To catch a bullet

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  • Moorvogi

    Firearm Advocate
    Dec 28, 2014
    855
    Background: Our homeschool COOP group has a teacher that wants to catch a bullet inside a ham.

    Requirement: They want to let the kids "dig" thru the ham and find the hopefully mushroomed bullet. A bullet pass-thru, is not acceptable.

    Setup: This.. is where I'm looking for help. I plan on using a low powered 45 ACP round. Lead cast. I'm thinking of wrapping the ham in something to slow the bullet down. Say some old jeans, and some fleece blankets. This would also simulate clothing and "winter" warm clothing.

    Has anyone done something like this w/ reasonable success in catching the bullet inside a target (not ballistic gel) as i dont have any of that. I might get some later, but i wont have it in time.
     

    Moorvogi

    Firearm Advocate
    Dec 28, 2014
    855
    Yes. Paul Harrell is actually what made me think of the "new and improved fleece backstop". haha i look forward to his videos every day. i haven't tracked/bookmarked any that he has that catches a bullet though. i'll check the links above later. I might be limited to lots of old bluejeans... ./sigh
     

    Moorvogi

    Firearm Advocate
    Dec 28, 2014
    855
    I'm also thinking of doing a "little .22LR" just.. to show that even small bullets can be lethal.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    I'm also thinking of doing a "little .22LR" just.. to show that even small bullets can be lethal.

    Do that with a minimag and two large hams and it’ll probably catch it. Most stuff is going to have 12-20” of penetration. A hollow point .32acp May be one of your best bets for catching it in a standard (large) ham without anything else to slow it. Something like Corbon mushrooms a lot and only goes about 10”
     

    parttimer

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 10, 2013
    1,321
    Calvert
    I have used a bucket full of sand to catch bullets. It stopped several handgun rounds and 7.63x39.
    It might not be as cool as digging through meat but it works
     

    Moorvogi

    Firearm Advocate
    Dec 28, 2014
    855
    i ended up using an old pair of motorcycle riding jeans that has a kevlar liner in them. It's no longer "full strength" but i think i got a few in there!
     

    Moorvogi

    Firearm Advocate
    Dec 28, 2014
    855
    Did you video it for their (our) benefit?

    Sure did. I figured in case there is NOT a bullet in there, i would show the damage/shock on video. The video is VERY raw atm because it was just me.. and i didn't publish it because i'm not removing the bullets. the kids are. I'm going to ask that they record the extraction process but.. it's a bunch of kids (8-12 or something) soo i'm not sure how well thats going to work out.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Just saw a video series called the Meat Target.

    Look it up on YouTube.

    The guy makes his own "torso" for testing. Leather for skin, pork meat for muscle, pork ribs for bone, watermelon for lung tissue, then repeat the ribs/meat on the back.

    A number of pistol rounds will not exit the back.
     

    fidelity

    piled higher and deeper
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 15, 2012
    22,400
    Frederick County
    Just saw a video series called the Meat Target.

    Look it up on YouTube.

    The guy makes his own "torso" for testing. Leather for skin, pork meat for muscle, pork ribs for bone, watermelon for lung tissue, then repeat the ribs/meat on the back.

    A number of pistol rounds will not exit the back.
    Lol, see posts #2-4 in this thread.

    Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Just saw a video series called the Meat Target.

    Look it up on YouTube.

    The guy makes his own "torso" for testing. Leather for skin, pork meat for muscle, pork ribs for bone, watermelon for lung tissue, then repeat the ribs/meat on the back.

    A number of pistol rounds will not exit the back.

    Oh yeah. That’s where the FBI standards for testing don’t match what you’ll see on a real person and also if you dig deeper what the FBI testing standards mean.

    Just that something that can penetrate 4 layers of denim and 12” in to properly calibrated gelatin will PROBABLY penetrate to the vitals on a person wearing heavy clothing.

    A bullet hits a bone and even if it doesn’t fragment, a rib provides pretty significant impediment compared to raw tissue. That’s also why for a lot of things, sure a 22lr might penetrate 12”, but it is much more likely to be deflected, fragmented or even stopped than a 9mm JHP that also penetrates 12”. Totally ignoring the wound cavity size differences.
     

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