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Old May 31, 2005, 05:59 PM   #1
TomNash
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Ballistic gelatin testing results - .22LR

Just got done testing 36 grain Federal 'Copper Plated Hollow Point' ammunition (the 550 round box from Wal-Mart) in calibrated ballistic gelatin.

Shot one - penetrated to 16" in the block and was found on the ground, 4' behind the block. Average frontal diameter for all .22lr rounds tested was 0.28".

Shot two - penetrated to 14 5/8" in the block.

Shot three - penetrated to 15 5/8" in the block.

Shot four - penetrated four layers of light denim fabric and 14" into the block.

Shot five - penetrated four layers of light denim fabric and 14 9/16" into the block.

Shot six - penetrated four layers of light denim fabric and 12 1/2" into the block.

I did these tests not because I think the .22LR is a 'kick-butt defensive round', but rather to assess the defensive capability of a .22LR rifle, in this case, a Ruger 10-22. The only '.22' that I think I would choose in advance to use, would be a .223!

Shots seven and eight are special. They were fired from a .32ACP handgun with a 2.75" barrel (Kel-Tec P32). Previous tests of this round with (to avoid a flame war, no names will be mentioned) 60gr hollowpoints and the 65gr Hydrashok were conducted with good expansion but penetration distances far less than the accepted limit in gelatin of 12". As such, I went to work handloading 'special' loads for the .32ACP, taking advantage of the fact that the P32 is a modern handgun of Browning design. Just to give a 'sneek peek' of my next tests... One of them meets FBI standards for penetration and expands to about 0.50" . And the recoil is lovely too...

The block calibrated at 9.3cm and 575 ft/sec impact velocity.

Best wishes... Tom
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Old May 31, 2005, 07:52 PM   #2
Glock19Fan
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Thanks for the test!

My results from testing this load from my Marlin 60 in soaked newspaper are identicle to yours. Not much expansion, but plenty penetration.

I look forward to doing some of my own ballistic gelatin testing sometime this summer, or whenever funds will allow me to.
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Old May 31, 2005, 09:20 PM   #3
Clone
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like to see the tests. keep'em comin.

wouldnt hurt to have more pics
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Old May 31, 2005, 09:30 PM   #4
esldude
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Glad to see the testing done like this. Also wonder what the copper plated or really copper washed 40 gr solid point federals would have done. Maybe more penetration with no expansion?

Another request would be some 22 Magnum testing.

Just babbling here. Thanks for putting up the results.
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Old May 31, 2005, 10:30 PM   #5
TomNash
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You're welcome. Thank you for the support. Glock19Fan - if I can help out with your gelatin project, please let me know (the whole process is easier than it might look ). Tom
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Old May 31, 2005, 11:32 PM   #6
chris in va
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Fascinating. I'm really suprised it'll do that. Maybe this should be a 'Box of Truth' test?
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Old June 1, 2005, 12:12 AM   #7
NINE
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Here are some federal's I fished out of some phone books taped together:



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Old June 1, 2005, 12:59 AM   #8
Crosshair
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If you really look at a 22 LR. It is very similar in balistics to a 9mm. About 1/4 the size at the same velocity. They only real downside to the 22lr is the small hole it makes. It does make up for the small hole with great penitration as well as almost nonexistant recoil. A well placed 22 beats a miss with a 9mm.
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Old June 1, 2005, 03:11 AM   #9
Sum1_Special
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so this is out of a .22 rifle?... hmmm...

i'd like to see the results out of a pistol. we all know what a .22 rifle can do. but not that much is known about the pocket pistols.

great test, BTW.

i'd also like to see different types of ammo, cci stingers, velocitors, aguila super maximum hollow points, remington yellow jackets, aguila 60 grain SSS subsonics... blah, blah, blah. sorry, i'm pushing it .
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Old June 1, 2005, 04:15 AM   #10
NINE
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The pic's I posted are out of a Ruger 22/45 5.5" barrel. They, on average, penatrated 2.5 dry "thick" phone books @ 15 yards.
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Old June 1, 2005, 10:43 AM   #11
Glock19Fan
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Tom- I pretty much have most of it covered. All I have to do is save up the money, which might take a while on a tight budget. I still need to purhcase gelatin ($125 for 25 pounds plus shipping), a chrony (around $100), a micrometer (around $40) and a scale (around $50).

Until then, wet phonebooks and water jugs are going to have to work for me.

BTW, I too would be interested in .22WMR results, especially from close range with a rifle. If you can.
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Old June 1, 2005, 01:18 PM   #12
TomNash
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G19 - Sounds like a good setup to me... Didn't read if you have the mold or not, but the FBI standard size is 16" long by 6" by 6" . I used stainless steel for mine and wound up paying $70. I would assume that aluminum would be good too, and much lighter/cheaper. If you are looking to test rifle bullets with more 'juice' than a .308win expanding bullet or a 20 guage, I would suggest having a larger mold fabricated to make a larger block. When the 16x6x6" block was shot by a 12 gauge, it cut the block into almost three pieces. Very dramatic, but not what is needed for any meaningful results. Good luck! Tom
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Old June 1, 2005, 04:15 PM   #13
Glock19Fan
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Hey Tom.

Where did you get your mold? I was thinking about using several Tupperware containers as molds, but would much rather have something similar to the 16x6x6 that most people use. Also, did you say you paid $70 for the mold, or for the gelatin?

I dont think I will be testing any rifle bullets except for maybe some .223, but mostly .22LR, .22WMR, 9mm, and .38 special.

Thanks again!
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Old June 1, 2005, 04:32 PM   #14
CarbineCaleb
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Here are some links to gelatin testing:

"Official" process and details:
http://www.firearmstactical.com/tact...2/article1.htm

Reference to Vyse gelatin, a cheaper/equivalent alternative to Kind & Knox:
http://www.firearmstactical.com/tact...umber2/toc.htm

A citizen gelatin tester's notes and results:
http://www.goldenloki.com/ammo/gel/tests.htm
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Old June 1, 2005, 10:42 PM   #15
TomNash
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The mold was made at a local sheet metal shop. I chose stainless (and apparently a high grade at that - no rust yet ! ) for two reasons : to get the guy to do it and also to support American manufacturing - since I saw the guy make it, I know that the money was going to the local economy and not a communist nation, even though the mold itself was $70 dollars.

There's probably nothing wrong with Tupperware, but I am a bit hesistant to place two blocks end-to-end, at least before 12" of penetration depth. I think that as a bullet approaches the back of the block, say a half inch before exiting, that the toughness of the block is reduced since the only material behind the back side of the block is air, which is of course much less dense than the gelatin. This might effect results, but I have never seen anything to support this.

Can I ask the motivation/usage for the .22WMR testing? That sounds very cool.

Tom



Hey Tom.

Where did you get your mold? I was thinking about using several Tupperware containers as molds, but would much rather have something similar to the 16x6x6 that most people use. Also, did you say you paid $70 for the mold, or for the gelatin?

I dont think I will be testing any rifle bullets except for maybe some .223, but mostly .22LR, .22WMR, 9mm, and .38 special.
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Old June 1, 2005, 11:20 PM   #16
Glock19Fan
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Hey Tom.

I will look into sheet metal molds. I have a friend with some equipment and will see if I can use any of it for a mold (all the experience I really have is what I learned in high school metals production).

Also, im interested in .22WMR, both from rifle and snubby barrels, becuase I am interested in using it as a hunting round for small-medium game (possibly up to a small whitetail). I also want to test it from shorter barrels just to see how it compares to other calibers as a self defense cartridge.

BTW do you know what guage the steel is for your mold?
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Old June 2, 2005, 12:30 AM   #17
3 weelin geezer
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Do you have any testing done with those 60 grain .22 monsters? I hear they just tumble out of the barrel because of insufficient spin.
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Old June 2, 2005, 07:43 AM   #18
CarbineCaleb
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Geez - if you mean the Aguila Subsonics, the 3rd link I posted included those in .22LR testing from a small autopistol. Although I have read claims they will penetrate a tank at 500 meters , they didn't seem to do anything special at all when tested, actually below average.
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Old June 2, 2005, 10:23 AM   #19
TomNash
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Hey G-19...

The mold that I have is 0.06" wall thickness. Once the gelatin has set up in the mold for 24 hours, I will take it out of mold and place it back in the refrigerator, sitting on top of the mold. With this wall thickness, it can support the ~25 lbf weight of the block without any bending of the mold, etc. So it seems tough enough . Tom
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