What Do You Use to Test Bullet Expansion

[buckwheatpaul]

I am looking for a reasonably way to test bullet expansion....

I have use mud.....wet paper.....gallon jugs filled with water.....pine planks.....

I would like to find a good repeatable way to test bullet expansion....is there a reasonable alternative to gelatin that would simulate muscle and bone?

Feel free to put your 2 cents worth in....Thanks in Advance....Paul

[Old School Big Bore]

I've been through the gamut too, in decades of shooting. The medium I've learned the most from was no doubt gelatin, and I'm trying to get set up with molds to make gel blocks of worthwhile size, but in the meantime I've reverted to jugs. With just SWMBO & me, it takes a long time to build up enough jugs, but I discovered that juice jugs are a lot sturdier than milk/water jugs; it takes fewer of them to effect a stop since they don't explode.

[RED333]

Sand bank, I know it is not the same as gel or water, but it shows my boolits do not break apart.

[ofitg]

I've been thinking about some stuff called "Perma-Gel"..... it's kinda pricy, but unlike gelatin, Perma-Gel can be re-used indefinitely. Just heat it up and re-cast it.

[Bullshop]

Why not bread dough? 50 pounds of flour is pretty cheap. Put it up in big sausages made from truck or tractor inner tubes. Add bones to taste. The dough should act much like flesh and the inner tube like skin and the bone well like bones.

[Artful]

Looking for a reasonably way to test bullet expansion.... are you trying to just compare apples to apples or are you trying to simulate a body?
Animals and people show different from gelatin, that which penetrates from 12 to 14 inches of 10% gelatin, will typically penetrate on average about 9 to 10 inches if the hit is in the chest cavity. Though it is not extremely rare to see one go 4” deep or again, go completely through.

Why the difference? Could be that there is a lot of stuff in a human of varying consistency and resistance.
The point is that we use mediums because they are consistent, not because they will tell us exactly what will happen.
They give a rough idea and compare the characteristics of one bullet to another.

Pig Carcass comes to mind and you can eat the test bed
- Wet phone books/paper worked well for me back in the way back machine.
- least messy for just comparing was Water in multiple containers, insert board to simulate bone.
Ziploc baggies work well - see box o truth. It is a simple box designed to hold a column of water held in 1 gallon ziplock bags.
You shoot though this stack of bags and measure the deepest penetration.
Then divide that distance by 1.8 to obtain penetration in gelatin, which is claimed (with good reason) to replicate penetration in pig muscle.

Someone else put up another method...http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/triggernometry-home-bullet-penetration/


This test is simply to utilize 2 liter soda bottles. In order to do this, fill the bottle to the top and screw on the cap.
Lay the bottle on the side with the cap end toward the gun.
It would be just as well if you put something behind the bottle to catch the bullet
– he uses an old welcome mat from Wal-mart that is made of approximately 3/8th inch thick foam rubber, cut into 8” squares.
says this will normally not expand the bullet any further after penetrating the bottle – IF it penetrates the bottle!
– and allows you to examine the end results.
He shoots the bottle about 1” above the cap with the bullet path headed for the center of the bottom of the bottle.

It is worth noting that the bottom of a 2 liter bottle is somewhat thicker and harder than the rest of the bottle.
If your bullet makes it through this, it is probably a good sign.
He likes to put a bit of wood behind the bottle, before the rubber matting, to see if it really has any “steam” left to puncture or dislocate a vertebrae. He use 2 layers of wood that are about ¼” thick, each, not much resistance.
It is merely an indicator, since the bullets will often bounce off the bottom and end up in the middle of the ruptured jug.


some interesting thoughts about bullet performance
http://shootingthebull.net/blog/more-on-bullet-penetration-and-why-we-dont-use-bones-when-testing-ammo-in-gel/

[DCM]

I have used soaked wet newspaper as it is cheap, effective for tracking "wound channel"/temporarywound/tumbling etc. & repeatable, I think I will try Bullshops' method also.

Edit Artfuls link is worth the read too.

[Oreo]

I like the perma-gel (google: Clear Ballistics). Dough sounds good but it will not be consistent due to moisture content variation. Then there's spoilage to consider over time which means repeat purchasing.

[reed1911]

I used to mix gelatin for testing, I switched to agar-agar. Gelatin can be re-used but it will rot over time, agar-agar with some anti-bacterial acid mixed in will keep for a long time, I tend to re-melt it every few weeks anyhow so I'm not sure how long it will keep if left static. It is cheap and re-usable. Honestly, it really depends on how much you will be testing and what your aim is. If you may only do it a few times, just go with newspaper, it will give you a good enough comparison. If you want/need to be technical you will want something that is either in some fashion able to be calibrated or do all the testing in one session with enough medium to cover all the bases. It is REALLY hard to perfectly mimic flesh and bone, but it is really not relevant in most cases. A human is built different than a deer, which is different from a hog, which is different from a bird.... So you have to pretty well either use something that is similar but repeatable or make the medium match exactly what and where you intend to shoot. A head shot is much different than a lung/heart shot which is different from a 'Texas' shot (quartered at the rear into the heart), etc.. All in all it is fun, you will learn a lot, I enjoy showing folks the 90 degree exits when a bullet changes direction, sure opens the eyes why we insist no one be in front of the line while shooting is going on, even if they are 100 feet to the right or left of the shooter. Best method for testing the calibration is either an air rifle with a consistent velocity (ala' FBI protocol) or a 25ACP or 32ACP with a FMJ from a consistent gun. What you are looking for is to verify that the bullet enters X depth of penetration for each block or batch to verify that they are as close as possible to being the same.,

[bannor]

I shoot animals, since only flesh and blood tests matter any. the other stuff is just mental masturbation. Believe me, you need a lot more velocity to get expansion of a jhp when the bullet passes thru the lungs than you need to get the same expansion in jello. :-) Like 200 fps more for the .45 and 300 more for the .36 bore.

[GoodOlBoy]

I am with bannor on this one. I test my loads by shooting them into hogs and deer. If it works it works, if it don't it don't.

GoodOlBoy