Why AR500 Steel Targets Outlast The Competition

If you have ever pulled a target off the line with a crater punched through it after a single afternoon, you already know why the steel a target is cut from matters more than almost anything else about it. Our AR500 line exists because too many targets on the market are rated for a fraction of what shooters actually put through them.

What AR500 Actually Means

AR500 is a through-hardened steel with a Brinell hardness around 500, roughly double that of mild steel plate. That hardness is what lets a plate absorb repeated pistol and rifle impacts without deforming, cratering, or spalling excessively. Every plate we cut is rated for a specific caliber range and minimum distance, and that rating ships with the target, not buried in a manual somewhere.

Built For The Ranges We Actually Sell To

Our targets are used at police academies, private ranges, and by individual shooters running IPSC and IDPA drills. That means they need to survive repeat qualification days, not just look good in a single demo photo. We test fire every design before it ships, at the calibers and distances we actually recommend for it.

• Pistol calibers: minimum 10 meters, magnum calibers at 25 meters or more
• Rifle calibers: minimum 150 meters, further out as muzzle velocity increases
• Avoid armor-piercing, steel-core, or penetrator ammunition on any AR500 target

Safety Still Comes First

No steel target, however well rated, removes the need for basic range safety. Ear and eye protection are required for everyone downrange, targets should be angled slightly downward to direct fragments toward the ground, and distances should always be increased rather than decreased when in doubt.

If you are setting up a range or training program and want help picking the right target and distance combination, reach out and we will walk through it with you.