I don't know if this proves anything--..

[Double D]

--but is sure is interesting.

The gun club uses old pallets as target backers on the range. The Pallets are held up right by steel "T" posts.

I was sighting in my BSA 1215 with Hornady factory 17 Hornet ammo with the 20 gr v-max bullet when I saw this at the shot.



First impression was that bullet blew up hitting the wood.

When I went down range to check, I found this!



I don't know if this little bullet punched a hole through, but a hole it did make.

[Bill K]

Even tho the little pills open up critters very well, with the expanding. Then also punch neat holes in surprisingly thick, pieces of metal plate, etc. Bill K

[Bambob]

You should never put the target support structure behind any area where a target will be mounted. Metal supports are always a bad idea. They will get "shot to pieces" and may send bullet fragments where you don't want them. (As shown in the picture.) We use a frame made of 2 X 4s mounted behind "power pole" stubs and use 42" wide rubber belting that we get from the mines around here as "target backing". We normally only need to change the "belting" once a year. We mount the belting "behind" the 2 X 4s so no one puts a target over the frame accidentally.

Bob

[Daryl]

We use grader blades welded to bases (sections of grader blades), angled with the sharp edge towards the benches for all our target board (2x4's) supports. On the back are welded on brackets to hold the 8' studs spaced 11" from 1" above the bottom edge of the top board, to 1" below the upper surface of the bottom board. Targets are stapled to these 2x4's. The sharp edges of the grader blades send no pieces back to the firing line and have not in over 20 years of their use by over 700 club members - not even from the 25 yard line.

[wally bennett]

6 or 7 years ago i was shooting a 22Hornet and used Hornady 35gr V/max factory ammo untill i had enough cases to load my own and then loaded up with same V/Max bullets.
I initialy bought 1 x 25rd box just to try for accuracy.
I put a targeton a board leaning against a girder used as a gate post it was about 4" by 6" (H)section.
I did not re-zero i just wanted to try for group i went back 45 yds my initial zero for that gun and shooting prone put 3 rounds at it i saw the 3rd shot way behind the post and hitting the dirt on the track i thought shit this ammo is crap it missed the target and post at 45yds.
When i picked up the target three holes cloverleafed 1/4" high but in line one big ragged hole in the thin wood and a hole in the steel girder that was about 4mm thick.
I know they where almost twice the weight of the 20gr v/max round so i can imagine the damage they can do in flesh.
Wally

[Jeremy(WI)]

Originally Posted by Double D

--but is sure is interesting.

The gun club uses old pallets as target backers on the range. The Pallets are held up right by steel "T" posts.

I was sighting in my BSA 1215 with Hornady factory 17 Hornet ammo with the 20 gr v-max bullet when I saw this at the shot.



First impression was that bullet blew up hitting the wood.

When I went down range to check, I found this!



I don't know if this little bullet punched a hole through, but a hole it did make.

That is about what they do to cast iron skillets at 200 yards

[trotterlg]

The bullet transfers it's energy into the metal and melts a hole through what it hits. It acts totally differently when it hits something soft. For penetrating tanks and APC's they use a chunk of copper fired at high speed, it does the same thing to armor plate. Larry

[long shot]

Ackly has a neat write up in one of his books. He tested 30-06 AP, 270 soft point and a 220 Swift on 1/2" armour on a half track. The 06 and 270 put little craters in it but the Swift punched clean through. I forget the range the testing was done at but it surely appears velocity has a major factor.

Aaron

[Teancum1]

A 20 grain bullet at 3000 fps will have roughly 648 joules of energy or 155 thermodynamic calories. Heating one gram of steel to its melting point requires approximately 178 calories plus an additional 65 calories to overcome the heat of fusion of the iron/steel. The bullet lacks about 56% of the energy required to melt even one gram of steel, which would be less than a .2" thick plate .2" square. With what we normally shoot, melting your way through steel isn't going to happen - maybe if you are shooting depleted uranium slugs. And yes, the military devises specialized weaponry to accomplish this. Steel in general and cast iron in particular is actually quite brittle and subject to mechanical shear. The high velocity impact can generate a very precise fracture or shear line as the bullet literally punches a hole. At the same time, the malability of the steel can allow it to extrude slightly under the impact, frequently resulting in sharp petals extending outward both directions from the impact zone.