Common Structures vs. Common Bullets

B

Bartholomew Roberts

Moderator
This is a YouTube video where they have constructed the following common types of walls: cinderblock and brick, cinderblock, exterior and brick, exterior and vinyl, interior, and trailer home.

They then set a block of uncalibrated Clear Ballistics gel behind the wall to show what penetration looks like after passing through the barrier. Because they are using uncalibrated, non-ordnance gel blocks, you have to take the results with a big grain of salt; but it does show comparative results.

They then shoot each with birdshot, 00, slug, 9mm from a SIG MPC, and M193 from an AR15.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7VeqqNuQU_4

Short version: everything penetrates interior walls and trailer walls are even less sturdy. Any type of brick or cinderblock blocks all rounds.

Not a lot of new info here; but a good demonstration of how bullets and structures interact and maybe some new information for some.
 
Any type of brick or cinderblock blocks all rounds.
Click to expand...

Not quite ALL rounds, but all the ones you'll commonly find used for home defense. There's a reason WWII BAR gunners fed their guns AP almost exclusively...;)
 
I should clarify cinderblock or brick blocks all the rounds tested, though the slugs certainly made the wall earn it. You might well get different results in some cases with different ammo in the same firearm.
 
Out of curiosity: How hard did you have to search to find two such dumb-sounding guys? I'm 74 years old -- I don't get excited about a former SEAL with a 2-digit IQ calling me "Boy."

And their knowledge of construction types (or at least their ability to describe them) is -- to be kind -- somewhat lacking. (Says the architect.)

I'm about a third of the way through the video. I'll try to make it to the end, but it's going to be a struggle.
 
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Short version: everything penetrates interior walls and trailer walls are even less sturdy. Any type of brick or cinderblock blocks all rounds.
Click to expand...

I was hoping they would show what a .308, 30-06, and bi-metal rounds would do, but they didn't.
 
Yes, the format of the clip is not great. I’d have started with the lightest stuff and worked out and I’d have stopped testing once a round was blocked by lighter construction. Watching the guy repeatedly blast away with rounds I knew weren’t going to penetrate was boring for me.

However, if you’ve never seen or done anything like this previously, it might be informational. I didn’t post it the first time I saw it because I didn’t really think it had much new info. Just a different presentation. Since that time I’ve seen about three threads where I thought I should post this link but then I couldn’t find it.

So, when I saw it again, I decided to share.
 
^^^ I caught that immediately. I don't think "cinder blocks" have been available anywhere in the U.S. since that late 1940s or early 1950s.

Also, the exterior wall they shot with vinyl siding -- wasn't vinyl siding.
 
I didn't see any surprises there. I'm not at all surprised that any of those projectiles were stopped by brick or block. And I'm not surprised that any of them penetrated a single layer of drywall or siding when hit at a 90 degree angle.

In the real world bullets will likely hit walls at an angle, have to penetrate multiple walls and have a good chance of hitting 2X4 or heavier framing material. When that happens bullets tumble, ricochet, and soft point ammo will come apart and do very little damage.

I've seen other such tests where the projectile was asked to penetrate multiple walls. Anyone directly behind a single wall was in trouble. But if multiple walls were encountered there was a difference.

I've seen the results of 2 AD's and the structural damage. A 45 ACP went through drywall in a ceiling. The bullet bounced off 3 ceiling joists and rafters before landing in the attic insulation. A 357 mag went straight through the drywall, but when it came out the siding it had keyholed and was traveling sideways.
 
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