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Ballistics of a bullet

1K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  sharps4590 
#1 ·
I reloaded some .223 ammo for my son.

Is there a way besides ballistic gel to check penetration and expansion on a bullet?

I looked at making my own but don't think it is for me.
FBI stuff is too expensive.

How do you guys check your bullets.

Thank you,
Dale
 
#2 ·
I've heard soaking newspaper (I would guess using lots of it would be a requirement) would work, but I haven't tried it myself. Another option that a lot of people use is to line up milk jugs full of water and shoot through them. You would get a rough idea of how deeply it could penetrate, and would expand. However, as with ballistic gelatin, its a more perfect scenario than you would find shooting an animal or other target, so worldly results may well vary.
 
#5 ·
Never, in 59 years of reloading, have I worried about it. Anything I load, as well as anyone else, is going to penetrate sufficiently for the purpose for which the bullet was cast or swaged for, providing sufficient propulsion.
 
#6 ·
Max Prasec does an annual kill of a big animal and does expansion/penetration testing on the carcass. This is about as real results as you might ever find. Also, I get greatly entertained by Paul Harrel's "meat target" tests. :D

Same for me, except for the 59 years part. ;)
Never, in 59 years of reloading, have I worried about it.
 
#9 ·
Many years ago I shot bullet's into dry newspaper. I found what I think I wanted to know and all the bullet's except one brand performed great. Nice mushrooms and one, Hornady spire point's, had the jacket loose from the core but did not separate. Another, Speer Hot Core. retained the same weight as the Hornady, 85%, and the jacket and core were tight. Probably no target you can use and know that's whats gonna happen on an animal but ya got what ya got. I started using Hornady 75gr V-Max in a 243 for varmint's and at 200yds the bullet came completely apart shooting through a paper target and 2" foam backer. Jacket metal all over the ground behind the target. The oldHornady 22 cal SX bullet's did the same thing.
 
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