Best way to recover spent bullets?

[gnbrotz]

I'd like to be able to recover a few spent bullets to see how they end up (both my target and defensive ammo). Is there a simple, yet safe way to set something up that would allow me to do this easily?

[XD45]

fill gallon milk or water jugs.. and line them up in a line and shoot it... i'm sure you can google how many juggs you'll need depending on the caliber

[jsb889]

Hm, you're trying to test the bullet's effectiveness, correct? IMHO, if you can get your hands on ballistic gelitan you'd be much better off than just water jugs. Its supposed to act like human flesh, so make some and add a T-shirt to it and see how it works. You can look online to find recipes.

If thats not what you want and just want the bullet, a box full of sand should do. Less clean up, lot less weight. It'll stop in sand faster, a foot should do fine. I figure at least 5 one gallon jugs of water, probably more. Google whichever method you choose to be sure

[PA Rifleman]

...a box full of sand should do. Less clean up, lot less weight. It'll stop in sand faster, a foot should do fine. ...

Agreed, sand should give good results. I used a stack of newspapers inside a shopping bag for 9mm "studies" in my basement. The bag was filled to capacity with newspaper laid flat, and then some. Don't recall whether the newspaper was wet or dry. Might have been dry. I had a 5/8" thick cold-rolled steel plate behind it in case I miscalculated something.

Fired rounds one-at-a-time out of a suppressed Cobray M11/9. No one was the wiser. Never had a problem.

Had a pretty cool setup in my old place...cast a 0.358" bullet, next to that was the sizer that took it down to 0.356 or so, next to that was the reloading setup, pressed it into a pre-charged & primed brass, into the M11 and pop...downrange through the chrony and -Whack- into the backstop. Read velocity...hmmm, that was weak...a little more powder...repeat process...pop-WHACK- (newspaper confetti cloud @ backstop, half-dollar size hole in paper)...a little too much...need more newspaper, need the shop-vac now. Gotta wait for Sunday, dammit.

<wife yelling from upstairs> Are you using ammonia? Something stinks...are you burning something?
<high speed pretext kicks in> Yeah, soldering some printed circuit boards, ...why?
<wife yelling from upstairs> Just wondering about the smell. Have you seen today's paper?

[XD45]

yeah I guess I didnt think of the easiest way... i've heard of people using phonebooks also

[mauser]

Any thick books should be fine if your goal is just recovery and comparison of one load to another. Second hand stores are loaded with cheap books, yard sales are usually even cheaper. There are a lot of obsolete encyclopedias sitting in boxes in attics that people just don't know what to do with. Ask around, you could probably come up with a good supply for next to nothing.

For some good ammo penetration information and entertainment, check out this site:

http://www.theboxotruth.com/

[Frenchy]

Fired rounds one-at-a-time out of a suppressed Cobray M11/9. No one was the wiser. Never had a problem.

...
<wife yelling from upstairs> Are you using ammonia? Something stinks...are you burning something?
<high speed pretext kicks in> Yeah, soldering some printed circuit boards, ...why?
<wife yelling from upstairs> Just wondering about the smell. Have you seen today's paper?

So your saying you wife never smeled GSR and is deaf? I heard shots from a supressor, they are not that quiet, mostly not in a house! having used a ramset in my basement, I can tell you the smell is definate. Man every time I use a ramset I want to go to the range after!




Oddly enough, snow will stop a bullet pretty fast, Down as in Duck feathers also, Sand, water (lots of it, not just a 5 galon) and jello (jelotin)SP?
If all you really want is a bullet out of its casing, ask any reloader to send you one.

If you want results of the bullet, then make sure you do it in a range, not in the house, although there are Einsteins here who would tell you newspapers and phone books will stop them... You just never know if it will unless you have tons of the stuff, a bad shot could penetrate right through and come back as ricochet or possibly hit some thing you did not want dammaged.

Most clubs and some gun stores will have a sand trap to empty guns in, try and find one of these places and ask if you can use it.

[mauser]

Just so there's no confusion, I'm not advocating firing any gun in your basement. If you have a facility set up specifically for that, with all safety precautions in place, including proper ventilation, that's one thing, but for most of us, this is definitely an outdoor project. I was only suggesting sources for inexpensive bullet stopping materials.

[gnbrotz]

Well, I didn't do it in my basement, but I did get around to firing three different rounds into sand, newspaper and water. Here are some photos of the results:



The above rounds were fired into a 5 gallon bucket filled with sand. The photo starts on the left with a Federal hollowpoint .22. I don't more info because I emptied the box and forgot to write it down before I did. It came from Wal-Mart in a bulk 550 pack.

Center round is my target load, Winchester .40 S&W, 165 gr, full metal jacket.

The round on the right is my defensive carry load, Remington Golder Saber .40 S&W, 180 gr., brass jacketed hollowpoint.



This next photo (above) shows rounds fired into a bound stack of newspapers. On the left are Remington 'Golden Bullet' .22 hollowpoints.

Center round is my target load, Winchester .40 S&W, 165 gr, full metal jacket.

The round on the right is my defensive carry load, Remington Golder Saber .40 S&W, 180 gr., brass jacketed hollowpoint.



The final photo shows rounds fired vertically into a 15 gal. drum of water (approx. 25" of water).

Again on the left are Remington 'Golden Bullet' .22 hollowpoints.

The round on the right is my defensive carry load, Remington Golder Saber .40 S&W, 180 gr., brass jacketed hollowpoint.

My Winchester target loads aren't pictured because they pierced the bottom of the barrel, and I couldn't recover them. Also, the water comletely tore the jacket off of the Golden Sabres.

As expected, the .22 had the least penetration, and the target load had the most. I'd definitely avoid carrying the target ammo for defense because it's clear that it would quite easily extend beyond an intended target.

[XD45]

thanks for sharing, nothing like some good expanded bullet pics..