By Jon — Dead Center Fabrication, Falmouth, KY
If you own steel targets, they’re almost definitely AR500. Mine too — we’ve cut and sold plenty of it. It’s been the standard for over a decade.
But here’s something most shooters never hear: AR500 was never made for shooting.
AR500 Is Mining Steel
The “AR” stands for abrasion resistant. This steel was built for dump truck beds, rock crushers, and excavator buckets — stuff that gets ground down by rock all day. It’s designed to resist scraping, not bullets. Nobody at the mill was thinking about a .308 hitting it at 2,700 feet per second.
The target industry grabbed AR500 because it was the hardest plate you could readily buy. Not because it was made for the job. It was just the best thing available at the time.
Not anymore.
What the Numbers Actually Mean
Steel hardness is measured on the Brinell scale — HBW or BHN if you’ve seen it written out. Bigger number, harder steel.
Here’s what most target companies won’t tell you: “AR500” doesn’t mean your plate is actually 500 Brinell. The spec allows a range, and a lot of the AR500 out there comes in at 500 or under. Softer plate pits faster. Two targets can both say AR500 on the listing and wear out completely different. You won’t know which one you got until the craters show up.
SR500: Steel That Was Built for Bullets
SR500 is newer. The “SR” stands for shooting range — and that’s not marketing. The steel itself was developed for one job: taking repeated bullet impacts without falling apart.
What that gets you:
Harder steel, every time. SR500 typically runs in the mid-500s Brinell — noticeably harder than most AR500 plate. Harder steel means less pitting, less cratering, and a strike face that stays smooth after thousands of rounds.
A target that lasts longer and stays safer. A pitted, cratered target isn’t just ugly. Damaged steel throws bullet fragments in unpredictable directions instead of deflecting them down at the ground. Flat steel is safe steel.
Less weight for the same job. Because it’s harder, SR500 can do at a thinner gauge what AR500 needs extra thickness for. Lighter target, easier to haul to the range, same durability. (Always follow the manufacturer’s published thickness and distance ratings for your caliber. Not sure what your target can handle? Ask us before you shoot — we’d rather answer a question than see somebody get hurt.)
So Why Isn’t Everybody Selling It?
Because right now, only a handful of target companies in the whole country are cutting SR500. Everybody else is sitting on AR500 inventory and supplier contracts, and switching costs money.
We’re a small shop. We don’t have warehouses of old steel to protect. So we made the call early: Dead Center is building our target line on SR500. Supply is locked in, and the first targets are coming off our table soon.
We cut everything ourselves right here in Falmouth, Kentucky. No outsourcing, no drop-shipped mystery steel. The guy who cut your target is the guy who answers the phone.
Bottom Line
AR500 did its job. But it was always mining steel doing a shooter’s work. SR500 is the first widely available steel actually designed for targets — and we think it becomes the standard. We’d rather be early than play catch-up.
Want to see it proven? We’re putting SR500 against AR500 on camera — same rounds, same distance — and posting exactly what happens to both plates. No marketing talk. Steel and bullets.
Follow Dead Center Fabrication on Facebook and Instagram so you don’t miss it.
First SR500 targets drop this summer. Follow us on Facebook to catch the launch.
Dead Center Fabrication — CNC plasma cutting and steel fabrication, Falmouth, KY. deadcenterfabrication.com | (859) 206-3971