Bullet tests
- Thread starter Seabass
- Start date
vagrantviking
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- High River, Alberta
Nothing that I could do would begin to compare to the testing that the manufacturer has already done. Pick the right bullet for the quarry and trust that they know what they are doing.
If actual preformance in the field disappoints try a different brand.
If actual preformance in the field disappoints try a different brand.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Bullet testing is interesting. I use wet drill mud (bentonite). For an expanding bullet to perform properly it must impact in a fluid bearing medium. When mixed to a thick slurry, the drill mud holds its shape and allows a measurement of the wound volume as well as the depth of penetration. If there is a criticism of the use of this stuff, aside from the fact that it's snotty to handle, is that game animals are not made out of homogenous material. They have elastic skin, hard bone, dense muscle, fluid and air pockets, so no material you can come up with will duplicate a bullet's performance on game. But with experience, one can make a pretty good prediction of what a particular bullet's performance might be based on the measurements taken in an inert material. The set up can be as simple or as complex as you like. A row of 5 gallon plastic oil pails full of drill mud and lined up in a row will provide as much depth of penetration as you will likely need. Most bullets are stopped within 3'. I have also made a heavy plywood bullet trap, but I haven't had the opportunity to use it yet.
Mind sharing the recipe?
blacksmithden
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I've shot my 300 win mag into lined up 1 gallon milk jugs full of water. It'll go through 4 and start the 5th one leaking....doesn't seem to matter what bullet.
I've shot a 4" x 6" piece of red oak - every bullet went through the 4" way but stayed in when fired in the 6" way.
I've shot a 1" thick steel plate and a 3/4" one at 50 yards. It'll drill right through the 3/4 inch but not quite throught the 1". It leaves an outward dent on the far side.
I've shot my 44 mag into empty 55 gallon drums. It goes through 2 and into the 3rd. It leaves big nasty holes a lot bigger than the bullet.
Have I shot any actual meat type media as a test....no.
I've shot a 4" x 6" piece of red oak - every bullet went through the 4" way but stayed in when fired in the 6" way.
I've shot a 1" thick steel plate and a 3/4" one at 50 yards. It'll drill right through the 3/4 inch but not quite throught the 1". It leaves an outward dent on the far side.
I've shot my 44 mag into empty 55 gallon drums. It goes through 2 and into the 3rd. It leaves big nasty holes a lot bigger than the bullet.
Have I shot any actual meat type media as a test....no.
superd222
CGN frequent flyer
Homemade Gelatin
I've made a ballistic gelation at home to test pellets and .22.
Get some 'Knox' brand gelatin at the grocery store and mix it 8x stronger than the directions say.
As long as you keep it warm and stirring it until desolved with each addition of powder it works fine. Don't add all the gelatin powder in one go, break it into 6 or 8 amounts to stir in.
Since this is biodegradable, it does spoil after a time, so keep it refridgerated until you use it. Once used it can be re-melted and reformed 6-8 times easily, after which it gets too cloudy to see the bullet track, but works fine to collect bullets and compare performance for 2x longer remelts.
Try to find the pound size container as it's cheaper in bulk than the little packages and it takes quite a bit to get a decent sized block. The pellets went in about 4" while the .22 went about 12"-14" deep depending on the velocity or HP/bullet shape.
This was a fun experiment, but next time I'll go a cheaper route like wet newsprint, flour doughballs or a cornstarch suspension.
I've made a ballistic gelation at home to test pellets and .22.
Get some 'Knox' brand gelatin at the grocery store and mix it 8x stronger than the directions say.
As long as you keep it warm and stirring it until desolved with each addition of powder it works fine. Don't add all the gelatin powder in one go, break it into 6 or 8 amounts to stir in.
Since this is biodegradable, it does spoil after a time, so keep it refridgerated until you use it. Once used it can be re-melted and reformed 6-8 times easily, after which it gets too cloudy to see the bullet track, but works fine to collect bullets and compare performance for 2x longer remelts.
Try to find the pound size container as it's cheaper in bulk than the little packages and it takes quite a bit to get a decent sized block. The pellets went in about 4" while the .22 went about 12"-14" deep depending on the velocity or HP/bullet shape.
This was a fun experiment, but next time I'll go a cheaper route like wet newsprint, flour doughballs or a cornstarch suspension.
Wet newpapers and old Sears catalogues (good grief they send out a new one every week). I insert plywood or osb board every few inches to make things interesting. By no means conclusive, but I have found out which bullets come apart.
- Location
- victoria bc
rotting tree stump in the bush, fire 5 off then dig them out
At CIL we used to test rifle bullets in big blocks of wax. The same wax we used to lube 22 ammo.
The police came to our range to test rifle bullets in big blocks of gelatin. About 18" cubes. The gelatin was nice because you can see inside it and measure the wound channel and cavity.
I have tested pistol bullets in the old phone books. At phone book time there are large quantities of both new and old books around. I collect them for testing.
I place the books in a plastic pail of water the day before the test. They act like giant sponges.
Then I shoot just one bullet into the center of a pair of books. Some bullets go into the second book, some don’t. So much water gets forced out a second shot would be in a drier book.
One thing to watch out for when testing a rifle. At close range a bullet has a lot of yaw. This will give an unreliable test result. For hunting bullets, you might want to test performance at 100, 200 and 300 yards, but don’t have access to a 3000 yard range. You can down load some ammo to generate 200 and 300 yard velocity at 100 yards, and run all tests at 100 yards. Closer than that would have yaw problems. The RPM of the down loaded ammo won’t be right, so test will be a bit less accurate. Solid copper bullets should not be downloaded because they might need full RPM to stabilize.
The police came to our range to test rifle bullets in big blocks of gelatin. About 18" cubes. The gelatin was nice because you can see inside it and measure the wound channel and cavity.
I have tested pistol bullets in the old phone books. At phone book time there are large quantities of both new and old books around. I collect them for testing.
I place the books in a plastic pail of water the day before the test. They act like giant sponges.
Then I shoot just one bullet into the center of a pair of books. Some bullets go into the second book, some don’t. So much water gets forced out a second shot would be in a drier book.
One thing to watch out for when testing a rifle. At close range a bullet has a lot of yaw. This will give an unreliable test result. For hunting bullets, you might want to test performance at 100, 200 and 300 yards, but don’t have access to a 3000 yard range. You can down load some ammo to generate 200 and 300 yard velocity at 100 yards, and run all tests at 100 yards. Closer than that would have yaw problems. The RPM of the down loaded ammo won’t be right, so test will be a bit less accurate. Solid copper bullets should not be downloaded because they might need full RPM to stabilize.
That must be one helluva tree stump. A couple of days ago, I fired a 150gr FMJ from over 630 yards into a 6 inch live douglas fir. Punched right through. Even left a small exit hole, no shattering and probably not much mushrooming either. I can't imagine any rotten stump catching a centerfire bullet, unless it is like 10 feet thick, but then good luck digging it out!
Made the gelatine using the knox gelatine as has already been suggested.
Mixed 8 ounces per 2 quarts.
Mix the water and powder together in a pot, then let it sit in your fridge for 2 hours. After the 2 hours are up take out your gel and heat it up on the stove making sure not to heat it over 130*F. once you've got it all melted down pour it into whatever you'd like to use as a mold and let it sit in the fridge for 24-36hrs before use.
Also spray some pam into your molds before pouring in your ballistic gel.
Mixed 8 ounces per 2 quarts.
Mix the water and powder together in a pot, then let it sit in your fridge for 2 hours. After the 2 hours are up take out your gel and heat it up on the stove making sure not to heat it over 130*F. once you've got it all melted down pour it into whatever you'd like to use as a mold and let it sit in the fridge for 24-36hrs before use.
Also spray some pam into your molds before pouring in your ballistic gel.
- Location
- victoria bc
we have real trees in bc
i dig all sorts of lead and such from stump, slugs, fmj, soft points
2 or 3 feet diameter is enough, plus it is rotting so the wood just clumps away
good luck
matt
I use a huge plywood box with a lid filled with frozen bones from the butcher, I am more interested in what happens to the bullet and the bones, then any depth measurements. A few bullets have exited, but you would be surprised at how some of them (bullets) almost disintegrate.
