Liability dangers in making a "portable gun target"

I have a junk steel plate approximately 1 1/4 inch thick, 40x40 inches in size.

It is junk because it is warped, I would say, it is about 1/2 inch out of flat. So I cannot, in good conscience, weld it to a base and call it a welding table.

So, I thought for a while, what can I do with it?

Yesterday, I made a portable gun target plate on wheels for myself from another steel plate. This one is 3/4 inch thick and appx. 40x40 inches, and it works great for rimfire rifles.

It made me think about this and I thought, how about I make and sell a portable gnu target from the big plate, by welding a base on casters underneath.

The question and concern is, what sort of liability can I potentially be exposed to if something goes wrong. Say, a bullet ricochets and kills a kitten a mile away, or whatever. Any comments are welcome.

Reply to
Ignoramus7288
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Consult an attorney, usenet legal advice is worth what you payed for it.

Best Regards Tom.

Reply to
azotic

snip

You might have more liability for the thing falling over on somebody! A

40"x40" piece of 1 1/4 steel sounds like a really stout piece of metal!

All of the pistol targets I have seen are 3/8 to 1/2" steel.

BobH

Reply to
BobH

With a proper frame, it should not be a problem.

Right, and I think that it will appeal to a local buyer, who would pick it up with his own truck.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus7288

Dood, dat plate will weigh 555# all by its lonesome.... WTF will be able to pull that around on a non-smooth or dert surface?? You'd have to *motorize* a 6ft x 6ft base to move it..... LOL You do know that many targets are made out of paper, right?? And watermelons. Unless yer specifically testing for penetration, etc.

Reply to
Existential Angst

None whatsoever. Any idea of what that plate is made from? S7 for example?

It would make a very good pistol gong at long range..less good a rifle goog. Unless its A500 or similar..a centerfire will pock it up pretty badly over time.

I get about a year out of a 12x18 piece of 3/4" plate at 600 or greater yards..but its "normal steel" not A500

Drill a hole in the upper two corners add 18" of chain to each hole and sell it as a gong.

Got any 1000 yrd ranges in your area?

Gunner

Reply to
Gunner Asch

I built some thing like that almost 20 years ago for my own use from a

30x30x1" mild steel plate mounted on a 2x4 pressure treated wood frame that positioned the plate at a 45 degree angle to the ground.

Stuck it on my deer land with the back against a slope, marked off 100 and 200 yard shooting stations and had at it. I only fired a few 30'06 FMJ, as they left pocks in the metal, but soft points dodn't bother it. Someday I should mine the spot under it for the lead.

David

Reply to
David R. Birch

A36, as I said

No 1000 yard ranges, no. I think that a 1 1/4 inch plate will last significantly longer than 3/4 plates or thereabouts. A plate this thick will dissipate the energy much better.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus7288

Nobody will buy a target assy on casters, your market will be dirt ranges so casters won't be of use. I recall someone here had a design for a spring loaded popper target, perhaps plans are in the dropbox. I recall it was made of 500AR plate, not sure your plate will hold up to higher power rounds.

Reply to
Pete C.

Now you're thinking like a manufacturer in the US! Don't forget sun glint causing accidents on the highway, make sure the steel is certified not to be "Blood Steel" from Mali-Wali-Bobo or causes Climate Change, or takes jobs away from the Union Target Workers of America. And for god's sake...don't make any money or they will be lining up around the block to take it away from you.

Reply to
Tom Gardner

Where?

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Well..it will take more rounds before its penetrated. But dissipate energy? No. It will blow pretty good sized divots in it that go deeper and deeper. As the divits multiply..they will blow back material at the shooter. Probably not reach them...but....might.

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Reply to
Gunner Asch

The range I use only allows AR500 steel targets. They were using a lot of them a few weeks ago. I visited the state 3-gun championship with one of my sons. There were 12 stages and hundreds of competitors, including the USMC combat shooting team. Fun.

Pete Keillor

Reply to
Pete Keillor

If it were plywood, it would be great for a skimboard. But, given the weight, that's out. Maybe undercoat the cab of your truck with it to protect against IEDs?

Most steel plate is too soft for any -real- caliber of bullets, and most .22 shooters wouldn't buy something very expensive.

Who's going to drag a large, heavy plate out into the boonies for shooting? Most folks don't have paved ranges, but I guess it's possible.

In this litigious society, I'd be very cautious selling something like that. Word the ad "Some people use these for rifle targets." and then put a disclaimer of some sort, maybe? All sorts of crazies sue people with absolutely no hope of winning, but it can still cost their victims (tens of?) thousands of dollars to defend against it.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

I am not, generally, worrying about being sued by some crazy person who files a meritless lawsuit. It happens randomly anyway, and I do have money to defend myself.

What I am concerned about is someone suing me and winning a lawsuit.

Reply to
Ignoramus26072

That would be enough to keep me from selling it as such. Even meritless lawsuits are won. Look at the McDonalds coffee fiasco. The judge remittiturred the case, but it still cost them several hundred thousand dollars for the twit's medical bills.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

If you live your life so afraid of such things, you will never make any money. I buy, and I sell, and I accept a small probability of lawsuits, something that I am aware of and try to minimize.

If I spent my life paralyzed with fear about meritless lawsuits, I think that I would not accomplish as much as is possible,

i
Reply to
Ignoramus26072

I perhaps choose to weigh risks and rewards differently than you, is all. But if you remember, YOU brought it up. ;)

There's a vast chasm between choosing not to do something risky and spending one's life paralyzed with fear, Ig.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Based on the pic you linked to, any one foolish enough to shoot at your target is likely to have ricochets coming back at them. Maybe you should study other such devices before marketing this one.

Better yet, fire a few pellets directly at it and see where they go. Don't bother being ready to jump, you can't move fast enough.

David

Reply to
David R. Birch

They will magically deflect away from the shooter. the magnetic field from the C clamp handle will guarantee that.

Reply to
Cydrome Leader

Have you ever tried shooting at a flat steel plate with a .22 rimfire? I have. I used to shoot at an indoor range in Bangor Maine that used essentially what Iggy designed. It was a 50 ft. range and there was no back spatter.

Reply to
John B.

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