Steel Target
Also: Gong
A hardened steel plate that rings and shows a visible splash on a hit, the staple target of practical and long-range precision shooting.
A steel target is a plate of hardened steel that returns an audible ring and a visible splash of lead or jacket fragment when a bullet strikes it. That instant feedback is why it has become the staple of practical and long-range shooting, since the shooter and spotter know at once whether the round connected. Watching the bullet trace into the plate, then seeing the splash, gives a clear read on exactly where the shot landed.
Used well, steel sharpens the skill of calling the shot, because the shooter can compare where they thought the bullet went against where the splash actually appears. A wide pattern of impact marks across a plate also makes dispersion easy to see at distance. The same hardened plates form the knock-down targets of metallic silhouette, where a hit must topple the steel rather than simply mark it.