THE TRUTH ABOUT STEEL ANDSTEEL TARGETSBy:  Ac'on  Target

With  more  and  more  companies  andindividuals  manufacturing  steel  targets,  it  hasbecome  increasingly  difficult  to  find  accurateinforma'on,  especially  in  regards  to  shoo'ngon  steel  targets.With  technical  data  provided  by  the  AmericanIron  and  Steel  Ins'tute  in  Washington  D.C.,Ac'on  Target  has  produced  a  report  designedto  cut  through  the  recent  hype  and  establish  abasis  of  fact  for  accurate  evalua'on  andcomparison  of  steel  targets.

STEEL TARGETSFor  steel  targets  to  be  func'onal  andsafe  to  shoot  on,  they  should  bemade  of  high  quality  throughhardened  steel  that  has  a  Brinellhardness  number  (BHN)  of  at  least500.  The  steel  must  also  providesufficient  strength,  toughness,  andimpact  resistance.  The  Brinellhardness  test  is  accepted  as  aworldwide  standard  for  measuringthe  hardness  of  steel.

THERE ARE TWO FACTORS THATAFFECT THE HARDNESS OF STEEL:

•  The  first  is  the  amount  ofcarbon  and  other  alloyingelements  in  its  chemicalcomposi'on,

•  The  second  is  the  mannerin  which  the  hea'ng  andcooling  of  the  steel  ismanipulated.

THERE ARE TWO FACTORS THATAFFECT THE HARDNESS OF STEEL:

These  factors  aredetermined  at  the  mostfundamental  level,  andaffect  the  finished  steelas  a  whole.

STEEL HARDNESS IS A CRITICAL ISSUE.The  hardness  of  the  steel  iscri'cal  because  only  a  smoothsurface  will  generate  predictablesplaOer  paOerns.  Steel  that  isnot  sufficiently  hard  can  developpits,  craters,  dimples,  and  otherhazardous  deforma'ons.

STEEL HARDNESS IS A CRITICAL ISSUE.When  a  bullet  hits  one  of  thesedeforma'ons,  it  is  impossible  topredict  where  the  splaOer  willgo,  thereby  crea'ng  anunacceptable  trainingenvironment.  Despite  manyinaccurate  claims,  AR500  steel  isNOT  surface  hardened.  It  isthrough  hardened.

Just because a Brinellhardness number (BHN) of 500is good, that doesnʼt mean aBHN rating of 700 is better.

HARDER STEEL ISNT NECISARRILYBETTERGoing  overboard  on  the  BHN  can  costsignificantly  more  for  li=le  or  no  benefit.  Forexample,  ballis'c  tests  have  shown  that  theperformance  difference  between  steel  with  a500  BHN  and  steel  with  a  535  BHN  is  so  smallthat  the  difference  can't  be  no'ced  with  abullet  but  only  with  a  gauge.  Addi'onally,  itis  indeed  possible  to  use  steel  that  is  toohard  and  too  briOle  for  ballis'c  trainingpurposes.

AR500 STEELUnderstanding  these  basic  facts  about  steel,Ac'on  Target  uses  only  high  quality,  throughhardened  steel  with  a  Brinell  hardness  ra'ngof  at  least  500,  and  they  use  it  in  every  oneof  their  ballis'c  steel  products.  Ac'on  Targetcan  also  provide  through  hardened  steeltargets  and  other  steel  products  withcer'fied  Brinell  hardness  ra'ngs  of  550  andeven  600.

Read  more  and  comment  by  visi'ngwww.Ac'onTarget.com

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