Bullet hole through TV screen

Z

Zach Vonler

New member
I'm making a prop for a party this weekend and want to have an old TV with a bullet hole in the screen. I got an old broken set from a repair shop that has been repressurized (normally there is a vacuum inside the tube) so I'm going to the range Thursday afternoon. My question is, has anyone, accidentally or not :), shot a TV screen, and what happened? (I need to know what caliber, type of bullet, where on the screen, did it shatter, etc) I'm wanting to maximize the chances that I will get a nice little hole without completely smashing the screen. To that end, I'm thinking a 9mm FMJ round is probably the best bet (at least of my easily available choices, which are .45, .40, 9mm, .223, and .308). I'm afraid that the forties might be going so slow that they would try to sort of flex the glass more before punching through, thus increasing the chances of shattering it. Also, I figure of the rifle rounds, the .223 is likely to hit and deform a bit before going through, possibly causing a shatter. The reason I don't like the idea of the .308 is because of the ragged holes that they tend to tear in paper... I'm thinking that the sharp point might be a bad thing. Thus, to my relatively uninformed mind, it appears that a 9mm would be the best bet, but I'm hoping someone here has some actual experience.
 
Sorry don't have much. Had buddy of mine shoot telephone with 9mm He's a gunsmith and it was after hours, got a little tired of the phone ringing. I would say nine mil, but really have no idea if you try some regualar glass first it might give some clue, on paper I have good luck with Rottwiel Brenneke 12ga slug for nice sharp edge?

Hey, turn it on first if it works, and wait for the jerkoff news man to come on before firing, it might be stress relief. Then again they all have hollow heads anyhow. What was that song "the bubble head bleach blonde comes on at 5"
 
A while back we had a thread running about ND's (negligent discharge) and I remember one guy said he shot his TV. Hopefully he's still around. I'll try and find it in the archives.
 
I have seen 2 TVs that were terminated by handgun fire. No, I didn't do the shooting, :) .

One was taken out w/a .357 from a 6" barrel, and the other was whacked w/a Glock 17.

I really couldn't tell any difference in "wound" characteristics. There was a nice neat hole surrounded by some localized spider web type cracks. All in all the diameter of which were was about 1.5 inches.

Looked really cool. Have fun!

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Dan

Si vis pacem para bellum!

Check me out at:
<A HREF="http://www.mindspring.com/~susdan/interest.htm" TARGET=_blank>

www.mindspring.com/~susdan/interest.htm</A>
www.mindspring.com/~susdan/GlocksnGoodies.htm
 
In my younger days we used to do a lot of shooting at the local dump. Was way out in the middle of no where and had a nice sand hill behind it for a back stop. We would go down there to shoot tin cans, old bottles and yes even on a rare occasion a TV... Mostly shot 22's but have shot them with a 357. It's been over 30 years ago now, but if I remember correctly none of them shattered. All of them ended up with a nice little hole in them. In fact it took quite a few rounds to distroy it.

I would suggest you go for the size of hole that you would like to see in it.



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Richard

The debate is not about guns,
but rather who has the ultimate power to rule,
the People or Government.
RKBA!
 
I have shot many TV's my property at one time with no gate had almost turned into a public dump, many TV's I did have some explode best of my knowledge this happened with a .40 with a hydroshock I have shot them with a 9 fmj roundnose and it did not explode. I would probably stick with a fmj you will transfer less energy to the surface as the bullet flattens.
 
prolly shot 50 TVs in my misspent youth ;)

some imploded from a 22lr at 30 feet
many holed out with a nice crack

they are very heavy and have a rather sensitive thin rear tit

not something to be part of a costume

IMHO you would be better served by melting a hole in a sheet of plexiglass with a solder iron

much safer to have in a party situation then a shattered glass screen

TVs also have this nasty flyback transformer that can shock you daze after the unit has been unpluged

HTH

dZ
 
I saw a guy at not too long ago who shot a telelvision with a .223. It was a 19" screen and a fairly newer model. All it did was shatter the glass completely. If anything, it imploded (hope I spelled that right) instead of exploded.

The sad part was he was just going to leave it there, until I said something to him. The good part was there was one less television .
 
There's also "paste on" bullet hole decals, probably available at some novelty store, and perhaps a lot safer.

A few years back in Macon, Ga., they flew in
a B17G Flying Fortress named "Sentimental Journey". It was on a fund-raising tour for the Arizona Wing of the Ghost Squadron.

They had these "bullet holes" on the nose and tailgunner's plexiglas, and it look so
real, you didn't detect the reality until you were CLOSE.

I digress, but as they were heading back home, they flew low over the factory. I ran
outside (in the middle of a meeting) and waved to them. I damned near wet myself as the pilot waggled that big old graceful bird's wings. That sight and sound will stay with me the rest of my life.



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If you can't fight City Hall, at least defecate on the steps.
 
My suggestion would be to tape up the front of the tube with either duct tape, or Masking tape to keep the glass from shattering.

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10MM Magnum.... tried the rest, now I got the best
 
There is a motel in Palidon AZ that is just outside Gun sight. They lost so many TVs by the students going through Gun sight that they gave up and took them all out.
 
the last time i was tempted to shoot a TV I was watching the documentary "Incident at Oglala"

If you aren't a conspiracy beliver.. you will be after this film. Waco and Ruby Ridge are nothing new.

Dr.Rob

"justice has not been done" - Rage Against the Machine
 
Reminds me of the Elvis Presley biography/movie where Elvis is sitting in a hotel room and doesn't like what's on the tube, so he pulls out a 38 snub and shoots the TV.

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Just one of the Good Guys
 
Well, I did it. Used a 9mm FMJ out of a Glock 17 at about 15 feet. The result is better than I hoped for -- there's about a 1.5in hole right through the center, and there are radial cracks going out from the hole almost completely to the edge of the screen all the way around. I'm hoping someone will bring a camera to the party so I can get a picture up and show you guys.
 
Too bad this happened several years ago.

I shot one with a 9mm Speer Gold Dot. Produced a stereotypical hole with small cracks all around the glass. It was a small set, don't recall what size.
 
Oatka,
The Confederate Air Force flew their B-17 (I believe it's a "G") right over our house one day. Yeah, it WAS a thrill!

Zach,
I've heard of party props before, but this one sounds rather interesting! :D

Let us know if you need help after the party. You know, bail, HazMat team, whatever. We'll try to help. ;)

PS: If someone takes photos, control the negatives. (Don't forget to erase the tapes!) :D :D

[This message has been edited by Dennis (edited October 23, 1999).]
 
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