Live-fire target

Abstract

A long life live-fire target having a front, back, top, and bottom, the front including a bullet strike zone, the target constructed of a ferrous steel material. The target further includes at least one mount, the at least one mount and target formed as a single unitary structure, the at least one mount extending angularly away from the front into a mounting position, such that the at least one mount is positioned so that a bullet fired at the bullet strike zone is not likely to strike the at least one mount. The mounting position is formed when either the target is in an annealed state or the target is constructed of a soft ferrous steel. After the mounting position is formed, the target is heat treated to a hardened state. Cryogenic freezing of the target may also be performed followed by a tempering cycle.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A method for fabricating a live fire target comprising the steps of:
 acquiring a flat pattern of a target, the flat pattern of the target constructed of a soft ferrous steel, the flat pattern of the target including at least one mount and a target front including a bullet strike zone;   forming the at least one mount such that it is angled away from the bullet strike zone into its mounting position;   heat-treating the target to a hardened state.   
     
     
         2 . The method for fabricating a live fire target of  claim 1  wherein the flat pattern of the target, including the at least one mount and bullet strike zone are a single unitary structure, such that separating the at least one mount from the target would destroy the structural integrity of the target. 
     
     
         3 . The method for fabricating a live fire target of  claim 1  wherein the flat pattern of the target is constructed of SAE AISI 1045 steel. 
     
     
         4 . The method for fabricating a live fire target of  claim 1  wherein the flat pattern of the target is constructed of a soft ferrous steel having a Brinell hardness of less than 320. 
     
     
         5 . The method for fabricating a live fire target of  claim 1  wherein the forming the at least one mount such that it is angled away from the bullet strike zone into its mounting position comprises bending the at least one mount at an angle between the at least one mount and the bullet strike zone of between 30° and 120°. 
     
     
         6 . The method for fabricating a live fire target of  claim 1  wherein the step of heat-treating the target to a hardened state comprises heat-treating the target to a Brinell hardness of between 480 and 550. 
     
     
         7 . The method for fabricating a live fire target of  claim 1  wherein the step of heat-treating the target to a hardened state further comprises the steps of:
 heating the target to temperature within or above the critical temperature range for the particular steel; 
 holding the temperature for sufficient time to ensure thorough penetration of the heat; and 
 cooling the target by quenching the target. 
 
     
     
         8 . The method for fabricating a live fire target of  claim 7  wherein the step of heat-treating the target to a hardened state further comprises the step of performing cryogenic freezing of the target followed by performing at least one tempering cycle on the target. 
     
     
         9 . A method for fabricating a live fire target comprising the steps of:
 acquiring a flat pattern of a target constructed of a hard ferrous steel, the flat pattern of the target including a bullet strike zone and at least one mount;   annealing the flat pattern of the target to a softened state;   forming the at least one mount so that the at least one mount is angled away from the bullet strike zone of the target and is located in a position for mounting the target;   reheat-treating the target to a hardened state.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the flat pattern of the target and the at least one mount comprise a unitary structure wherein the flat pattern of the target and the at least one mount cannot be separated without destroying the structural integrity of the target. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the step of forming the at least one mount comprises bending the at least one mount so that it is in the position for mounting. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the bending the at least one mount comprises bending the at least one mount such that it is positioned at an angle between 30° and 120° to the bullet strike zone. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the at least one mount comprises two mounts. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the ferrous steel comprises at least one steel selected from a group of steels comprising AR400 steel, AR500 steel, and MIL-A-46100 Armor Plate. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the reheat-treating step includes the step of cryogenic freezing of the target followed by performing at least one tempering cycle on the target. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the two mounts are arranged on opposing sides of the target. 
     
     
         17 . A long life live-fire target comprising:
 a target having a front, back, top, and bottom, the front comprising a bullet strike zone, the target constructed of a ferrous steel plate material;   at least one mount, the at least one mount and target formed as a single unitary structure, the at least one mount extending angularly away from the front into a mounting position that minimizes the chance of a bullet striking the at least one mount when the bullet is directed at the bullet strike zone;   wherein when the mounting position is formed, the ferrous steel is either in an annealed state or is a soft ferrous steel with a Brinell hardness of less than 320, and   wherein after the mounting position is formed, the target is heat treated to a hardened state.   
     
     
         18 . The long life live-fire target of  claim 15  wherein the at least one mount comprises two mounts. 
     
     
         19 . The long life live-fire target of  claim 15  wherein the at least one mount extends perpendicularly away from the front into the mounting position. 
     
     
         20 . The long life live-fire target of  claim 15  wherein the ferrous steel plate comprises at least one steel selected from a group comprising AR400 steel, AR500 steel, MIL-A-46100 Armor Plate, and SAE AISI 1045. 
     
     
         21 . The long life live-fire target of  claim 16  wherein the two mounts are arranged on opposing sides of the target. 
     
     
         22 . The long life live-fire bullet target of  claim 19  where in each of the mounts extend away from the target such that each of the mounts is at an angle to the strike zone of between 30° and 120°.