Ballistic gelatin test results : 12 gauge FBI test #3 (car door)

[Brass Fetcher]

Firearm was 12 gauge pump with cylinder bore and 20" barrel length.

Cartridge was Winchester Double X Magnum, 3.0" magnum copper plated 000 buckshot. Velocity at impact was not recorded due to chrono error ('350 ft/sec' was the reading on the screen). Let me assure you, going by the recoil of the gun, the velocity was right about where it should be.

The block was placed 18" behind a 'car door', composed of two sheets of 12"x12" 20 gauge galvanized sheet steel, offset at a distance of 3.5" from each other. Two pieces of 12 ounce denim fabric was draped over the face of the block, simulating light clothing.

Single shot fired at 10' distance from muzzle to the face of the first piece of sheet steel.

Block calibrated at 583 ft/sec and 10.0cm penetration.

Deepest penetrating pellet went 13.1", shallowest went 3.7". Average pellet penetration was 9.6"

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Nice test and photos. The problem I always encountered was when going from a "simulated" door to using an actual door. The cross members and other stuff tended to get in the way, and changed the results. There was a bigger difference when the window was rolled down too. Never had the chance to test 000 buck, only 00 buck, and that was before the better grouped "tactical" loads were developed.

LD

 

[Biker]

Once again JE223, thanks for the info. Have you done any testing with reduced recoil slugs?
On topic, 13" of 000 buck penetration oughta do the trick. That's .36 caliber, ain't it?

Biker

 

[Brass Fetcher]

Right, the windows and door beams would likely make a big difference IMO. I see this particular test event as one of the 'worst of the worst case' scenarios.

IE, wallboard is a realistic barrier and is much easier to penetrate. Having to use a shotgun against a 'hard' target like a car door seems to me to be a last choice on the list sort of thing. But then again, isn't shooting through most any barrier? What looks like heavy winter clothing and BG, could in fact be heavy winter clothing, a III-A vest and BG behind it. The shot is much more certain not to encounter such unforseen barriers if the person is shot where there is no clothing (or car door or a wall in-between etc).

Biker, thanks again for the complement. I have tested one of the Federal tactical slugs (reduced recoil) and that's on my website. Here's a cool thing about the pellets - they all flattened out when they hit the first sheet steel panel.

The one in my hand measures 0.240" across the narrow part and 0.480" across the wider part, if that makes any sense... But what it looked like the pellets did was turn such that the hole pushed through the block was an oval of 0.240" height and 0.480" width. The area of this pellet (most looked just like it) was 0.091 square inches. Which is equal to about a 0.34" diameter shot pellet.

 

[Brass Fetcher]

Not sure if people are confusing this test with an earlier 'car door' test ...?

I just got an email regarding the difference between this test and the previous 'car door' test. The pellets are larger in diameter and heavier ... 000 buckshot. Basically, I wanted to find an FBI compliant shotgun load that could pass FBI test #3.