C0untZer0: said:I think the problem that you still face is what equation / what values do you apply to any results you get.
Here is the why Duncan MacPherson's formula is used. It takes a lot of time and effort to create ordnace gel blocks. When the FBI did their tests, if a BB traveling at roughly 590 fps plus or minus 15 fps, penetrated less than 2.95" or more than 3.74" they discarded that block. They didn't use it for testing.
Actually I think that's still the FBI's policy - but they are a huge agency and they have the money to do that.
What Duncan MacPherson's formula allowed people to do, is take a block that doesn't meet the specifications, and still use it to get testing results. The bullet may penetrate more or less in the out-of-spec block, but based on the BB results - the test results for the bullet can be adjusted or normalized using MacPherson's formula.
MacPherson could take those same equations and create a table for some standard round - like Winchester Silvertip or something, but he hasn't.
To my knowledge, the only table available is for a BB traveling roughly 590 fps. As I said before MacPherson's table maxes out at 620 fps.
If you want test results that mean anything, you first have to have a way of propelling a BB at around 590 fps. Then you can start shooting it into your Knox gelatin to see if it is penetrating more shallow or more deeply than would be expected in ordnance gel and nail down the exact recipe needed for you Knox. Then when you've got a good recipe, you can run your tests and get good results. And your results will be validated by having a BB penetrate the gelatin roughly 3"
MacPherson's model is a lot of fun to play with indeed.
It allows you to play "what if" for hours (at least for non-expanding projectiles, if you wanna play with JHPs you have to decide upon the diameter your round would expand to) once you get it set up on an Excel spreadsheet. (takes about 30-45 minutes to do it nicely)
Almost eliminates the need to actually shoot gelatin...