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I came across this video while getting my industrial nerd-on with a raft of “How It’s Made” videos. The slow motion capture in this video allows you to see how a bullet interacts with a wide variety of targets, from steel to glass to paper. Kinda wish the watermark had been more thoughtfully placed so as to not obscure the action, but still, fascinating stuff.

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21 COMMENTS

  1. Ok, that was pretty cool. One question, for the more ballisitcally astute than I, what are the projectiles that ae pointy on both ends? Something custom they used for the experiment or is that a bullet type I’m not familiar with?

    • I’m just speculating here, but there was a post a couple weeks ago here about soldiers in WWI turning their bullets backward to defeat the steel shields the enemy snipers were using. The backwards bullets wouldn’t penetrate the steel but they’d make shards of steel break off the back side and shower the snipers face with shards of steel. Anyway, they had to dump a little of the powder out because the pointy end back focused the pressure out to the case neck and they’d crack and potentially rupture sending hot gas into the shooter’s face.

      So my guess is they’d have to be a sabot round of some sort.

    • That’s a boat tail. It has a similar effect to the crown on accuracy, reduces bearing surface, and improves aerodynamics.

        • Look like rife bullets, look to long and narrow for shotgun slug. Seem to remember seeing some German/European bullets in an ad or Cartridges of the World looking like that.

        • Yes, 7:48. I suggested a sabot round above, which are usually but not always shotgun rounds, however looking at it again a sabot round would not have rifle marks on it’s side. So…beats the hell out of me. That pointed back should cause overpressure problems and cracked case necks, but it’s apparently a rifle round.

        • That looks like that’s the one.

          Looks like some some serious projectiles.

          At the bottom of the page it says:

          “Sold to authorized persons only.”

        • I’m thinking that is a reference to having the right gun/shooting permits, not an indication that the bullet is any more dangerous than any other bullet. In some countries, you can’t just walk in off the street and buy ammo or components, you have to have a permit to own/possess guns and/or ammo. Even if you had a pistol target-shooting permit, they still might not be able to legally sell you rifle-caliber hunting ammo.

          Every day I thank deity I was born an American.

          Every. Single. Day.

    • The projectiles with the pointy tail are Brenneke rifle bullets. They are torpedo-tailed. For hunting. Variants are TIG, TOG and TUG.

      • Oops, didn’t see that you had already answered the question before I posted the link above.

        Cros had it first, folks.

        It’s been years since I’ve seen any of these. A friend had brought some back from Europe after an Uncle-Sam-sponsored trip.

  2. You could tell which bullets measure 4/10ths of an inch, since they were the ones that would punch through anything.

  3. These Werner Mehl videos have been on youtube for a few years but they’re always worth a repost for those who haven’t seen them.

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