7.62 / 6.5 / 5.56 vs concrete block

[stanc]

Stanc, thanks for taking the time to setup, videotape, edit, and share your video with us, everyone loves to see stuff blow up.

I'm wondering though, why did you decide to only shoot through one piece of concrete block. I think the point you were trying to illustrate was the effects on a person standing behind a cmu barrier. But, if you stop and think about it, the bullet would have to go through 1 side of the block plus air space (if not concrete reinforced) then another layer of concrete block and maybe even a layer of gypsum board. I would like to see if the bullets can maintain their lethality after that second layer of block and gyp bd.

I think JASmith made a good point about the wound channel effects when shooting at milk jugs. Unless the bullet goes all the way through, can we really determine how far it penetrated once it broke the surface? We need some kind of elastic container that can stretch, or a different media that can be measured. Furthermore, since our bodies are like 90% water, water seems like the logical best choice, but is it?

I realize we arent in a lab or anything like that, and I don't mean any disrespect. I think its awesome that you could make a video in the first place - that's more than I can say.

Michael,

Thanks for the praise, but I'm afraid it's misplaced. I did not make the video, I found it while searching for 6.5 Grendel videos on youtube.

I'd love to make such a video, and I fully agree with you that it'd be better to use a CMU (instead of the capstone), backed up by ordnance gelatin to show the permanent wound channel.

However, not everybody has the ability (or desire) to work with gelatin, so I can understand why the producer chose to back up the block with jugs of water. While they are not as scientific as gelatin, the splash created does give a good indication of the bullets' remaining energy. Clearly, the 5.56 expended nearly all of its energy just getting through the block, while the larger calibers retained enough energy to violently displace the H2O.

Stan