Shoot N Spin 12" Super Swinger Target Review
May 19, 2014

Another style target by Shoot N Spin which I reviewed was their 12" Super Swinger Target.  This target is a 12" diameter AR500 steel plate which is 3/8" thick and the target comes with a small compact stand.  The target is intended for centerfire handguns and rifles.  Shoot N Spin makes several style targets for both rimfire and centerfire firearms and you can use the links below to see my other reviews of the Shoot N Spin targets.  To better understand the Shoot N Spin company and how it started, take a look at my review of their Dueling Shooting Tree.

• Shoot N Spin Thick Target - AR500 Steel, Painted and Infused
• Swinger Target - 7 Gauge Steel with Stand
• 12" Super Swinger - 12" Disk Hanging Target, AR500 Steel with Stand
• Dueling Shooting Tree - Collapsible Dueling Shooting Tree with AR500 Steel Paddle Targets
• .22 Cal. Paddle Target - 6" Targets, 7 Gauge Steel

 

The 12" Super Swinger target came boxed as shown below.

Figure 1

Inside the box were the following items which were the super swinger target with the chain attached, two legs, one center bar, two vertical posts.

Figure 2

The plate measured a full 12" in diameter and is made from 3/8" AR500 steel.  The plate has two ears for hanging with one 1/2" hole in each ear for the bolts.

Figure 3

The plate hangs from 1/4" chain and is attached to the chain with 3/8" grade 307A bolts.  The chain is held on the bolt with a washer and lock nut.  The grade 307A bolt is similar to a grade 2 bolt and you should plan on having both extra bolts, nuts, washers and chain on hand because you will eventually shoot these components.  If you purchase grade 5 or 8 bolts, you will get a little more durability out of the harder steel in these bolts, but this durability comes at an increased cost.

Figure 4

When fully assembled, the stand is about 20" tall, 18.5" wide and 18" deep which makes it an an extremely small stand when you consider it is holding a 12" diameter gong style target.

Figure 5

The target can disassemble into a very small packaged that makes it easy to pack for a trip to the range.

Figure 6

The total weight of the target I received was just under 26 lbs.

Figure 7

During my range testing, I shot both 150gr FMJ .308 Win and 55gr FMJ .223 Remington ammunition at the target from a distance of 100 yards.  I shot 20 rounds of the .308 Win and approximately 100 rounds of the .223 Rem.  If you watch the video below, you can see that all rounds didn't hit the target, but I felt there were enough impacts for me to evaluate this gong style target.  We had a great time shooting the Super Swinger target and I let my kids do all the shooting which explains a few wild shots.  One thing I want to point out is that the gong had a nice distinctive ringing sound when hit with a bullet.  Sound is a big part of the experience when shooting steel and the Super Swinger sounded great.

The photo below shows the target at the end of my range tests.

Figure 8

The AR500 plate held up great just like it always does and the largest diameter of the dimples shown below is 0.14" which I believe was from the .308 bullets and the majority of the dimples are about 0.06" in diameter which I believe were the .223 bullets.

Figure 9

As I mentioned earlier, you will eventually shoot the hanging hardware on any gong style target and this shooting session was no exception.  Both the head of the bolt and the chain took a hit.  Always consider the hanging hardware to be a consumable item and keep some spares on hand.  Depending on who I have shooting, I can go all day and not have an issue, or be fixing gongs on a constant basis.

Figure 10

The post portions of the target will take a beating from the copper jacket splatter when the bullets hit the target.  The 5/16" thickness of the steel should ensure the posts last many years.

Figure 11

Just like the hanging hardware, the stand of most gong style targets will also take hits.  Since the stand is in close proximity to the target plate, you can see the stand took two hits in our range tests.  Clearly the steel in the stand is not AR500 because you can see how much deformation occurred at the bullet impact points.  Stand construction becomes a trade off between portability, durability and costs.  The good thing with Shoot N Spin's design is that if you damage a stand component, you can contact them and buy an individual component replacement.

Figure 12

In the video, you can see that we turned the stand over when shooting the .308 Winchester rounds.  If you time your shots with the swinging action of the gong, it is possible to tip the stand over with much lesser calibers.  Whether or not this is an issue depends on your potential use.  Most likely a steel target setup at longer distances will not receive a fire rate fast enough to achieve the swinging action.  Making the bottom feet of the stand longer would reduce the stands tipping ability, but then could take away from the portability of the stand.  My thoughts on an improvement would be to shift the feet so that the rear portion is longer than the front portion.  Another potential improvement may be making the bottom bar under the target out of AR500 plate.  The bar is only about 1.2" below the target and I can see this bar taking more hits in the future.

 

Bottom Line:

The Shoot N Spin 12" Super Swinger Target is a portable large gong style target.  Because of the compactness of the stand, you may want to warn your shooters that tipping the stand is possible.  Most likely you will have just issued them a challenge so get ready to send them down range to set it back up.  As with all hanging gong style targets, always keep extra chain, bolts, nuts and washers on hand, you will eventually need them.  The large 12" AR500 plate is a great size for setting up longer distance targets and also makes a great size at 100 yards for new shooters.  At an MSRP of $125 which includes shipping and handling, this target system seems like a fair price when you consider you get a qualtiy 12" AR500 plate, compact stand and all the hanging hardware.

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