Splash back with steel

[OWGEM]

My friends and I have a 6 paddle dueling tree from Bobcat. We love it and have a ball.

The last couple of times out we have had complaints from other shooters of splashback. Well not complaints really, but certainly comments. It seems at the recomended 10 yard distance there is lead splash back to the left and right. Standing in front of the targets I have not had any. We shoot 9mm mostly.

Is this normal? At what distance must the targets be before no splash back?

 

[jd4320t]

Did it actually happen or were they just uneducated and assuming it happened?

 

[OWGEM]

Did it actually happen or were they just uneducated and assuming it happened?

Oh it happened. One was a good friend who had it happen more than once. He is inclined not to wear eye protection but did both those days. After the fact.

 

[ZbornacSVT]

Typically with static targets you get a predictable 20degree-ish splash pattern off the surface. I believe lovemywoods and esrice did some tests that backed this up some time last year.

Now....with a duelling tree, you have moving paddles and potential cross shots, etc. All of this creates some more interesting angles to 'coach' the direction of fragment deflection. The fragments still must go somewhere. With these types of targets you notice the splashback a bit more.

This is no different than a steel challenge match. Everyone that has ever regularly attended matches has felt splashback at some time or another. The interesting thing to note is that you rarely are feeling the splash from your stage, but the stage one or two stations over. This goes back to the angles with which the round fragments from the surface.

The 10yd guideline is just that, a guideline. Your eyes are really the only part of your body that could sustain any long term damage from splashback, the easy solution is to always wear your eye pro when shooting steel of any kind. Moving further away from the target will not change the occurrence of splashback, but merely give gravity more time to work its magic.

 

[Que]

It seems like 10 yards is too close to allow the dueling tree to be any fun. I would back up to 20-25 and make it a challenge. This will not solve the backsplash issues, but it will make the game more fun, IMO.

Please make sure everyone wears eye protection when shooting is going on, even if some are just walking around and not actively shooting.

 

[KLB]

Would a thick piece of plywood be enough to stop splash? I'd like to stop it from going off to the right as much as possible once I get around to getting some steel.

 

[ZbornacSVT]

Where do you plan on putting the plywood?

 

[KLB]

I was thinking something like this

 

[ZbornacSVT]

Now I am more confused

 

[KLB]

That is the berm of dirt. TO the left is plywood for targets. The steel will be on the right. At some point we may put a pasture to the right of that, so on the far right there would be a piece of plywood, like a wall to block the splash off of the steel to the right.

 

[ZbornacSVT]

Gotcha....

Wood doesn't deflect splash, it catches it. Turns into a razor board in a single range session.