Dishing outward like that doesn't push fragments back. You will always get a certain amount of splashback on steel, no matter
what. IPSC rules forbid shooting steel closer than 10 yds, a good idea. If you shoot steel long enough, you WILL
get hit with fragments. They can break the skin on a face, barely. Sting pretty good on jeans covered legs. Eye
protection is always needed but especially for steel shooting up close. I have been hit many times, even at 15 yds,
sometimes a bit more. But that is from hundreds of IPSC matches.
The worst for bounce back is bowling pins and .38 Spl LRN. I have many reports from friends who shoot a lot more
pins than I ever did that this happens. Our pin shooters finally outlawed .38 LRN ammo for pin shooting. Whole
bullets coming back, moderate velocity, but very frightening.
12 ga slugs can be scary, too. I was observing a shotgun match, they were shooting rifle turkeys at about 30 yds, with slugs.
We marveled at the impressive authority that those really heavy turkeys were being slapped down, and how great gobs of
grass and dirt were thrown up from the berm by misses. Turkeys were set very close to berm, so we were all
well downrange. After one shot there was a loud whirring as a fragment came back and passed me, then a very
loud WHACK behind me. There was a 1/4" plywood target board behind us, since we were way downrange. Upon
inspection, the grey weathered plywood showed an obvious new hole, with the exit splinters on the uprange side.
The hole was a slot about 1.5"x 1/4" thru 1/4 plywood.
We left the range at that point. These were mint condition, heavy rifle steel, no dents or anything. Still put back
most or all of a slug. Yikes! We were off at the side, so it came off at perhaps 30-40 degrees from shooter axis, so
shooter was in no danger. Observers were.
Bill