Backyard Small Pistol Ballistics Test

Saturday was a beautiful day here so I decided to take a few of the small concealed carry handguns I own and do a little informal ballistics testing to compare 4 different calibers and their performance out of short barrels. This testing was done with my Kahr CM9 (9mm), Ruger LCP (380), Ruger LCR (38 special), and Ruger SR22 (22lr).

I built a "Fackler Box" which is basically a 4 foot long wooden trough used to hold water filled gallon freezer bags tightly in place. The bags were held snugly against one another. From a number of sources I found, if you take the number of inches of penetration in water in this setup and divide by 1.8 you can get a rough approximation of inches of penetration in ballistics gel. All gel penetration numbers listed below are based on this conversion factor. Of course I realize that this might not be the best test medium but it was quick and cheap to build and does give at least a good comparison of the calibers from small concealed carry weapons. For all shots, the first bag was covered in two layers of "t-shirt" material. (not FBI standard but neither are ziplock bags of water). All shots taken from 10 feet.



9mm - Speer Gold Dot 115 grain (Fired from Kahr CM9)
Penetration in water - 26 inches (14.75 gel)
Expansion - 0.591 inches

Note: This setup is my EDC and was glad to see it perform just as expected.


380 - Federal HydraShok 90 grain "Low Recoil" (Fired from Ruger LCP)
Penetration in water - 24 inches (13.5 gel)
Expansion - 0.477 inches

Note: I was pleasantly surprised at both the penetration and expansion of this round from such a short barrel. This setup is my "throw in the pocket to run to the Quick-E-Mart" ccw.


380 - Winchester White Box 95 grain FMJ Flat Nose (fired from LCP)
Penetration in water - Complete pass through over 48 inches

Note: I chose this round because I've read a lot of people recommend it in order to get adequate penetration from the 380. I figured it would go pretty deep but am surprised at just how deeply it penetrated. In my opinion, this particular round would present too much of an overpenetration risk for me to carry it.


38 Special - Remington Match Target 148 grain Full Wadcutter (fired from Ruger LCR)
Penetration in water - 42 inches (23 gel)
Expansion - 0.367 in

Note: I chose this round because it has a history of being used as a defensive load for snub nose revolvers. Since expansion of hollow points from a snub nose is often pretty iffy, many have chosen to carry this round since the wadcutter is sort of "pre expanded" and in theory will cut a nice clean hole through tissue as well as penetrate deeply. The recoil with this round was very mild so I didn't expect very deep penetration. I was again surprised just how deeply it went (along with some minor expansion). Certainly some risk of overpenetration but perhaps not a bad choice in the 38 snub especially for those with sensitivity to recoil.

22 Long Rifle - CCI MiniMag 40 grain Solid (fired from Ruger SR22 pistol)
Penetration in water - 30 inches (16.5 gel)
Expansion - 0.221 inches

Note: The long debated subject of "is 22lr adequate for self defense". Well, this round certainly had adequate penetration from a short barrel pistol. Of course, no expansion but being able to put several of these quickly and accurately into an assailant could certainly tip the scales in your favor. I've always been one to assert that the 22 is a viable option for self defense in some situations. It may not be the best option for me or you but it might be for someone else. I have to admit I was impressed.

---
Well, I don't know if any of this info is new or particularly helpful but it certainly was a fun way to spend a sunny afternoon. I may test some other loads and post them here as well as time permits. Debate/comment away and as always, enjoy our sport and be safe.

bigfatdave said:

marb4 - thanks for sharing.

In addition to the data collected, I'd be curious about the box construction.
I've considered doing something similar, but it would have to be lightweight and portable, for use at the club outdoor range. (so it would have to fit into a trunk and carry easily 100 yards in a couple trips ... the only good thing is a ready source of water at that range)

Can you post pictures of your box? Anything you learned from constructing it? Did you have trouble with bullets going out the sides, or did they go straight through the bags?

Click to expand...

The box I built was really nothing special. The sides and bottom were made from 1/2 in plywood held together with some screws and 2X4s (stuff I had laying around the garage). The interior channel dimensions are 7in wide X 48 in long X 12 in high. This width held the gallon freezer bags snugly but not too tight. The box itself is very light but doesn't have legs. I just set it on some concrete blocks.

I didn't have any trouble with bullets exiting the sides. They all pretty much went straight down the middle.

Had a chance to test another round this weekend using my Fackler box with two layers of t-shirt material.

38 Special - Hornady 158 grain XTP (standard pressure) (fired from Ruger LCR at 10 feet)
Penetration in water - 36 inches (20in gel)
Expansion - 0.438 in

Notes: This round got deep penetration but iffy "expansion". As you can see, the lead core did not expand at all. The "expansion" came from the copper jacket peeling back. Though this is a sample size of only 1, the result I got would make me hesitant to carry this round in a snub nose as it doesn't seem to get enough velocity from the short barrel to get reliable consistent expansion.

38 Special - Buffalo Bore 158 grain Soft Lead Semi Wadcutter Hollow Point (standard pressure) - fired from Ruger LCR at 10' through 2 layers of t-shirt material

Penetration in water - 22 inches (12.2 gel)
Expansion - 0.710 inches

Notes: This non +p version of the FBI load showed impressive expansion and adequate penetration from the snub nose. Though this is rated at standard pressure it did seem to have more felt recoil and 'pop' than other standard pressure rounds I've fire through this revolver. This ammo is expensive but seems to get the job done quite nicely from a short barrel.

45 ACP - Federal HST 230 grain standard pressure. Fired from Glock 36 at 10 feet through 2 layers of t-shirt material.

Penetration - 25 inches water (14 inches gel)

Expansion - 0.94 inches

Conclusion - All I can say is wow. I recently picked up a Glock 36 (my first 45) and I think I might be in love. The photos below really don't do this slug justice. The ends of the petals are nearly razor sharp. The thing just looks nasty. Incredible expansion along with near perfect penetration might just turn me into a 45 guy!







p.s. The recoil of this round is very manageable from the small Glock 36.

380 ACP - Lehigh Defense 85 grain Xtreme Penetrator (XP)Solid Copper - Fired from Ruger LCP at 10 feet through 2 layers of t-shirt material

Penetration - 46 inches water (25 gel)

Expansion - 0

Note - I first became aware of this unique round after watching shootingthebull410's excellent testing through actual ballistic gel.
Watch here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LczfeWK9lHw

This round was very impressive in the above video and I was hoping to see similar results in my somewhat more primitive test. The bullet penetrated more that I had hoped and in fact didn't stop that much shorter that the Winchester white box fmj flat nose I tested earlier. I'm anxious to see some other tests in actual gel. Its an interesting concept and one I'll be keeping my eye on. FWIW - I've fired 50 rounds if this ammo through my LCP and despite the odd "X" shape of the bullet its fed and functioned flawlessly.