Would you guys be so kind as to share your tricks of the trade with me. I mostly use telephone directories for my tests but they sort of run out too soon . This is what my medium consists of ...
One of the wifes rather thick womens mags ( I aint shooting up my mags )
After this I use about 5-10 Directories ( depending on calibre )Soaked in water
Followed by another thick magazine.

This works quite fine but only lasts so long . What do you guys use that is economical for waisting bullets on .

Regards
Rudie

[ 07-21-2002, 23:52: Message edited by: rudie ]

I use pine logs, usually 15-18" long. They are pretty stout, and provide some tough resistance. The only downfall is if the bullet hits a knot, it will rip even Partitions and Grand Slams to a mishapen chunk of copper and lead.

I use whitetail deer, mule deer and antelope.

You can shoot all day long into gel, clay, wet and dry books, pine logs, water traps, oiled sawdust and any other material, BUT a bullet will NOT react to anything the way it does on game.

Deer, moose, elk, bears, caribou, sheep and goats. Maybe a woodchuck or two. Kinda like ricciardelli.

I use my wifes backside. So far the "fried pork rinds" show the greatest expansion per grain consumed ratio.

Good one Tailgunner,

I have used 1/2 gallon paper cartons filled with water. It takes from six to nine cartons to stop most bullets. You will find a nicely expanded bullet.

Shooting game is what they are for but it's difficult to find most of them or to do a evaluation of the wound.

I have found some surprises like the X bullet that lost all it's petals when hitting water.

For the money Corelokts really expand to a very large diameter. They would be ideal for most tasks where very deep penetration or big bones were not involved.

Partitions are good expanders also but like Coreloks they loose a lot of weight when they hit at high velocity.

Sierras come apart at high impact velocity but they shoot so well at low cost and every falls down so I like them a lot.

Wild pigs: no closed season and no bag limit. And you cannot buy better meat at any store.

I use game. No amount of "test media" will compare to game, the real thing.

Also, the bullet manufacturers have tested the daylights out of their bullets in their labs.

Nothing I can do will make any difference.

Terry,

I feel that bullet testing has a very valid place. For example I shot a small buck in the ribs at about 20 yards while seated. The buck never saw me and was relaxed. The bullet placement was as good as I know how to do. The load was a 200 gr Hornady RN out of my .358 Win.

Now what do you think happened?

That little deer just ran off! I could not believe it. It was in open hardwoods and I watched as it stopped about 100 yds away and fell.

When I got home I got one of those Hornady bullets and filled it in half. I found that while they had extruded the lead all over the nose that the jacket had closed off the nose to a small hole!

Now you could say that you know that all Hornady RN bullets don't expand on whitetails but I didn't. So now I file bullets in half before I hunt game with them. I also shoot them into water filled cartons first.

Thats why the 165 gr .308 X bullets will never see the woods. The petals fall off! I could use 165 Corelokts in that rifle that are far more accurate, cost a third as much and don't foul the bore. And the Corelokts will expand to .700"!

Testing on media where the bullet can be examined is valid.

I would have to say I am on Don Martin 29 's side of the park . I do feel that the manufacturers do their part on testing the bullets .... BUT every bullets has been designed for a specific speed , at which they would perform best . I just want to see at which speed that is for a specific bullet . Try & shoot a Sierra BT at 3000 fps into a wetpack with some form of resistence in the medium ( as with the ribcage of an animal ). Good luck trying to look for jackets

Regards
Rudie

Duxseal: it is consistent and allows me to compare the performance of one bullet to another. It also is very dense and stops most common handgun bullets within several inches. The expansion chambers can be filled with casting-wax in order to preserve a tangible example of that bullet's performance.

Bear in mind, Duxseal is not flesh nor is it claimed to be.

I use an old box of dead files. Being in the insurance and Real Estate business, I have access to several boxs per year. I wet the files, then place a couple of plastic covered notebooks and a large Buffalo bone amongst the files. My brother-in-law raises Buffalo, this is my source of bones. I fire into the end of the box and measure the distance penetrated and damage to the bullet. Results are Barnes X and XLC and North Fork are the toughest, next down Swift A-Frame, then Nosler Partition gold, then Nosler Partition, then Kodiak. The North Fork bullet is also soft enough on the front bonded core lead end to open up at close distances. All the standard bullets will pulvarize into nothingness under enough speed, as did the Kodiak bonded core. I have not tested bullet not mentioned, therefore will not comment on them. Good shooting.

[ 07-25-2002, 17:09: Message edited by: phurley ]

The "best" bullet box that I have read about was the one maintained by Bob Hagel. I think Harald has such a box now. Being consistant with the media and what the bullet hit's each time is scientific.

As Hurley says a X bullet that does not fly apart is really tough looking. One that does is just a pencil. At 3100 fps impact the X bullet failed. I guess you can call it a "failure" but it blew paper cartons and water all over the place just like other bullets do.

There is an article on AEM Enterprises' site ( benke.html ) by Charlie Benke named "Tools of an Alleged Assassin" in which Charlie describes his method of testing expansion, "For years, I have tested bullet terminal behavior by shooting into a water tank. Hardware screens are stretched on hoops on eight-inch intervals to record the passage of the bullet through the water. The water stands 48-inches deep in a large hot-water tank. I climb above the tank and shoot into the water at a right angle." Sounds pretty neat to me.