Capitol Armory ad

Testing Bullets over the Weekend

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Texas

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • ConnRadd

    Active Member
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Aug 10, 2009
    424
    11
    Angleton, Tx
    Tested Bullets over the Weekend

    We shot some bullets into a bucket of sand...

    Here's the results:
    From Top to Bottom, Left to Right
    .38 sp Hollow Point
    9mm FMJ
    9mm Hydra Shock
    9mm Hornady Critical Defense
    .40 Cal Hollow Point
    1 US Quarter, which it may be a rare item at the rate we are going
    .40 Cal Pow 'R Ball (plastic mesh to the right, that was the plastic tip)

    We also shot into Level 1 Hygard Laminated Polycarbonate over the weekend. Very impressive product... I need to take some pics and post at a later date...
    Capitol Armory ad
     

    Attachments

    • Bullets.jpg
      Bullets.jpg
      47.4 KB · Views: 204

    randmplumbingllc

    Active Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jun 15, 2009
    652
    21
    El Paso
    We shot some bullets into a bucket of sand...

    Here's the results:
    From Top to Bottom, Left to Right
    .38 sp Hollow Point
    9mm FMJ
    9mm Hydra Shock
    9mm Hornady Critical Defense
    .40 Cal Hollow Point
    1 US Quarter, which it may be a rare item at the rate we are going
    .40 Cal Pow 'R Ball (plastic mesh to the right, that was the plastic tip)

    We also shot into Level 1 Hygard Laminated Polycarbonate over the weekend. Very impressive product... I need to take some pics and post at a later date...

    WOW! I am surprised the 9mm hp expanded almost or better then the .40 cal. hp
     

    robocop10mm

    Active Member
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Jan 9, 2009
    996
    21
    Round Rock
    Impressive but no practical application at all. Dry sand has no similarity to living tissue. HP handgun bullets are designed to expand from pressurized fluid in the hollow point. Wet phone books and duct seal are equally useless for such studies.
     

    ConnRadd

    Active Member
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Aug 10, 2009
    424
    11
    Angleton, Tx
    good job ConnRadd
    thanks for taking the time and posting pic for the forum

    It's fun sharing something that you enjoy, get to learn and teach new things. There are other types of bullets I want to test, but it's hard for me to find open land for me to play around... I can understand where gun ranges do not want to take the risk.
     

    BurkGlocker

    Active Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Aug 24, 2009
    409
    1
    Burkburnett, TX
    I made some homemade gelatin that I use for my bullet testing. Cost about $25 to get all of the supplies and about a day's worth of patience for the gelatin to set up. The good thing is that you can melt and reuse the gelatin quite a bit, and there are websites out there that describe exactly what to do. I used a plastic bread box from WalMart as a mold and a little over a pound and a quarter of Knox's gelatin and a gallon+ of water just to take it to the top (make sure you have space in the refrigerator for the mold, I made that mistake once! And its kinda heavy too, like 10 lbs., so if you do do it, make sure that you have a shelf that will support the weight of the gelatin mix). I also use a box full of old newspapers or a couple jugs of water behing it to catch the pass throughs, and its real neat to see the wound tracks through the gelatin. It may not be exactly like the FBI test protocols, but you can get the gelatin to setup pretty close to the more expensive stuff. I have tested over 50 different loads with this setup, including all of the barrier test and different distance testing as well, i.e. point blank all the way to 25 yards with pistol calibers. Wasnt trying to hijack your thread but just wanted to pass on some info thats helped me, especially if you really enjoy testing loads like I do...
     

    ConnRadd

    Active Member
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Aug 10, 2009
    424
    11
    Angleton, Tx
    I made some homemade gelatin that I use for my bullet testing. Cost about $25 to get all of the supplies and about a day's worth of patience for the gelatin to set up. The good thing is that you can melt and reuse the gelatin quite a bit, and there are websites out there that describe exactly what to do. I used a plastic bread box from WalMart as a mold and a little over a pound and a quarter of Knox's gelatin and a gallon+ of water just to take it to the top (make sure you have space in the refrigerator for the mold, I made that mistake once! And its kinda heavy too, like 10 lbs., so if you do do it, make sure that you have a shelf that will support the weight of the gelatin mix). I also use a box full of old newspapers or a couple jugs of water behing it to catch the pass throughs, and its real neat to see the wound tracks through the gelatin. It may not be exactly like the FBI test protocols, but you can get the gelatin to setup pretty close to the more expensive stuff. I have tested over 50 different loads with this setup, including all of the barrier test and different distance testing as well, i.e. point blank all the way to 25 yards with pistol calibers. Wasnt trying to hijack your thread but just wanted to pass on some info thats helped me, especially if you really enjoy testing loads like I do...

    No HiJack here... Just gives me something to look forward to. Thanks for sharing and more than welcome to post pics!!! hint, hint....

    You can read and hear everyone's thoughts on different bullets for self defense. Which I'm sure 99% of the bullets you buy off the shelf today will inflict enough damage to put most people down. So, like anything else, it goes to personal conclusion of what one feels comfortable with.
     

    BurkGlocker

    Active Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Aug 24, 2009
    409
    1
    Burkburnett, TX
    I have pics, but please forgive the quality, they were taken with my cell, due my 4 year old thinking he could take pics underwater with our digital camera...

    here are some 147 gr 9mm HST's. the first one was a bare gelatin @ 10 ft and expanded to .775". Second was through four layers of denim and the last one was through a sheet of 20 gauge steel. All three penetrated excellently, 14+ inches, the length of my gelatin block.
    bullets4.jpg



    These are 147 gr Win Ranger SXTs. Same process with as with the HSTs. The first expanded .660" over the lead and .750" over the talons. As with the HSTs, they penetrated all 14" of gelatin.
    bullets2.jpg


    These are some '9BPLE' 115 gr +P+ Federal Hi-Shoks. The first only penetrated 11" of gelatin, but the destruction of the gelatin was tremendous, literally blowing it apart and left that block non-reusable because of the contamination when it fell all over the yard. The second was thorough 4 layers of denim and expanded to .704" at the widest spot. The last was through single layer of 20 gauge steel. the latter two penetrated 13.7" of gel, literally sticking right out of the back of the block.
    bullets5.jpg


    Here are some 115 gr Gold Dots, The first one is not an anomaly, this has happened with about 85-90% of the expanded bullets that I have tested in this particular load on bare gelatin, measuring over .900" consitently and still penetrating either the whole block or most of it, and more often than not, destroying the block, but I got 'smarter' and started putting my blocks between two pieces of plywood to catch both the bullets and and gelatin. The other two, the same testing procedure as with the above listed loadings, penetrating either all or most of the block.
    bullets1-1.jpg
     

    BurkGlocker

    Active Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Aug 24, 2009
    409
    1
    Burkburnett, TX
    Here is an array of Winchester's bullets/ The top three are 124 gr +P Ranger T-Series shot through gelatin at varying distances, but they stayed quite uniform throughout the distance change. The middle one is the same loading but shot through 4 layers of denim. Even though it didnt fling the fangs in usual Ranger fashion it still is pretty damned impressive. The other two are a handloaded 115gr Win JHP over a max load of Power Pistol and a 147 gr Ranger SXT shown just for comparison.
    RangerT-Series.jpg


    These are a 9mm 124 gr+P T-Series and a 45ACP 230gr +P T-Series side by side for a comparison.
    WinchesterRangerT-Series9mm124grPan.jpg


    And another pic of some 45 ACP Rangers.
    45ACP230grPWinchesterRangerT-Series.jpg


    Yes, 1.130" in expansion! And do you even have to ask about penetration? WHOLE BLOCK AND THEN SOME!
    45ACPMeasurement.jpg
     

    okie556

    Well-Known
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Feb 12, 2009
    1,378
    21
    Longview, TX
    Impressive but no practical application at all. Dry sand has no similarity to living tissue. HP handgun bullets are designed to expand from pressurized fluid in the hollow point. Wet phone books and duct seal are equally useless for such studies.

    Still interesting stuff!
     
    Every Day Man
    Tyrant

    Support

    Latest posts

    Forum statistics

    Threads
    116,108
    Messages
    2,952,940
    Members
    34,935
    Latest member
    LandenR
    Top Bottom