Valdemar

Here's one.

Pretty self expanatory. Note the ranges at which the shots were made.

Attached Images

	pistolplatetestA1.jpg (79.3 KB, 42 views)
	pistolplatetestB1.jpg (92.2 KB, 25 views)

SauerSig

Very cool! Thank you for sharing!

bearone2

one of those things you wondered about but were afraid to ask, nice work.

Valdemar

We pretty much exercise our imaginations on a regular basis, and if curiousity generates an interest, we explore it.

I did this test here as a result of a lot of helmet shooting, and got curious about how the performance could be compared directly since with helmets the rounded surface makes every shot pretty difficult to duplicate EXACTLY.

Here we have a flat surface, and the results are nevertheless just about what we expected.

On steel, the .38 Special 158 LRN {not shown}, .22 LR LRN and .45 ACP 230 FMJ all perform similarly.

What the .45 wouldn't do at 20 meters, the RWS 124 9x19 FMJ WOULD do at 50 meters. As you see, this is not very thick steel. I do not know the alloy.

SnakeShooter17

It is commonly known that the smaller-diameter bullets, like the 7.62 Tokarev and 9x19mm, will get superior penetration to larger calibers at the same velocity. Shape of the bullet also plays a factor. If you made a super-pointy .45 ACP, it would penetrate much better than the standard profile 230-gr.

Valdemar

Actually, not always.

What I mean is that SPEED cuts steel. And means by which delivery of energy to the plate occurs also aids in penetration.

For example, with rifle bullets, often a pointed bullet will not penetrate plate, but if it is reversed and shot base first, it will {as long as remaining velocity is high}. This is because a "point", as it collapses on the plate, dissipates the energy of impact and can "eat it up" enough to prevent penetration. This can actually occur with hardened cores as well and makes the development and study of AP rounds head wringing.

With pistols, I've not found pointed, or mildly pointed .45 to penetrate much better tho if you got it going fast maybe. A 185 with a hardened core and truncated cone point run at top speed should penetrate substantially better than the RN230 at normal ball velocities. Again, tho...it is speed that cuts steel.

Now, if the bullet is on the margin of penetration in the worse configuration, then any change may allow it to break thru.

Regardless, the .45 ACP is a generally poor penetrator of hard targets.

However, for some pretty deep penetration in living critters, the old Army bullet, the Lyman 454190, mine cast of wheelweights go 262 grains and sized to .451 and shot from the .45 ACP at over 750 fps, preferably at close to 800 give identical performance to the old military .45 Schofield and with its semipoint will feed very well and penetrate deeply. Tho not thru steel...

SnakeShooter17

That makes a lot of sense, truth be told. I guess it's a matter of balancing cross-sectional area with velocity and projectile density. A larger cross sectional density might be part of the penetration factor, of course. The more material you put in behind a smaller area, the more penetration you get? It has to come to some sort of special relationship...