Can milk jugs stop a bullet?

[chopinbloc]

So I cut up a bunch of milk jugs and melted them together in the oven. The resulting slab is about 1 1/4" thick. Can it stop a bullet?




https://youtu.be/-xhCxRLJGnU






ETA: so I didn't change anything, but tinypic started serving someone else's image for that second pic. Weird.

 

[lysanderxiii]

Put enough of them together, it will stop a 16" AP round.

It would take a few though....

 

[BSA1]

Sitting water filled jugs in a row is more dramatic when shooting them and heck of a lot more fun.

 

[Reloadron]

HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene)

HDPE plastic is the stiff plastic used to make milk jugs, detergent and oil bottles, toys, and some plastic bags. HDPE is the most commonly recycled plastic and is considered one of the safest forms of plastic. It is a relatively simple and cost-effective process to recycle HDPE plastic for secondary use.

HDPE plastic is very hard-wearing and does not break down under exposure to sunlight or extremes of heating or freezing. For this reason, HDPE is used to make picnic tables, plastic lumber, waste bins, park benches, bed liners for trucks and other products which require durability and weather-resistance.
Products made of HDPE are reusable and recyclable.

Tough stuff, I have to wonder if reheating the stuff caused it to become brittle?

Ron

 

[JohnBT]

Can they? Certainly. Freeze the water in them first. Or the milk.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

Misleading question. I frequently shoot water filled milk jugs and rarely does the bullet not continue through the rear. If you make enough layers of feathers they will eventually stop any bullet.....

 

[chopinbloc]

I have to wonder if reheating the stuff caused it to become brittle?

No. At least, not within a normal temperature range.

 

[Reloadron]

Thanks, it was a curiosity thing.

I didn't expect the 357 to pass through, especially after where the 38 Special stopped. I would have figured we would get to maybe a 7.62 x 39 or other rifle round with some velocity behind it.

Ron

 

[bfoosh006]

Fill some milk jugs with sawdust... then water freeze them.

Then shoot them... even tougher then Ice....It is called Pykrete.

It was proposed it as a candidate material for a huge, unsinkable aircraft carrier for the British Royal Navy during WWII.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete

Just sayin'....

 

[strambo]

There are ultra high density plastic level III plates on the market. They weigh less than half of steel. Also a bit spendy, but priced reasonably for what you are getting ($619/pair).

http://www.thetargetman.com/product/level-iii-uhmwpe-spartan-body-armor-formed-for-comfort/

I might call and see if they'll sell me a single, I'd like to set up a light plate carrier for my wife with level III front (mostly for trauma not rifle threat), and soft IIIA rear.

Edit: got the poll answer right

 

[chopinbloc]

Yeah, those plates actually float. UHMWPE isn't the sesame as HDPE, but they are both dense versions of polyethylene.

 

[Panzerschwein]

I won! Man the .357 magnum is one DEVASTATING round!

 

[captain awesome]

I am curious about other common rounds that fall between 38 special and 357 magnum, like 40 S&W, 9mm, 45 acp...

 

[chopinbloc]

I intend to test those soon.

 

[mnrivrat]

A milk jug by itself would not stop a 22 RF as there is only two thin layers of plastic as a barrier.

Most folks fill them with liguid and the liguid slows the bullet down more than the jug. And of course as mentioned if you stack enough jugs you could stop most bullets .

And if you fill a jug with sand, or other materials mentioned the contents is what slows the bullet.

I know - just my bla-bla-bla of meaningless answer to a unrefined question.

 

[Crawdad1]

That 357 Magnum round firing a 158 grain bullet at 1,180 ft/sec generates 488 ft/lbs of energy just think what this 357 Magnum would do to it, (Buffalo Bore) 125 grain bullet at 1,700 ft/sec generating 802 ft/lbs of energy!!!!

It would turn that slab of plastic back into a milk carton.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

I vote yes. As a matter of fact my late wife had two rather impressive milk jugs and one did indeed stop a bullet years before I met her. The fragments worked themselves out about 12 years later.

Mike

 

[anothernewb]

Not this is intended within the scope of the thread, but my first thought was; enough of any type of material will stop any bullet, no matter how fast or big.

 

[figment]

http://www.theboxotruth.com/
this site has been around while.

 

[jeepnik]

Sitting water filled jugs in a row is more dramatic when shooting them and heck of a lot more fun.

Want to mess with someone's head? Slip one that's been frozen into the #2 position.