300 PRC VS Steel Targets
- March 11, 2025
- By Jared Daub
300 PRC VS Steel Targets
If you are like us, you want to push the design limitations of any product you interact with. The same can be said of our steel target systems and portable targets: We want to see what they will stack up against. So we put our 1/2″ AR550 Steel Targets to the test to prove they are unmatched. Let’s talk about 300 PRC Vs Steel targets. General Housekeeping: In this blog we will be performing abusive tests in a controlled environment. Under NO circumstances should you EVER replicate what you see here. These tests are for educational purposes only. ALWAYS follow our advertised and posted caliber and distance requirements. Never shoot improper ammunition at our steel targets. Never shoot closer than required in our manuals, stickers, and literature. This is for your safety.
First, let’s talk about how this all started.
This entire conversation began when a customer reached out with a warranty claim. This customer sent photos of one of our 1/2″ AR550 Reduced C Zone Plates. You could clearly see a clean, very large hole almost perfectly centered on the plate. They made a warranty claim because of this hole and they reached out asking us what we thought about it. Initially, the first thing we always ask is “what were you shooting?” In this case, the customer stated that they were shooing 300 Winchester Magnum with Federal 165 Grain Fusion ammunition. They believed that the hold had occurred at 110 yards. Additionally, they also had been engaging the target at much further distances. That immediately made no sense to me, because I know that you will not get a pass through in our 1/2″ AR550 plates from 300WM and hunting ammo.
We decided that we wanted the plate back, and then sent the customer a brand new plate. I made it known to the customer that I believed the hole was caused by 50BMG. They stated that nobody was shooting 50 BMG, but they were shooting on public land. For that reason, I believed either someone shot their target without telling them, or someone shot OVER them on this public land with a very large rifle armed with some serious ammo. We may never know.
More accusations
So many people assumed either the hole in the warrantied plate was drilled. On that note: I dare anyone to try to drill this AR550. You will be there after 100 hours and 100 drill bits hating life. It is nearly impossible, even with a drill press and quality bits. Other folks believed we were overstating the strength of our steel and engineering. If I had a dollar for every comment that said “My 300 Winchester Magnum would punch a hole in that at 100 yards”, I’d have a nice stack of cash. Further, people claimed we were skewing the data by using 308 over 300 Winchester magnum. Other folks claimed that there must just be a weak spot in the steel. While that is possible, with our standards it is nearly impossible. The raw materials we select are second to none. They’re the best money can buy. And we have NEVER in 10 years seen one of our AR550 plates have a weak spot. We even stacked rounds right around the hole to prove this point.
Kicking off further testing.
This kicked off an entire process where we took the target plate out to test various ammunition types on the warrantied plate. We shot M855A1, M80A1, and M2 Armor Piercing with NO failures! But, our subscribers weren’t happy stopping there. So many people claimed the test was “unscientific” because we did not use the EXACT caliber and ammunition that the customer had been using. However, I knew that Armor Piercing 308 will always have a higher potential to cause damage versus a hunting round from 300 Winchester Magnum. But, we heard all the comments. We decided that in order to put this to bed once and for all, we should use an even more potent (in our opinion) caliber. We landed on 300 PRC, and we hit the range for testing.
Setting up the test
In this test, we brought four targets to the range:
- a 1/2″ C Zone cut from non-hardened Mild Steel
- A 3/8″ AR500 Genesis C Zone Target Plate
- A 3/8″ AR550 Exodus C Zone Target Plate
- The 1/2″ AR550 Warranty Plate (To further prove there was nothing wrong with this plate)
The objective was to showcase the devastating capabilities of 300 PRC. We wanted to show you that our steel is up to the challenge. The proof is in the footage and photos.
The Rifle and Setup of Choice
The rifle we chose to run is the Bergara B-14 HMR Wilderness chambered in 300 PRC. This is an excellent rifle, especially considering the lower price point. The 26″ heavy profile barrel slings 300 PRC rounds out at blistering speeds. The scope used is a Vortex Razor 4.5-22X50 FFP scope. The Bipod used is an Atlas CAL Bipod. Rings are from Talley Rings.
Here is the ammunition we landed on:
- Hornady 190 Grain CX Outfitter Ammunition (All copper bullets)
- Hornady 212 Grain ELD-X Precision Hunter Ammunition
- Hornady 225 Grain ELD Match Ammunition
These three types of ammo are the most common. I felt they would showcase a great spread of speed, bullet construction, and destructive capabilities. They did not disappoint. I will disclose: I assumed from the start that the all copper bullet would cause the most potential damage. You’ll find out if that’s true or not shortly. Stay Tuned.
Starting with the Mild Steel C Zone
The Mild Steel C Zone is manufactured from a soft, standard grade steel. You should NEVER make, purchase, or shoot targets that are manufactured from soft steel. We burned out a C Zone version of our A-DAP system simply to showcase the devastating capability of 300 PRC. As you can see from the photos below, the 300 PRC really puts a hurting on the Mild Steel. My initial thought was that the 225 Grain ELD would cause the least amount of damage. I believed this because it’s a heavier round going slower, and the match bullets typically have a thinner jacket. I expected the 212 ELDX Bullets to cause more damage than the Match round. The 190 Grain CX round was what I thought would cause the most damage of all three.
I believed this would be the case because they are lighter and faster than the other two rounds. I was actually very wrong. The 190 Grain CX bullet didn’t even pass through the mild steel.
The Dangers of Mild Steel
The fact that the copper round did not penetrate the mild steel is very concerning from a safety standpoint. This further paints the picture as to why I always say: NEVER SHOOT QUESTIONABLE STEEL! Had the petals of the palmated metal not held the mushroomed round in, it COULD have come back towards us. Craters like this are incredibly dangerous. If you EVER see steel targets that look like this, IMMEDIATELY stop shooting them and throw them away. For the sake of your life and others, only shoot quality steel targets!
Hitting the 3/8″ AR500 C Zone
To my surprise, the 3/8″ AR500 Genesis plate held up perfectly fine. It’s not that I think less of the Genesis line, it’s just that it is a lower grade material. Genesis AR500 targets are manufactured from a domestic AR500 steel. It’s high quality, but not as high performance as our AR550 line of targets. I expected more wear and tear, especially considering we made sure the plate was vertical and couldn’t move when struck. We intentionally stacked the odds against the Genesis AR500 plate, it took it like a champ. Putting a plate vertical and then removing its ability to move when struck stacks all the cards against the steel. What you are left with is focusing ALL energy on the target plate. The forward lean and movement absorbs and deflects energy. The fact that the Genesis AR500 Plate resisted damage is just a testament to the strength.
What about the 3/8″ AR550 C Zone?
The 3/8″ Exodus C Zone plate was….uneventful. Even though we had bolted the plate perfectly upright AND eliminated its ability to move, it held up perfectly. Obviously, if the Genesis 500 plate withstood the abuse, the 550 Exodus plate won’t even flinch. The Exodus AR550 steel we use is a Swedish armor. It is second to none. This material is no joke, and it’s the same steel that you may have been seeing used in our Armor Piercing / abusive testing content. When you need the best of the best, you go with the Exodus AR550 systems. Did we mention that our 1/2″ AR550 systems feature a lifetime strike plate warranty? Yeah, that’s pretty amazing, right?
Finally, the Warranty Plate.
The infamous warranty plate was the last on deck. We wanted to showcase this one last to just prove once and for all that a 300 Winchester magnum did not punch a hole in this plate. The customer that made the warranty claim was using 165 grain federal fusion ammunition. The ammunition we used in this video / test is more abusive and more capable of damage than a 165 grain 300 Winchester magnum round. We placed two rounds of each ammo type onto this 1/2″ Reduced C Zone plate. There was NO damage from any of the rounds, further proving our position. We even landed rounds close to the hole, which disproves the theory that there was a weak spot in the center of the plate. Keep in mind: This is the same plate that we put armor piercing rounds, M80A1, and M855A1 rounds on. It withstood ALL of those rounds without flinching.
Why we put 300 PRC VS Steel Targets
So why would we put 300 PRC VS Steel Targets? The simple reason is to educate you all. We want to instill confidence in our product line. Tests like this prove that we aren’t blowing smoke when we say we believe we make the absolute best targets on the market. We have the receipts. We’ll stack our systems against ANY product on the market. We are the only company willing to put a lifetime warranty on a steel target as well. And we mean it. This whole story line shows you that we’ll have your back. You invest in us, in return we support you. For life. Stop buying junk. Quit buying questionable targets from companies that don’t care about you. Buy only the best, highest performance, closest rated steel targets and never look back. Buy once, cry never.
If you are ready to make the investment into yourself, shop our Exodus Targets. Consider our Reduced C Zone and / or C Zone Systems. They are my personal favorite and are ready to serve you for a lifetime of training.
We want to Inspire you to become a capable provider and protector. Invest in yourself, become better for those you love.
What’s next?
What comes after putting 300 PRC vs Steel Targets? I’m glad you asked. We will be releasing a video soon with 300 Winchester magnum and the EXACT ammunition the customer was using on the warranty plate. Later this year we will also load M2 AP rounds into 300 Winchester magnum. That will be spicy. Want to see another caliber or rifle? Email us your recommendation and our media team will consider it!
