[BigBlock]

Last night I decided to celebrate our independence by "aerating" my lawn with my .44 Mag Blackhawk. I was shooting Remington UMC 180g JSP ammo which I believe is about 1600FPS/1000ft lbs.

Aren't these the type of bullets that supposedly "overpenetrate" and kill 5 people before they stop? I was curious how deep they went so I dug up a few slugs...they were only about 5-6" deep in soft clay soil, flat as a pancake.

How would this correlate to human penetration? My theory is that my soil is softer than a human torso, thus, this bullet would not even exit an average human. Am I totally wrong?

[Orange_Magnum]

Bullets travel easily through flesh becase the surrounding substance gives and allows for a path for the bullet. Hammer a thick nail 5" down into your ground and try to move it sideways from there. The surronding substance doesn't give as easily as water would.

Besides, try to stab the ground with a knife. The knife isn't going deep, like it would in human flesh.

[BigBlock]

Besides, try to stab the ground with a knife. The knife isn't going deep, like it would in human flesh.

Yeah, but what about those pesky bones and muscles? :uhoh:

I've never stabbed anyone so I'm not sure how hard that is....:p

[Ridgerunner665]

Am I totally wrong?

Yes...

Bullets are designed to operate based on hydraulics...they need water...the human body (bones and all) is made up of mostly water.

Dirt and sand will stop bullets pretty fast...arrows will penetrate farther.

[rcmodel]

And 240's will penetrate much further then those little 180's that go splat when they hit the ground!

rcmodel

[La Pistoletta]

Clay doesn't have cavities like bodies do. A bullet passing through clay has to push a lot of clay in front of it and to all sides, where the clay will be obstructed by more clay.

[The Lone Haranguer]

I was shooting Remington UMC 180g JSP ammo which I believe is about 1600FPS/1000ft lbs.

Aren't these the type of bullets that supposedly "overpenetrate" and kill 5 people before they stop?
This is associated more with the heavier, slower-moving 240-gr. bullets. The lighter faster bullet will - or should, in theory - expand faster, therefore not penetrating as much. This is partially offset by the jacketed soft point bullet design. Also, we don't know if the bullet is really reaching this velocity without a chronograph. Finally, dirt or sand is not a reliable test medium or indicator for determining how deeply a bullet will penetrate in human flesh and bone.

[the naked prophet]

Soil and clay seems soft to you because you aren't moving fast.

The granular structure of clay and soil is what makes sandbags so effective at stopping bullets. Even big, fast bullets that would sail through several people will get stopped by a relatively thin section of sand.

Fill a cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels with sugar or sand by putting a square of toilet tissue over one end and using a rubber band to secure it. Try to push a broom handle through it. Sounds easy, right? It's not.

[Steve C]

The best bullet stopping material there is is dirt and sand. There's a reason why the military piles sand bags around a fortified position. I A good read is this article on the The Box of Truth (http://theboxotruth.com/docs/bot7.htm), a study on sand penetration by bullets.

[XDKingslayer]

With only 5-6" of penetration I would say that you are horribly undergunned should your lawn ever revolt.

[The Bushmaster]

Why would you want to p*ss off your lawn in the first place. I have enough trouble getting mine to grow by treating it nice...