Ammo to Go has just wrapped up a pretty big study of self-defense ammo. In all, fired 109 loads according to FBI protocol across four calibers into ballistic gelatin. Pretty interesting to look at, and a good data set for reference.
You can see the results for each caliber at the following pages:
9mm: https://www.
45 ACP: https://www.
40 S&W: https://www.
380 ACP: https://www.
The way they’ve set it up, you can also hit the link and go to the ammo of choice, either for bulk or single box purchases. They obviously put a lot of work into this.
I’m NOT going to get into the argument of it’s not realistic because no bones, clothing, etc. so don’t start…
h/t Ammo to Go
They tried to do this with 7.62×25, but the first round exited the gelatin, punched through the wall, and was later discovered at StarBucks, chatting up a barista. It was apprehended, but not before the barista gave it her number, and whispered “call me.”
Interesting. Yes, I agree that some will claim their are differences between these tests and real life – but that isn’t the point; these tests show relative performance of each round and make comparisons easy. For the same shot, each round will be affected similarly by other variables, so the tests results will likely scale to other situations.
Is ballistic gel on the list of substances to be banned?
By California? It probably already is, at least for normal people. If it isn’t, I’m sure some kind of warning label is required.
Just goes to show you what I have always said…speed kills and Gold Dot Speer. Interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Lucky Gunner has very good charts, as well.
Excellent reading material – will this be on the final exam ? :^)
Thank you sir.
As in all things, remember that YMMV always applies. Length of barrel, how many rounds have gone thru it, how well and how often it was cleaned. Also, consider the phase of the moon, which side of the bed you get out on, and the azimuth you are shooting at (DIE, azimuth, DIE).
All- Thanks for the comments, and yes as Sam says- YMMV…
Posted from my iPhone.
The most realistic evaluations I’ve seen (apart, perhaps, for hunting videos) are those done by Paul Harrell. He builds a simulated human/mammal torso. It has a leather jacket, simulating skin, pork chop pectoral, pork ribs, a bag of oranges to simulate lung tissue, and another layer of pork ribs,all encased in four layers of T-shirt.
He’s on YouTube for the moment, don’t know if his videos will fall under the ban. He has a Patreon account since last year, but doesn’t appear to have mastered the Patreon interface yet, as there aren’t any videos on that site. He also isn’t on Full30, and he hasn’t commented on his plans under the new YouTube rules. Bottom line, to be SURE you will be able to see him shoot yer favorite caliber at a meat target, better go look on YouTube now, before the rules change implements.
Hey Old NFO;
Thank you for the reference and for what it is worth, if you can’t hit the target(I ain’t referring anybody here mind you) then all the ballistic gel don’t mean squat. Practice, practice, practice.