By Lincoln Wyatt — co-owner of Wyatt Targets. We cut, test, and shoot the targets we sell, so this guide comes from the plate table and the firing line, not a spec sheet.
Steel target thickness is the single biggest durability decision you'll make — and the industry's dirty secret is that most big-box "AR500" targets are 3/8″ because it's cheaper to cut and ship, not because it's what your rifle wants. Here's the honest comparison.
The short answer
3/8″ AR500 is fine for pistol calibers and standard 5.56/.223 at 100+ yards. 1/2″ AR500 handles magnum pistol, .308, and hot 5.56 at safe distances for years longer, resists cratering (the thing that actually kills a steel target), and rings louder. If you shoot rifles, or you want to buy steel once instead of twice, buy 1/2″. That's the only thickness we cut — this guide tells you when it matters and when it honestly doesn't.
What actually destroys a steel target
Steel targets don't wear out — they get cratered. When a bullet's energy exceeds what the plate can spread, it dimples the face. Craters are more than cosmetic: they catch the next bullet's splatter and redirect it unpredictably — including back toward the shooter. A dimpled target is a retired target.
Resistance to cratering comes from two things: hardness (AR500 = ~500 Brinell abrasion-resistant steel) and mass behind the impact. A 1/2″ plate carries 33% more steel behind every hit than 3/8″. Same grade, very different service life.
3/8″ vs 1/2″ by the numbers
Same scale: 3/8″ vs 1/2″ vs 3/4″ plate.
| 3/8″ AR500 | 1/2″ AR500 | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight (full IPSC) | ~48 lb | ~64 lb |
| Rimfire & standard pistol | Excellent | Excellent (overkill, in a good way) |
| Magnum pistol (.44, 10mm hot) | Marginal up close | Rated at 10 yd minimum |
| 5.56 / .223 (100 yd) | OK, craters with M855 pressure over time | Shrugs it off |
| .308 / .30-06 (100 yd) | Craters early | Built for it |
| Ring/feedback | Good | Deeper, louder — audible through ear pro at 100 yd |
| Typical price gap | — | ~20–30% more steel cost |
One honest caveat in the other direction: 1/2″ is heavier to haul. Our 33% IPSC target at ~7 lb stays truly portable; the full-size silhouette at ~64 lb is a two-hands, plant-it-once target — that's the tradeoff for steel that outlives your barrel.
Which thickness for your caliber
Rimfire and steel challenge: either works forever. Buy on price and portability — a small gong or 33% silhouette.
Pistol-primary (9mm/.40/.45): 3/8″ survives fine. 1/2″ turns "survives" into "ignores," and the deeper ring is genuinely better feedback at speed.
Any centerfire rifle: this is where 3/8″ quietly costs you a second target. Standard-pressure 5.56 at 100 yards will slowly stipple 3/8″; M855 and .308 crater it. 1/2″ AR500 is the buy-once answer — it's why we don't stock anything thinner.
Magnums and hot loads: 1/2″, full stop, at rated distances.
Grade matters as much as thickness
"AR500" from an unknown mill can mean anything from genuine 500 Brinell to mystery plate with a spray-painted name. Ours is mill-certified AR500 — the certs come with the steel, and it's the same plate whether you buy painted silhouettes or our Surface Rust line (same steel in the mill’s factory red-oxide primer instead of paint, ~15% cheaper — and the paint was coming off at the first shot anyway).
Bottom line
If your range bag never holds anything bigger than a 9mm, 3/8″ is a fair budget call. If a rifle ever comes to the party — buy 1/2″ once and stop thinking about it. Our standard line is all 1/2″ AR500: see the full lineup, and read why 1/2″ AR500 beats the 3/8″ everyone else sells.
Safety: whatever thickness you shoot, follow minimum distances (handgun ~10 yd, rifle ~100 yd), use standard lead-core ammo only — no steel-core/AP — and wear eye protection. Full rules on our steel target safety page. Use at your own risk.