Just Came back from Shooting Cars
Really! My brother recently bought some wooded acreage that has been an automotive dump for what looks to be 60 years. At first we thought there would be a market for some of the old vehicles for parts. Free car, you move it! Nope. Not one of the parts and restoration folks was interested AT ALL.
Soooo, I volunteered to shoot the cars when I get a chance!
It has been interesting as I had not shot any cars since 1969 when my "shooting range" was a huge dump that a friend of mine owned. All we had was hard ball back then to shoot.
Some interesting notes: My .380 had identical penetration on a series of autos, trucks, school busses, barrels and mobile homes, as my 9x18 -- boy was I surprised. Now I was shooting Fiocchi and some other hot hardball as well as some pretty hot HPs in the .380 against some Norinco FMJ in my Makarov.
NOW, here is the climax... My .22 QuickShoks had VERY similar penetration in metal layers, i.e., shooting through some mobile homes that were lined up next to each other and through some car doors, truck bodies, the school bus and bus seats, etc. Those little .22 QS are explosive in moist media, but really do the job in junk yard tests.
Another surprise; I shot several different cars, etc. at very slight angles from my line of shooting, such as 5 to 20 degrees from my line of bullet travel; the 9x18 was the best at not being deflected, the .380 was next and the .22 QS was almost the same. About 10 out of 12, or more, of the shots fully penetrated the outside and inside of the cars even down to about a 5 degree from line of travel. I was certain they would glance off. I went over to an early '70s Buick, thicker skinned and a 1940s Ford pickup, much thicker skinned... and the results were similar.
Now here is the biggie... The .45 did better on a utility truck body with very thick metal and several partitions that I could shoot through. The .45, FMJ by PMC, a rather hot load I suspect -- went through the last layer that the others went through and dented slightly the next. Then I went to an old high pressure steam tank, quite thick, everything just flattened against the tank. EXCEPT.. The .22 QS split a tiny pin-hole of half the size of the bullet -- through the heavy metal and left the deepest although the smallest dent. Strange!!! The tank of course was a stiffer metal not as malable as the cars and trucks.
Car Glass, the 9x18 did the best on auto glass, usually penetrating the second window completely and sometimes a third (cars were next to each other some times). The .45 and .380 were similar. The .22 QS did the best on the older glass, going through one and sometimes two more windows than the others. I don't understand any of this, just reporting! I wonder if the .22 QS is made of a harder material to keep it penetrating while it splits apart and cavitates in wet stuff.
I did not expect the .22 QS to penetrate as it did.
I am awaiting my .380 QS. The ONLY reason I bought my .380 was to have it for QS loading... UNTIL, and I still remain hopeful, Triton will make QS in 9x18 which I still have no evidence that they will...
If the green briars don't get too thick and I can still get to the cars and trucks after my .380 QS comes in... I'll see how it does...