New target

The problem with shooting long range is that without a really good scope or a separate spotting scope, it's hard to tell when you've hit the target.  Even then, after you've been shooting for awhile, you get to the "did I hit it, or is that an old hole" point.  There's a better way.  Enter the steel gong target.  It's basically a just plate of steel.  The most important part is that you can hear it ring when you hit it, no more guessing.  Sounds great, but wait!  There's a problem with that!  Regular mild steel like you'd find at the hardware store might seem strong, but when bullets are involved, it may as well be tin foil.  For example, here's what a 7.62x54R bullet like my Mosin uses does to 1/2" mild steel at 100 yards(not my picture):

Yeah, like butter.  Shooting through the plate is bad, but not as bad as leaving craters or divots in the metal.  Craters can actually act as a u-bend and send shrapnel flying back at the shooter.  Not good.  So, mild steel is out.  But, there is a perfect steel to use for targets, specially made to handle bullets: AR500 armor plate.  For what it is, it's surprisingly cheap and easy to come by.  I e-bayed up myself a 12"x12"x3/8" plate of genuine AR500 for around $50.  Then I made a stand for it.  I used a cheap sawhorse kit for the legs, knowing that the 2x4s would have to be replaced at some point.  To hang the plate, I used 3" baler belt because, unlike chain, you can put a whole lot of bullets through it before it needs to be replaced.  I hung it from a 3/4" steel bar, and attached everything with grade 8 bolts.  I used 5" bolts for the plate so that it hangs at an angle, not only reducing the impact on the plate, but also directing any shrapnel or ricochets into the ground.

I shot at it all day and hit it with nearly 100 rounds of 7.62x54R from the Mosin, and 100 rounds of 7.62x39 from the[project undisclosed], plus 75 .22 rounds(which is like hitting cement with a snowball).  The AR500 handled bullets like a champ. The paint is blasted off, but the plate it's self is still flat with hardly any marring at all.  Because of the angle of the plate, you can clearly see a line in the sand where the bullets and bullet pieces safely hit the ground.

To give you an idea of just how tough AR500 armor plate is, here's one of the grade 8 bolts holding the plate on.  You can see that the bullet left a big gouge in it.  The AR500 plate it's self though looks like new under the blasted paint.

This AR500 plate was well worth the price, and the "Ding" lets you know you've hit it from a long ways off :)