sighter plate size?

hey guys
just wondering is there an official size that the sighter plate needs to be or can it be any size?
had a look on the rules but I didn't see anything about it
cheers
pethy

Hi Mate,

Good observation and question.  There is no official size, I guess the fact that a range has to be surveyed and approved and attract shooters self governs it...... if too small everyone will struggle and not want to come back, and as long as they are all the same....larger does not really advantage anyone...

Most are around 400x600.  Mine are about the size of a fly target sideways....440 x 660.  I think that is the perfect size.  The bigger the better I guess but much more than that is pointless....

Most important thing is they have to be the correct grade of steel plate.... must be bizplate 500 or equivalent.... otherwise they get dented up and or holes fairly quickly .... especially from the fast 7mm's or really big 30 cals.... I know... I tried other grades...

Cheers

Anthony

thanks Anthony
that is exactly what i was looking for and you read my mind with the grade of steel too
yeah going to make my own

cheers mate  

Stuart another thing worth considering is how you hang the plate where it is in orientation with the fly target. We have shot at ranges where the targets are below the splash plate, also where they are off sett from the target. The best and most efficent is directly below the target.

As for how they hang chains are sometimes hit but rare and if they do means the splash will be left hanging which could cause issues if during a match. Also plates with hooks at the back also pose a problem if the big guns give them a wack and knock them off the hangers. Just worth a mention.

cheers Les

cheers Les
yeah I was just going to weld some short star pickets/stakes to the side or back and push it in the ground under my target and weld a bit of flat bar along the top to stop any fragments from shredding my target if they travel up.
at our range the plates are off to the side as they are silhouette rams that they use for a few things at the club, if you put them under and they angle back slightly your target can just get shredded big time

the time it takes to adjust up and over to target and then back again to shoot at plate and back again with the wind has hurt me a few times now

at our other club they have fixed ones to the frames under the target and are great  

Hey Stu,

If you haven't got a source for Biz 500 already  I found a few  metal workshops out in Kewdale that sold there of-cut scrap pieces at reasonable prices..

Jason

no worries Jas i will let you know

is bisplate 500 the same as bizplate 500??

Yer mate pretty sure there's only one Bisalloy Bisplate, the 500 is its wear grade I believe there is a 600 wear plate as well which is harder than the 500, then they go into military grade steels.

You'd probably have access to Bis at work wouldn't you??

Yep just one Bisplate 500..... It seems the perfect grade....600 might be good, but not worth the chance that it is too brittle...

Ideally 12mm thick.  The best method I have found of attaching them is to weld lugs of 12mm thick steel that are about 40mm long and 20mm wide.  Drill a 12mm hole in the centre of them.  Pre heat the steel and weld them with the top about 20mm down from the top and the same in from the edge of the plate at each side.  They should be protruding at 90 degrees to the plates.

Then use large chain and shackles with 10mm bolts to attach them.  The chain takes all the vibration out of the impact and stops things breaking over time.

This method angles the plates down away from the targets and reduces the shrapnel tears... If you put a piece of approx 135 x 20 pine horizontally above that (just cheap rough sawn treated pine) and below the targets.....no shrapnel at all....

Cheers

Anthony

thanks Anthony great help