Somebody Must Know

G1R2 · November 7, 2012, 05:37 PM

How many one-gallon plastic milk jugs filled with water, lined up back to back, must a bullet penetrate in order to qualify it as sufficient penetration to incapacitate a bad guy when shot from a handgun 6 feet away?

The caliber is not the issue, the barrel is not the issue, revolver or auto, but the number of milk jugs. Is it 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5?

Someone Must Know

Dragline45 · November 7, 2012, 05:59 PM

Milk jugs are not a good determination of how effective a particular round is. The closest thing to human flesh is ballistic gelatin and even then it's still not perfect. FBI requires I think 15 inches in gelatin, I could be wrong someone else might want to chime in.

Also just want to point out just because a particular round can penetrate 15 inches in gelatin does not mean it is going to incapacitate someone, its all about where the person takes the shots. Likewise people have been incapacitated with .32acp which doesn't meet the FBI requirements. There are way too many factors to put into consideration than how far a round penetrates in milk jugs or ballistic gelatin.

G1R2 · November 7, 2012, 06:03 PM

How many water filled one gallon milk jugs lined up back to back equals 15" of human flesh?

Jim Watson · November 7, 2012, 06:15 PM

Plastic milk jugs are too inconsistent.

If you want to test penetration and expansion, the best thing is a Fackler Trough, a trough loaded with plastic baggies of water.
On the cheap, old fashioned square waxed cardboard milk cartons are better than plastic.

The conversion is 1.8" of water in bags or 1.5" in cartons = 1" gelatin.
http://www.frfrogspad.com/miscelln.htm#performance

So 15" of gelatin penetration would require 22-27" of water travel.

G1R2 · November 7, 2012, 06:23 PM

I think your surname would measure up to Sherlock Holmes's expectations.

With your help, it looks like 4 jugs would be in the ball park.

Anybody else done some detective work on this?

g.willikers · November 7, 2012, 07:11 PM

Check the dualist1954 youtube channel.
He does water jug tests on many of his videos.
So do the guys at the box o' truth - http://www.theboxotruth.com/

November 7, 2012, 05:37 PM	#1
G1R2 Member Join Date: December 20, 2011 Posts: 73	Somebody Must Know How many one-gallon plastic milk jugs filled with water, lined up back to back, must a bullet penetrate in order to qualify it as sufficient penetration to incapacitate a bad guy when shot from a handgun 6 feet away? The caliber is not the issue, the barrel is not the issue, revolver or auto, but the number of milk jugs. Is it 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5? Someone Must Know

November 7, 2012, 06:03 PM	#3
G1R2 Member Join Date: December 20, 2011 Posts: 73	Ahhhh, we're getting closer How many water filled one gallon milk jugs lined up back to back equals 15" of human flesh?

November 7, 2012, 06:23 PM	#5
G1R2 Member Join Date: December 20, 2011 Posts: 73	Good job Watson I think your surname would measure up to Sherlock Holmes's expectations. With your help, it looks like 4 jugs would be in the ball park. Anybody else done some detective work on this?

November 7, 2012, 07:11 PM	#6
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	Check the dualist1954 youtube channel. He does water jug tests on many of his videos. So do the guys at the box o' truth - http://www.theboxotruth.com/ __________________ Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez: “Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”

November 7, 2012, 05:59 PM	#2
Dragline45 Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2010 Posts: 3,513	Milk jugs are not a good determination of how effective a particular round is. The closest thing to human flesh is ballistic gelatin and even then it's still not perfect. FBI requires I think 15 inches in gelatin, I could be wrong someone else might want to chime in. Also just want to point out just because a particular round can penetrate 15 inches in gelatin does not mean it is going to incapacitate someone, its all about where the person takes the shots. Likewise people have been incapacitated with .32acp which doesn't meet the FBI requirements. There are way too many factors to put into consideration than how far a round penetrates in milk jugs or ballistic gelatin.

November 7, 2012, 06:15 PM	#4
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,535	Plastic milk jugs are too inconsistent. If you want to test penetration and expansion, the best thing is a Fackler Trough, a trough loaded with plastic baggies of water. On the cheap, old fashioned square waxed cardboard milk cartons are better than plastic. The conversion is 1.8" of water in bags or 1.5" in cartons = 1" gelatin. http://www.frfrogspad.com/miscelln.htm#performance So 15" of gelatin penetration would require 22-27" of water travel.