Magical Beretta...

[spin180]

...so asked a poster in the Beretta Club forum at GlockTalk, link - Magical Beretta.

It seems that when Aguila HyperVelocity .22LR rounds are fired from a Beretta 21, larger .36/.38 caliber holes are created in the target rather that a .22 caliber hole. The original poster, a couple of other posters, and I had all experienced this, but there's some naysayers who voiced strong disbelief.

So I took it upon myself to offer videographic & photographic evidence on the thread.

I think it's a pretty cool phenomenon and figured the folks here would be interested in it also.

Here's the bulk of my post from GT along with the video link and the photos...

I used my little P&S digi-cam to record a video of me shooting the Beretta 21 with the Aguila ammunition. I started the video at the target and recorded as I walked back to the firing line, loaded the gun, fired the rounds and finally walked back to the target; in an effort to have a continuous video and minimize any scrutiny.

Please spare me any comments on accuracy, form, fashion, etc. I was shooting one-handed and holding the camera at the same time... yes, I forgot my tripod, go figure. ;Q

Anyway, the video isn't great quality, especially after converting and compressing it, but you should be able to get the gist of things. I've also included some still photos of the target below.

The video: http://media.putfile.com/Beretta21
BTW, that's the best I can do for hosting the video, for now. It seems to work okay, but a few of the times I tested it, it was a bit slow. If anyone can suggest something better, that is free, or wants to host it themselves, please let me know.

The pictures:

I placed a sheet of paper behind the target to better contrast the holes.




This is the cardboard backing I used. The holes made by the Beretta are circled. The other holes are from my Kel-Tec P3AT (.380 - CCI Blazer FMJ), for comparison.

Like I said, cool, huh?

Please share your comments and opinions on the hows, whys, whats, and so on.

 

[RyanM]

Really weird! I noticed that the pistol "torqued" clockwise a little as you fired. That could be caused by the bullet getting spun by the rifling (every action has an equal but opposite reaction, after all), if it's left hand. Maybe you should e-mail Beretta and ask about the twist rate.

 

[Hawken50]

that video is obviously a fake. as anybody whose seen a movie knows, after 3 shots that target should have burst into flames.

seriously though, is the bullet mushrooming in flight or something?

 

[Jim Watson]

Well, Elmer Keith said he did not like .357 Magnums with barrels shorter than 4 inches (like the 3.5" M27 popular with FBI at the time) because muzzle blast would spread the bases of the soft swaged factory bullets. That is the only thing I can think of here.

 

[spin180]

Ryan,

The gun has a right hand twist, 1 turn in 14 inches.


Jim,

I've thought about that myself. Could the blast be expanding the base, so uniformly, and not affecting the stability of that light 30gr. bullet?

Forgot to mention... Aguila advertises a muzzle velocity of 1730 FPS and as I just stated, it is a 30gr. round.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Really weird! I noticed that the pistol "torqued" clockwise a little as you fired. That could be caused by the bullet getting spun by the rifling (every action has an equal but opposite reaction, after all), if it's left hand. Maybe you should e-mail Beretta and ask about the twist rate.

Any pistol fired in the right hand will twist clockwise, regardless of rifling direction. It is the natural movement of the wrist. The opposite is true for southpaws. There simply is not enough mass being put into rotation for any discernable effect, not even with the big fifties. Figure this: the average weight of a fullsize .45 caliber autoloader is about 45 ounces. The most common bullet weight is 230 grains. The gun-to-bullet weight ratio is 1:86. Average bullet RPM for a .45 ACP 230 gr. is ~ 560 RPM. That is a flea-size amount of torque to begin with, and the leverage offered by a 5" long grip to counter any moment of inertia imparted by a spinning bullet is substantial.

I'll let someone with a better physics book calculate the actual torque and horspower generated by a bullet's rotational movement. Suffice it to say it isn't very much.

 

[Moonclip]

I think I remember this happening to me too. When it first happened, I was upset because I thought the guy in the lane next to me was shooting my target with a 9mm!

 

[c_yeager]

High velocity rounds punch bigger, cleaner holes in paper than low velocity rounds. A fast moving .22 bullet will leave what appears to be a bigger hole that a slow moving .380 It really means nothing other than the fact that faster bullets are better for cutting holes in paper than slower bullets.

 

[berettashotgun]

I'm all over this

Off to get some ammo and try this after work. Have plenty to try this with-

 

[berettashotgun]

Didn't get to go-maybe sat or sunday. Dove hunting both days