Bullet test in the real world. What not to do.

[MightyThor]

My brother in law decided to tear down his house. It was built in the early 20's and had been remodeled in the 70's. Had a bunch of cast 45 cal hollow points. 220 grain and I have always wondered.... So in the process of removing the old oak flooring I took some time to try a test. With my Glock I stood at the far end of one bedroom and fired shots into the wall next to the door. On the other side of the wall was the living room and 20 feet later the other living room wall. The first side of the wall is lathe and plaster, second side is lathe plaster and a layer of 1/2 sheetrock. Opposite wall of the living room is sheetrock and insulation then wood siding into a garage with no finish on the wall.

Results: 10 shots penetrated the first wall in a nice tight pattern. 9 shots came out the living room wall. one bullet clipped a stud and left a bulge in the living room wall. The exit hole was the size of a softball. On the other end of the living room the bullets were scattered across the wall more than 6 feet apart. 7 holes in the wall and 1 in ceiling. Two marks on the floor and one bullet not accounted for. The bullets in the far wall all penetrated the sheetrock but did not pass through to the garage. Recovered 7 bullets total and none expanded. The hollow points were filled with wall material packed solid and hard to dig out with my knife.

So, When engaged in a gunfight, a wall is not much protection. Don't stand off to one side of the door and have a false sense of safety. When shooting in the home environment, your loved ones in another room are at serious risk if you are firing toward a common wall.

Also fired rounds into the ceiling. on the second floor the bullets passed through the pine sub-floor and lifted the oak floorboards but did not pass through. shooting down through the floor bullets passed through the floor, out of the ceiling and were found on the basement floor. None of the bullets expanded, all filled with wood and debris.

Sure glad the Brother-in-law didn't change his mid, would have had a lot of repair to do.

[HangFireW8]

Interesting real-world test, thanks!

For those considering a much-touted alternative, bird shot, even out of an IC choke will easily go through two layers of drywall, and some may get through a stud as well; at room distances it is still a loosely associated single mass.

As such, it is more effective than usually given credit for, and more dangerous as well.

[runfiverun]

well i might as well tack some on.
a 30-30 with a 311041 at 1800 fps will go through a 2x6, 2 sheets of drywall nick out a corner of a real 2x4, and move an oak coffee table 9"s before embedding in the 3" leg deep enough to not be seen.

a 30-06 150 gr jaxketed hunting round will penetrate through 2" oak flooring then make it through 2" of pine on an angle and shatter on a cement floor.

a 7.62x39 round will make it through a cinder block at 50 yds, a 5.56 round will not.

[btroj]

Run, there is a story in that oak coffee tale isn't there?

Tell us more, please. Inquiring minds want to know

[BadDaditood]

Run, there is a story in that oak coffee tale isn't there?

Tell us more, please. Inquiring minds want to know

Hmmmm the details of the 30-30 piqued my interest too.... care to elaborate?

[popper]

Standard hollow point test. Fills with dry wall every time. FP just makes a hole. Same results with jacketed HPs. Personal opinion is that soft, slow & heavy is best SD.

[trixter]

So is the hollow point any more effective than the solid point boolit? In other words where and when does it expand into the mushroom shape all the bullet manufacturers show pictures of? I mean if it doesn't distort, or mushroom going through solid stuff, what makes us think it will do so going through flesh?

[btroj]

Flesh is different, it contains water. Fluid in the HP makes it expand.

Want to see the difference water makes? Try shooting a stack of wet and dry newspapers. The wet will give nice expansion and classic mushroom shapes. The dry will tear a bullet apart.

[runfiverun]

yep they test high water content stuff with hollow points.
since humans are 70% water.
they forget to take into account that skin acts like 4"s of muscle tissue and opens the hollow point quickly causing penetration to suffer.

i'll pass on the 30-30 story.
I have seen a bunch of other in home penetration tests performed over the years.
that one just stands out because it was a cast load quite similar to one I have used in the past.

[Catshooter]

runfive,

The coffee table story made me laugh out loud, thanks I needed it.

To the OP: thanks that's interesting info.

I can add that if you flip off the safety on your 1911 and it breaks off at the pin it will fire the pistol. Done in the confines of your girl friends parents' bathroom it is quite loud & somewhat startling. Aimed at the drywall at an angle the 200 grain H&G 68 at over a thousand feet per second will penetrate completely out of sight but won't exit.

Not that such a thing would ever happen . . .


Cat

[Area Man]

I am a buyer for a window manufacturer. Our shop floor has hundreds of thousands of square feet of glass. I would be the happiest man alive if I could real world test about a thousand rounds of 5.56 in my AR

[runfiverun]

shudder.
I worked as a glass cutter/ temperer years ago, just imagining the sound of glass breaking still scares me.