How do you guys test bullets?

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john 800

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I dont have any balistic gell what else could you use to test bullet expansion at different speeds? I am hunting deer if that matters. I have heard of people using wet phone books what do you think of that?
 
wet phone books works fine but a pain in the rear end to set up.

I use a gallon bucket filled with wet sand for my testing.
 
Nothing beats the real thing but this is what i use as a baseline.

BulletTrapSide.jpg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbQHZfEXwYY

The phone books must be TOTALLY soaked all the way through or they are very tough and dont leave a nice mushroom or wound channel. I usually start with a thinner section of soaked phone book then particle board. Then the layering.

Another variation on this one is about 3-4 jugs full to the top then compressed wet news print or phone books.
 
First and foremost, the bullet must be accurate. If I can not make that bullet accurate out of my rifle, all testing means nothing.

After that I shoot them into poplar wood blocks. Poplar is a "soft" wood if there is such a thing, but it is also a compact wood. The last test I did, I got eight inches of penetration. To me if that bullet will penetrate eight inches of poplar wood, a deer has no chance.

Newspaper media works good, but it is such a mess to clean up.
 
If the bullet will shoot acurate enough for my needs, I shoot a deer with it. Once the deer is down, I inspect the insides for damage.
 

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