME T-post hanger set

Every stand and post: Shooting Target Stands.

When to retire a steel plate

Look at the face before and after every session. Bash says targets that are pitted, cracked or deformed "can not be used", and Double Tap adds craters to the list. Challenge designs its plates to be flipped, which keeps the face flat for longer.

Bash blames pitting on bullets with steel in them, Double Tap on impact speed over 2,850 fps. We sell Challenge's 8" replacement plate and Bash dueling paddles in 5/16", 3/8" and 1/2"; call us for a plate we do not list.

Quick answers

Can you shoot steel targets with a 9mm? Yes, on a handgun-rated plate; most makers say from 10 yards (distance by caliber).

Can you shoot steel with a .22? Yes, on rimfire-rated steel; Challenge says 10 yards with a pistol and 15 to 20 with a rifle (distance by caliber).

Can you shoot steel with 5.56 or .223? On rifle-rated 3/8" plate or thicker, from 100 yards for most makers (distance by caliber).

Can you shoot steel with FMJ? Challenge and Double Tap say yes; EZ-Aim says it may damage AR500 (ammo).

Can you shoot steel with green tip? No; Infinity counts it as steel core, which every maker that mentions it rules out (ammo).

Can you shoot steel targets with a shotgun? Only at a plate rated for it; Challenge's Supernova star takes birdshot and buckshot from 15 yards (distance by caliber).

Ratings checked October 2026, from the makers' product pages and published charts.