Home made ballistics gel test batch

[Prof. Chaos]

[legendarylorot]

"What are we going to do tonight, Brain?"

THIS! Seriously going to pick up some of that gelatin.

How does it compare, in terms of firmness, to actual ballistics gel?

[Prof. Chaos]

"What are we going to do tonight, Brain?"

THIS! Seriously going to pick up some of that gelatin.

How does it compare, in terms of firmness, to actual ballistics gel?

having never handled "official" ballistics gel.. but the method i used in the video is the same that the mythbusters use for all of their testing. good enough for my purposes.

[ar15jules]

You will be shooting some of this soon right?
Jules

[streaker69]

Two things: I really want that mixer. I've been wanting one of those since I saw them being built on the show How it's Made. Great mixers.

Couldn't you have put the oil in with the gel during mixing to keep it from foaming?

[ar15jules]

I have the same mixer with the tilting head instead of the raising/lowering mixing bowl. I love it. Back on topic. Shooting video please.
Jules

[Prof. Chaos]

Two things: I really want that mixer. I've been wanting one of those since I saw them being built on the show How it's Made. Great mixers.

Couldn't you have put the oil in with the gel during mixing to keep it from foaming?

i fear that it wouldnt gel properly if i did that.

[Prof. Chaos]

You will be shooting some of this soon right?
Jules

yes, ive got some interesting trials coming up soon for the gel.

[streaker69]

i fear that it wouldnt gel properly if i did that.

I'd give it a try with just a little tiny bit. After all, it's Gelatin, not like you're mixing up nitroglycerin. I bet it would work just fine. Maybe next time you should add in some banana chunks and stuff too, simulate organs.

[phillykev]

If you're just using that for visual effect, cool.

If you wanted to in any way gauge how bullets might penetrate or expand in flesh, I wouldn't count on it. You would need to use gelatin of a specific density, cool it to a specific temperature, keep it from rising above that temperature, and calibrate it with a bb of specific size and weight fired at a specific pressure over a chronograph to confirm speed. Otherwise, you're not simulating anything other than what happens to a batch of jello when you shoot it.