Homemade ballistic gelatin testing

[chopinbloc]

I'd like to note again that food grade gelatin is NOT the same thing, though I personally think it can yield results that are reasonably close for the layman. If you want to do it right, buy 250A bloom gelatin from Vyse and follow the instructions on their site.

 

[sawdeanz]

Thanks for the info and the work, interested in your channel.

How come you think the 10mm rounds didn't always pass the 12' FBI standard? I guess I assumed that it would simply over penetrate, but the fact that they didn't seems to indicate that the hollowpoints are doing exactly what they are meant to do.

 

[chopinbloc]

Just had a chance to read your links, Shawn. Thanks much.

 

[chopinbloc]

Sawdeanz, as I understand it, JHPs generally tend to penetrate LESS at higher velocity. Most 10mm bullets are designed for .40 S&W velocities so pushing them faster causes earlier and more aggressive expansion, slowing the bullet earlier. Maybe someone else has a better answer.

 

[coloradokevin]

Impressive testing Chopinbloc.
From these results, it appears that the Remington Golden Sabers and the Speer Gold Dots do a better job at mushrooming and they have more "cutting edges" than the Hornady XTPs.

I attended a wound ballistics workshop put on by ATK at my department a couple of years ago. Our best overall performers that day were Speer Gold Dots and Federal HST rounds. We also tested a few other common duty loads, though I don't think we tested the Hornady loads.

One thing to keep in mind is that bullet performance can change dramatically once the bullet has to penetrate an intermediate barrier (light clothing, heavy clothing, wall board, windshield glass, etc). So, careful selection may be required if your application may involve shots through these kinds of barriers.

 

[Skribs]

Sawdeanz, as I understand it, JHPs generally tend to penetrate LESS at higher velocity. Most 10mm bullets are designed for .40 S&W velocities so pushing them faster causes earlier and more aggressive expansion, slowing the bullet earlier. Maybe someone else has a better answer.

This pretty much covers it. I liken it to pushing your hand through water vs. slapping your hand on the water, especially because both the body and gelatin are largely water. Interestingly enough, if your target is underwater, low-velocity pistol rounds are the most likely to cause harm - rifle rounds fragment on impact and do barely anything (as tested by Mythbusters).

Generally speaking, after passing through a barrier, the bullet will expand less. So something that only penetrates 10" on bare gel may actually penetrate 14" or so with 4 layers of denim, but expand 0.1-0.2" less.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

So something that only penetrates 10" on bare gel may actually penetrate 14" or so with 4 layers of denim, but expand 0.1-0.2" less.

A well designed bullet will show little difference in penetration depth between bare gelatin and gelatin covered by four layers of heavy denim cloth. The closer the two penetration depths are to one another the better the bullet. Actual penetration and expansion performance in the human body, when no barriers are encountered, generally falls between these two extremes.

 

[chopinbloc]

I have seen a marked difference in penetration in water between denim vs. no denim. Water is not gelatin, though.

 

[chopinbloc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2JXFIRVPbc


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5KYnxDsEII

 

[481]

I have seen a marked difference in penetration in water between denim vs. no denim. Water is not gelatin, though.

Water behaves differently because it does not support a shear force and as a result the bullet goes further. It still produces the same forces on the bullet that cause it to expand which make it a good soft tissue simulant and there are bullet penetration models that can be used to "convert" the penetration distance if one is interested in doing so.

 

[chopinbloc]

More 10mm and some .223 through wallboard:

Precision One 180gr JHP


Corbon 150 gr JHP


.223 through gelatin and wallboard




I also tested 200 gr HAP over 8.3 gr of 800-X at 1,153 fps but I didn't get any video of it. Here are the numbers and pics, though:

Penetration: 19.4"
Weight retention: 198.1 gr
Max expansion: 0.623"
Min expansion: 0.442"