"What'll it shoot through"... your experiences?

[zio]

So two weeks ago, I finally had a chance to take all my guns out for a day of shooting:

Swiss K31
Mosin M38 & M44
Enfield no1 mkIII
Russian SKS

During a break, we were talking about guns & army stuff & army movies, and someone wondered if a .22 would penetrate the phone book we brought. out of three shots, one busted the back page. Didn't go completely through, but we could see lead poking out the back. The other two shots were stuck somewhere between the "S" and "V" sections of the yellow pages.

Naturally, we had to find out what the other guns would go through. We used the Mosin, and started piling up 2x4's & stuff. We stopped at (4), when it became apparent that the softer pine was no match for the 7.62x54 cartridge. Then we scooped out some dirt from behind one of the railroad ties of the backstop. The first shot, we weren't sure... the railroad ties are pretty beat up on all sides, and there was no clear exit. So we stacked piece of 3/4 plywood behind it for the 2nd shot. Sure enough - there was a perfect bullet-shaped hole punched in the plywood - sideways. it had exited the railroad tie unscathed, and hit the plywood sideways. Wow.

That was sobering... I've never been in combat, but holy crap! So much for hiding behind a tree.

[Dirtbiker]

I'll bet it depends on the tree. 100 year old oak about 24" dia I don't think any of those mentioned would penetrate. I'll say I would not want to be shot at to find out.

[smle-man]

So two weeks ago, I finally had a chance to take all my guns out for a day of shooting:

Swiss K31
Mosin M38 & M44
Enfield no1 mkIII
Russian SKS

During a break, we were talking about guns & army stuff & army movies, and someone wondered if a .22 would penetrate the phone book we brought. out of three shots, one busted the back page. Didn't go completely through, but we could see lead poking out the back. The other two shots were stuck somewhere between the "S" and "V" sections of the yellow pages.

Naturally, we had to find out what the other guns would go through. We used the Mosin, and started piling up 2x4's & stuff. We stopped at (4), when it became apparent that the softer pine was no match for the 7.62x54 cartridge. Then we scooped out some dirt from behind one of the railroad ties of the backstop. The first shot, we weren't sure... the railroad ties are pretty beat up on all sides, and there was no clear exit. So we stacked piece of 3/4 plywood behind it for the 2nd shot. Sure enough - there was a perfect bullet-shaped hole punched in the plywood - sideways. it had exited the railroad tie unscathed, and hit the plywood sideways. Wow.

That was sobering... I've never been in combat, but holy crap! So much for hiding behind a tree.

That's why you go to ground when someone is shooting at you. It was pounded into our heads in the Army: concealment hides you but doesn't protect you, cover is protection. Trees are concealment, not cover.

[gosparx]

Here's a pic of what various rounds can or can't do to a piece of 1/4 stainless steel...


The .50 is from a S&W500, the .45 from a full size 1911, the .22 from a S&W revolver. And actually the 30.30 hole is mislabeled since that hole was made by a SKS (7.62x39).

If nothing else this pic illustrates the old adage... "a pistol is a pistol and a rifle is a rifle". The S&W may have make it through the plate (sometimes) but the 7.62 cut through it like butter. The hole looked like a drill had been used instead of a bullet.

FYI: The S&W500 were HP and the .45ACP were FMJ

[gunrun45]

What area was your phone book from?
I got this funny picture in my head of the local 50 page phone book from my local small town
Then I remembered the last time I was in L.A. and tried to look anything up...

[zio]

What area was your phone book from?
I got this funny picture in my head of the local 50 page phone book from my local small town
Then I remembered the last time I was in L.A. and tried to look anything up...

Fresno, CA... your average Yellow Pages.

[zio]

That's why you go to ground when someone is shooting at you. It was pounded into our heads in the Army: concealment hides you but doesn't protect you, cover is protection. Trees are concealment, not cover.

Makes me think of the scene in Saving Private Ryan where they're upstairs in a house, guy hears footsteps coming up, the footsteps stop at the door... you can picture the German soldier pausing, maybe with a false sense of security behind the door... then the G.I. opens up with a Thompson & gets the German.

On another note... I remember reading somewhere about sandbags & how many it takes to stop various caliber bullets. That one was interesting, too.

[gosparx]

The Box of Truth

I'm sure this has been posted on here (many times) but this thread seems like the perfect place to post it again...

http://www.theboxotruth.com/

Too Much Fun!!!!

[sloguy]

a while ago we shot at a split log of eucalyptus. the piece was about 8 or 9 inches thick. the cz52 made it thru just barely( the log tilted a bit) the m1 carbine went right thru without hardly moving the wood. softpoints in the carbine stayed in the wood, but made it tumble backwards.

[dasmi]

Man hole cover.
7.62x39 - dent
.223 - lead splash
7.62x54R - ZIPPP right through.

[gosparx]

Man hole cover.
7.62x39 - dent
.223 - lead splash
7.62x54R - ZIPPP right through.

I'm jealous... I would love to shoot a man hole cover!!

Any good place to pick up a used man hole cover (besides the street)??

[CSACANNONEER]

My 50BMGs go through a paper target at 1000 yards everytime. Other than that, I don't want to comment on a public forum. Any other will get misrepresented by antis sooner or later.

[aplinker]

Cannonner, have you been shooting down jetliners from 5 miles out again?

My 50BMGs go through a paper target at 1000 yards everytime. Other than that, I don't want to comment on a public forum. Any other will get misrepresented by antis sooner or later.

[CSACANNONEER]

Cannonner, have you been shooting down jetliners from 5 miles out again?

Clinton taught me not to ask and not to tell! But, the answer is : No, I only have 50BMGs, I don't even own any of those evil unregulated box cutters that have been proven to take down multiple aircrafts in a single day!

[biscuitninja]

Yep, during some long range shoots (400-1500yrds in nevada) the bmg was pretty decent.

Even when I brought out my custom 91/30 (custom barrel, cleaned up trigger, bedded, floated, tripod) the old milsurp cheap steel rounds sliced through almost everything. The exception was the railroad track at 400 yards, but it did make one hell of drill/dent.... Remember this is a rifle that is nearly 70 years old with ammo that is almost 30 years old.

Yes it is a sobering thought, cover vs concealment. Good luck
-bix