Testing bullet penetration at the range

[AlaskaHunter]

I want to see if there is a significant difference in bullet penetration comparing 2 different bullets.
Which would penetrate moose bone more, bullet A or bullet B?
Which would be more likely to completely exit a bear for a better blood trail?

Would this be a valid test?
Make a 6 foot thick sandwich using plywood.
Alternate shooting bullet A, then bullet B using the same load (seating depth, powder,etc.)
Shoot a minimum of ten shots each.
Measure the "wound channel depth" using a .270 brass rod.
Is there a significant difference in bullet penetration depth, bullet A versus bullet B?

Is there a better test that can be done at the range?
Ballistic gel would be expensive due to the sample size of 20 total shots.

Thanks.

 

[D4570]

Your bullet may not fallow a straight path into your backer.
I straight cleaning rod won't give you a true look at what is happening.
Personally I think it is a waste of time, but it gives us something to do waiting for your hunt.
Just get a good hunting bullet made to shoot heavy skinned large animals and you will be good
Take the time saved to go and practice shooting in real-time shooting.
Find a place with a lot of growth put out sone different targets at differing ranges and angles. First, do some strenuous walking to simulate hunting then try shooting how you would be shooting hunting. Most modern bullets made for the task will do there part if you do yours.
Just a thought

 

[HandgunHunter]

Shooting gel, wood, wet paper, and so on just tells you what a bullet will do in gel, wood, and wet paper.

there is absolutely no substitute for live tissue with blood pressure.

gel is a consistent and verifiable resistance. That’s why the company’s test in gel.

 

[Salmonchaser]

Nosler Partitions and Swift A Frames have a long standing reputation up here. The work has been done with gel and tissue. Not sure it’s worth reinventing the wheel. Somebody mentioned other people are trying to compete with new bullets. Your test medium would serve to show how many houses you could shoot through.

 

[3855WIN]

Barnes and Nosler Partitions. Or you could just carry your .300 and not worry about it.

 

[DropTyne]

I agree, pick something like a Nosler Partition/Accubond or Barnes TTSX/TSX in an appropriate bullet weight in something chambered in a 6.5mm or larger rifle, and go drop a moose. I would focus more on learning which bullet provided the most accuracy in my rifle than sweating penetration from bullets that have proven themselves countless times in the field. I quit sweating when I find something that consistently groups less than an inch, even though larger groups would be perfectly acceptable for moose.

 

[std7mag]

Get a whole hog.
After your tests, then enjoy the delicious results from some slow roasting.

 

[Salmonchaser]

I like that idea. When I was a kid in Fairbanks I was taught to shoot through bears to break the far shoulder. This, if they don’t drop at the shot, makes the bear spin away rather then toward you. I don’t give the idea much credibility but I remember six grizz that dad shot this way. Worked sorta, except once, and that was a bonafide rodeo. Love shooting through elk and moose, never much worried about it with bears. I hate blood trailing bears I agree more blood on the ground is better. Good luck on your quest. A bunch of the guys on the Nosler reloading forum have done a bunch of water jug testing with all Manner of bullets, you may find an answer there.

 

[Don Fischer]

Read in one of Ackley's books about testing done at Edgewood Arsenal. What they were studying was bullet wounds. They used as target's live mule's that were put to sleep for testing. Can't remember it all but recall it was interesting. I think the only sure way to test a bullet is to shoot an animal with it. Doing that and using a shot in the chest or neck I've found that cup and core bullet's penetrate completely through an animal if you use a good bullet. These rave's about premium bullet's fall on deaf ears with me, been to many years killing animals with plain old cup and core bullet's. Here's the deal, how much better can a premium bullet kill if you shoot the animal in the chest broadside and a cup and core with a similar shot? Both bullet's go in and generally both come out the other side!

I could care less what brand or type bullet people use but one thing makes me wonder. After a lifetime of using one brand and type bullet, what is it that make's someone go to a new type and brand bullet when their old standby never failed? I think I have the answer, advertising!

 

[buffybr]

One of my quickest bull elk kills was with a 117 grain Sierra GameKing bullet from my .257 Ackley. It was a broadside shot just behind the bull's shoulder. The bullet hit a rib going in, shredded his lungs, did not cut the off side rib cage, and he simply collapsed dead.

I'll occasionally set up a half dozen plastic one gallon milk jugs filled with water just to see how much penetration a certain bullet will get (and I like to see the splash!), but I'll leave the actual penetration testing to the bullet manufacture's and concentrate on my bullet placement.

When I do my part with bullet placement, I've had excellent results with a variety of bullets from Accubonds, TSX and TTSXs, Partitions, Ballistic Tips, and even a lowly GameKing on an expensive Northwest Territories Dall ram.

 

[pre6422hornet]

I have a picture somewhere of three 150gr .270 Nosler Partition Golds. One was taken under the hide of a quartering away cow elk at 150 yards. The other two I dug out of a brand new dirt embankment, same speed but only 100 yards.

All three retained 85-87% of their weight and all three were perfect mushrooms. I decided I didn't need to test any more... haha

 

[pre6422hornet]

Found it! Left to right, cow elk at 150 yards. Dirt embankment at 100, Dirt embankment at 100. 2850 FPS at muzzle.

 

[MTLabrador]

I like keeping a collection of bullets I’ve caught in critters, but I mostly shoot copper with some Accubonds now and haven’t recovered a bullet in years. From L-R: 53 Barnes TSX, .22-250, mule deer. Two 130 Federal Trophy Bonded Tips, elk, .270 Win. 180 Hornady SST, elk, .30-06. 165 Nosler BT, mule deer, .30-06. 180 Federal blue box, elk, .30-06.

 

[Cav1]

A golden oldie. US Forest Service in Alaska tested various bullets for penetration at 15 yards, for self-defense use against big bears. They used a moistened mixture of 50% fine silt and 50% fine sawdust. This was the early 1980's using factory ammunition and we have considerably more choices today. The thing that struck me was that the .30-cal magnums didn't do very well penetration-wise. Velocity was too high at 15 yards for the bullet to hold together on impact.

Safety in bear country - [PDF Document]

Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station h General Technical Report PNW-152 March 1983 William R. Meehan and John F. Thilenius WILLIAM R. MEEHAN is fisheries…

fdocuments.in