Awesome Gongs made by IronMonster

[P7M13]

I bought three gongs and a set of leg brackets from @IronMonster. I knew I was going to be in Idaho for the week, so arranged with him to pick them up.
SNAFU as usual with rescheduled flights, I wasn't able to get to his area until 0:00 last Sunday night. He kindly left them out, and for my trouble gave me a length of fire hose and the target spray template.
THESE THINGS ARE AWESOME !!
Mind you, I've never had AR500 gongs before, just SCBA bottles. BIIIGGG difference!

Notes:

• These are 1/2" AR500 steel, and for as thick as they are, they make a nice sound. I hit them multiple times with 300gr 338 Edge at 100 yards. No damage.
• The bullet, on impact, pulverizes itself.
• He offers them with Fire Hose strap mounting. Depending on what you shoot, you may want to use just that. Here's why:
  • I didn't have time to mount the straps he gave me, so I tried a bunch of different mountings:
    1. 250# Nylon rope. Ruptures with the first impact of a 338.
    2. 100# D-Ring aluminum "carabiner" clamps. Fergeddit. On the 2nd impact from a 338, these things explode, literally.
    3. 3/8" chain. I can't believe it, but on the second impact at 455 yards, the chain broke. Effin' A Bubba!
• The leg mounts: (see his ad here)
  • A farmer here in Idaho gave me some 5/8" re-rod to use as my cross bar. This is strong, but you need 1"Ø pipe as he recommended, or a wedge block of wood. I used the wedge block - this mounting frame DID NOT MOVE at all.
• His spray stencil: WHAT A TIME SAVER!
  • I got fast dry krylon. A quick paint-up of the white, then a flash painting of the stencil with fluorescent pink. Excellent contrast, quick target setup.

Last night, my colleagues and I had a "team building" exercise out in the desert, shooting gongs, eating pizza and drinking beer. 40 shots hit these gongs, no damage at all.
Today I went out and took only 5 shots at 455 yards (GPS).
The gongs from 20 yards: (using only sagebrush as a wedge, the setup sucked)


I took two shots on the left gong, the chain broke. Then took two shots on the right gong, the sagebrush wedges broke, and the target sagged.


I had no idea I was shooting so well (~5000 ft elevation, 83° F, 3 mph x wind)
Left Target:


Right Target:


EDIT: There's a great military surplus store in Idaho, exit 113 off I-15. I bought the legs there (aluminum tubes). Light and stiff.

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[Joe13]

I've not seen his gongs but I have seen his work up close and he is a true craftsman.

I'd be very shocked if anything he made was sub-par in any way.

Plus he's a real nice guy.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

1/2" @455!!!??!!?! wtf

nice shootin tex

 

[P7M13]

1/2" @455!!!??!!?! wtf

nice shootin tex

PF Luck, bro.
First shot, no idea where it went, noticed the castle nut on my stock was really loose, tightened it up and then went to town.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

all skill!

 

[Stomper]

Pfffttt.... <1/2".... high and right.

 

[P7M13]

Pfffttt.... <1/2".... high and right.

Accuracy, not spot on. Consistency? Seems I have the trigger squeeze timed with my palsy.

 

[MasterChief]

Thanks for the update!

 

[P7M13]

Forgot to add, these are really nicely done, with finished edges and burnished corners. You will not cut yourself on these when you handle them

 

[wired]

Beer, pizza and shooting. I can't think of better times.

 

[11Charlie]

How close to silverwood resort does he live. My warehouse guy is going there for vacation maybe he could pick some up for me

 

[MrMillspecer]

5 shots to hit the chain. Not bad.

 

[P7M13]

Beer, pizza and shooting. I can't think of better times.

One colleague was ex airforce, one from Bejing, the third from Togo, West Africa, and the latter two inexperienced at shooting. Both guns, being sighted in properly, hit what you aimed at. Both guys felt like they were on top of the world when we were done.

 

[P7M13]

How close to silverwood resort does he live. My warehouse guy is going there for vacation maybe he could pick some up for me

Silverwood Resort is way north. He's near Twin Falls, south central.
The gongs weigh only 20# apiece. Three plus the legs weigh ~ 65#, and fixed rate postage is <$20.
The fire hose makes a better rest than a sand bag, IMO.

 

[IronMonster]

How close to silverwood resort does he live. My warehouse guy is going there for vacation maybe he could pick some up for me

Let me put it this way. Its 587 miles from me to Silverwood, Its only 660 miles from me to Seattle

 

[11Charlie]

Well that would make a long evening trip for my warehouse guy. I'm not sure he likes me that much

 

[DirectDrive]

Great writeup !
And kudos to IronMonster !

 

[Dungannon]

When the doorbell rang, I saw the USPS truck out front and ran to the door. Before she could say anything, I said "they're steel targets and you really should have asked me to come get them." She sighed and said, 'if there's a next time, I certainly will' and turned to leave. Then stopped, reached into her back pocket for a rolled up magazine, and handed me the latest issue of American Rifleman. It was time to take a break from working on the kitchen cabinets.

 

[IronMonster]

How did the box look? Mostly survived?

 

[P7M13]

5 shots to hit the chain. Not bad.

When I got all the gear home, I examined the chain and I would guess the first shot hit the chain and turned a link into a "C". Two more shots are what finally unhinged it.