Our Targets

Materials

The majority of our products are made entirely from USA made steel, with a select few products using steel made in North America and Europe. We work with a select few mills that provide what we feel to be the best AR500 available. Not all AR500 is the same, even if it has the same hardness. Each mill has slightly different alloys and heat treatments.

You may hear other target companies claim to use armor plate or ballistic tested steel. We order from mills that provide this service but choose not to have out material tested. The NIJ certification teste test has nothing to do with long term durability and only ensures that the material can withstand a few hits. Our targets are designed to last thousands of hits, not just a few dozen. Keep this in mind when other companies claim to use certified armor.

Cutting Process

When steel is cut heat is generated. Heat is the enemy of hardness. You are essentially annealing the edges of the plate when heated under cutting temperatures, this area is called the heat affected zone (HAZ). The less heat that is induced into the part the smaller the HAZ. Laser cutting uses a highly focused beam of energy to cut through the steel. This introduces very little heat into the part, creating a very small HAZ.

Laser cutting also has low setup costs, often making it more economical that waterjet cutting. Waterjet cutting is an acceptable method for cutting AR500 grade steel. The heat generated in waterjet cutting is minimal due to the large amounts of water flowing over the material.

You may also see other companies using water submerged plasma. This is an economical form of cutting designed for metals such as abrasion resistant steels. Water submerged plasma does generate a HAZ that is greater than any of the previously mentioned methods.