Unexpected armored target

[gunnutery]

This week I wanted to function test my Beretta 92FS. I'd just replaced the hammer spring for a lighter version. We'd retired some old non-stick pots and pans that the cancer causing lining was flaking off, so I grabbed one, set it about 10-15 yards out.

I shot it three times with American Eagle 9mm 124gr FMJs and only one round sort of penetrated but only because it was on the very edge. I was quite surprised. The next day I decided to try my Glock 22 on it. I don't know exactly which brand of ammo it was since it's just been sitting round for a while, I'm sure it was 180gr though, in FMJ flat nose. I got it once with the .40 S&W. It didn't penetrate either!

The next day I was determined to figure out how much this thing would stand. The only problem was that .357 mag was the most powerful I could go. It ended up not being a problem though, as it lived up to my expectations. My 158gr American Eagle (hotter load) LN punched clean through.

Well, I was still pleasantly surprised at the durability of this pot. Who'd have thought it was up to NIJ Level IIA? Just thought I'd share in my fun and I suppose in a pinch, strap a pot to your chest when the SHTF.
http://www.officerstore.com/images/nijspec2.htm

 

[rcmodel]

Was the pan free to try to move when the bullet hit it?

Or was is backed up against a solid object so it had to stay there and take it?

rc

 

[gunnutery]

The first time (with the 9mm) I had an ice block behind it and holding it up. I was hoping to either catch the bullet in the ice or at least slow the bullet down.

My son went outside to play later that day and stole the ice block So for the .40 and .357 the pot was backed with a tire.

 

[chris in va]

Ah, those are stainless steel pans, not aluminum. Of course they stopped a handgun bullet.

Look closer at pic #1.

Also notice the bottom is much thicker than the sides.

 

[usp9]

18/10 stainless. Lot's of nickle. Tougher than I'd have thought. Interesting post. Thanks.

 

[hatchetbearer]

I wonder if you double some of that up, and inside a plate carrier, how heavy it would be. better than nothing if anything.

 

[tipoc]

Where's Tony Stark when ya need him?

tipoc

 

[LiveLife]

Ah, those are stainless steel pans, not aluminum. Of course they stopped a handgun bullet.

Also notice the bottom is much thicker than the sides.

Actually, that's an ONEIDA brand pot (btw, good brand) - The bottom of the pan has a thick aluminum disk sandwiched between two layers of 18/10 stainless steel.

 

[Shadow 7D]

The bottom of the pan has a thick aluminum disk sandwiched between two layers of 18/10 stainless steel.

It's laminated layers of dissimilar metals, to evenly distribute heat... The bottom steel is to protect the AL (cheaper) or CU (more expensive) layered and rayed sandwich (rayed to transmit more heat to the outside actually) Some of the more expensive ones actually use a less conductive or insulation coat to prevent the center from overheating before the edges warm up...

Next go shoot one of those 1"by 1" matted tile mats, mastic'd to hardboard....

 

[Bobson]

Never expected to learn about cookware and range results in the same thread. Thanks for this, gunnutery.

 

[gunnutery]

I wonder if you double some of that up, and inside a plate carrier, how heavy it would be. better than nothing if anything.

it actually wouldn't be that heavy. Maybe a pound or two per plate if you cut off the sides of the pot.

 

[wbwanzer]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

[U-235]

Wow! Interesting! Even for a steel pan I would have expected the 9mm to punch right through!

This made me go take a look at some of our pots and pans. Some of the higher quality ones have very thick bottoms, the purpose of which is to prevent hot spots by providing a lot of material for heat transfer.

The Egyptian's in the Tahrir square demonstrations wearing pots and pans on their heads as makeshift helmets were onto something!

 

[Stress_Test]

357 Magnum for the win!

Nice GP100 by the way. I've got a 6-incher in stainless that was my first centerfire gun.

 

[gunnutery]

Thanks Stresstest. It was my first revolver and it's been a blast (pun intended).

I was halfway hoping the pot would stop the .357 so that I could go asking to borrow a .44mag.

 

[Clark]

When I was a kid it was customary to put a pan on the head as a helmet when playing soldier.

In those days putting a lamp shade on the head made an adult the life of the party.

We need to get back to our roots.

 

[coolluke01]

I shot a cast iron skillet this last summer with the 9mm and .357. Cast iron is very hard but also brittle. Both went right through. The .357 broke out larger pieces.
The skillet was nailed to a tree so couldn't swing.
I was surprised the 9mm punched through as easily as it did.

Interesting report. Thanks. But I think my wife would kill me if I used her expensive pans as body armor.

 

[joeschmoe]

Next time don't buy non-stick. Those pans could have lasted a lifetime if the non-stick wasn't flaking off.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Well you learn something new every day.

 

[Rock185]

gunnutery, Fun stuff, thanks for posting. I'm not surprised at the performance of either caliber, especially the Federal 124 9MM. The Federal American Eagle 124 grain ball is some of the lightest loaded of any factory 9MM I can recall chronographing. It only ran 1075 FPS/316 FPE from my S&W 952 with 5" barrel. The American Eagle .357 158 grain is in another class altogether. It averaged 1382 FPS/670 FPE from my Ruger with 5.5" barrel. Gotta wonder if something like the Winchester 124 grain NATO ball at a chronographed ~1200 FPS ( faster in some guns) might perform a little better in the frying pan test...

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Sweet!

I found an old, empty beer keg in the field next to an outdoor range once. It was aluminum and I thought I'd have fun poking holes in it.

I don't remember what rounds I was shooting in my .45 at the time, because if I remember correctly I had various kinds given to me that I was shooting up just to get rid of it. My typical for my Colt 1991A1 is WWB 230gr FMJ. Whatever it was I was shooting would dent the bejeebers out of the keg and only occasionally penetrate from a distance of 5 or 6 feet.

My Beretta 92FS, shooting WWB 115gr FMJ, consistently punched holes through it, though.

Shooting things is fun...and revealing!

Now I gotta go find me some old cookware at a garage sale. Somehow, I don't think my wife would be very understanding if I took hers out to the range...

 

[twofifty]

Tell your wife she needs a new colander.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Tell your wife she needs a new colander.

Not a good plan...her response will likely involve extensive time for me on the couch through the next several nights...

 

[JoePfeiffer]

This reminds me taking a bunch of computer monitors out to the range several years ago -- neither birdshot nor a .22 would go through the glass in the front of the monitors. 9mm would make it through, but that was about it (I don't remember anybody having anything bigger than a 9mm to try that day).

After seeing people in TV shows kick TV sets in showers of sparky implosion, it was pretty anticlimactic.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

After seeing people in TV shows kick TV sets in showers of sparky implosion, it was pretty anticlimactic.

It might very well be sparky when plugged in, though. The CRT (Cathode Ray Tube: Picture Tube) requires several thousand volts of high voltage to be applied to the tube via the high voltage rectifier. The larger the tube, the higher the voltage. Color TV's, if I remember correctly, have higher voltage requirements than black and white.

Large color CRT TVs may produce upwards of 50,000 volts, all applied to the CRT. Yep, that's fifty THOUSAND volts.

Maybe next time you can bring an extension cord to the range...