What Are the Key Points To Know About the Mounting Holes In AR500 Steel Shooting Target Plates?
When shopping for AR500 steel targets, shooters naturally spend a lot of time focusing on steel hardness, plate thickness, and overall dimensions. However, one critical hardware feature is often overlooked until you actually try to set up your range: the mounting holes.
The placement, sizing, and cutting method of a target plate's mounting holes dictate how easily you can hang your steel, how safe your setup is under ballistic impact, and how long your mounting hardware lasts.
Before purchasing your next target round, square, bowling pin gong or silhouette, here are the key factors you need to know about AR500 mounting holes.
1. Why Precision Laser-Cut Holes Are Non-Negotiable
Not all mounting holes are produced the same way. Cheaper steel targets on the market are often pierced using plasma cutters or punched mechanically.
Punched or plasma-cut holes create localized heat zones that weaken the temper of the AR500 steel surrounding the hole. This heat-affected zone (HAZ) makes the edges prone to cracking, spalling, or chipping when struck by bullets downrange. Furthermore, rough cut edges act as stress risers that shear mounting bolts over time.
Precision laser cutting uses concentrated light to cut clean, exact holes with minimal thermal transfer. Laser-cut mounting holes preserve the structural integrity and full hardness of the surrounding AR500 armor steel, ensuring that your target ears and mounting points won't crack under heavy bullet impact or tension. If your holes do not have a slight radius in the corners they will crack, that is exactly where the laser stopped just long enough to weaken the plate.
2. Standard Sizing: Sized for 1/2" Square Carriage Bolts
A major headache shooters face on the range is hardware incompatibility. Standardizing target mounting holes to fit 1/2-inch square-neck carriage bolts (or 1/2" Grade 8 target hardware) is the industry benchmark for several reasons:
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Flush Face Alignment: A 1/2" square carriage bolt locks snugly into a square laser-cut hole. The smooth, rounded head sits flush against the front face of your target, eliminating exposed bolt threads, nuts, or sharp corners that could cause unpredictable lead/jacket ricochets back toward the firing line. Additionally, unlike hex head bolts, you only need one wrench to tighten you hardware.
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Universal Hardware Replacement: If a direct bullet strike eventually shears a mounting bolt during an intense range session, standard 1/2" carriage bolts can be purchased at any hardware store or affordably on the Bash Target Supply website.
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Compatibility with Standard Hangers: Standard 1/2" holes ensure seamless fitment across all standard target hooks, top-post brackets, and spring-loaded hangers many companies use.
3. Don't Get Stuck with Proprietary Mounting Holes
Beware of target manufacturers that use non-standard, custom-shaped, or undersized mounting holes.
Proprietary holes force you to buy expensive, specialized mounting brackets or custom hardware exclusively from that single manufacturer. If that company goes out of business or discontinues a product line, replacing broken hangers becomes nearly impossible. Maybe you want to try other manufacturer products, whatever your situation, do not get stuck with proprietary hangars and holes.
Stick to target systems that utilize standard square-hole geometry so you retain complete freedom to swap between wood 2x4 posts, T-posts, rubber straps, chains, or static stand brackets that use standard 1/2" carriage bolts.
4. Hole Count & Configuration: 1-Hole vs. 2-Hole vs. 3-Hole Versatility
How many mounting holes a target plate features determines how you can mount it—and how versatile that plate will be as your range setup evolves. Holes cost money, that is why all manufacturers do not offer you the flexibility of three mounting holes.
+-------------------+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Hole Count | Typical Mounting Setup | Key Benefit |
+-------------------+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 1 Center Hole | Single Post Hangers | Maximum striking surface area |
| 2 Ear Holes | Chains / Rubber Straps | Dual-point suspended stability |
| 3 Multi-Holes | Center Post OR Chains/Straps | Maximum setup versatility |
+-------------------+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
Single Center Hole (1-Hole)
Single center holes are ideal for center mass top post hangers.
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Featured Product: The BlackJack Challenge 3/8" AR500 Steel Square Plate Set or SCSA Steel Challenge Plates use a single 1/2" square center mounting hole across all six target sizes (2" up to 12"). On smaller 2-inch and 4-inch tiles, removing side "ears" maximizes clean striking surface area and prevents hardware clutter.
Dual Ear Holes (2-Holes)
Traditional gongs often feature two ear holes on the outer upper corners. This design allows you to hang the plate from two points using chains or rubber straps to keep the target face oriented flat toward the firing line.
Three-Hole Versatility (The Bash Target Supply Standard)
Instead of forcing you to choose between a center post hanger or dual strap hanging, many Bash Target Supply plates—such as our AR500 3/8" White Silhouette Gong and our official AR500 1/2" Blue Round Gongs in all sizes—are engineered with three precision laser-cut holes.
Why 3 holes matter:
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Center Post Mounting: Use the single top-center hole to mount the plate directly to a 2x4 static angle bracket, T-post hanger, or top-post gong hook.
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Dual-Point Suspension: Use the outer two ear holes to hang the target using multi-ply rubber straps or heavy-duty chains.
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Future-Proof Setup: You aren't locked into one target stand design. You can run center-post T-posts today and switch to a sawhorse strap stand tomorrow using the exact same target plate.
Summary: What to Look For Before Buying
When adding steel target plates to your range setup, ensure your investment meets these core hardware standards:
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Laser-cut precision to preserve AR500 steel hardness around the hole.
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Standard 1/2" carriage bolt fitment for cheap, very strong universal hardware replacement.
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Non-proprietary design so you aren't tied to custom hardware.
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3-hole configuration on main gongs and silhouettes to enjoy complete freedom between center-post brackets and strap/chain setups.