Text Box: Bounce Angle 10 degrees, 6 to 1 slope, Trajectory would place fragments flight path approx. 50 feet above the ground 100 yards downrange from ground strike Text Box: 110 yards Text Box: 6 in. Text Box: 3 ft Text Box: Ground Strike, 3 ft from target board Text Box: Major Fragment Paths Text Box: .243 Winchester 100 Grain BTSP 2960 fps, shot from sitting position @ 110 yards Text Box: Ground Strike Text Box: Bullet Path

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two major fragments resulted after impact, leaving the ground at a ten degree angle and striking the board six inches up.   The jacket appeared to have separated and stuck into the wood backstop as a flattened cooper plate, penetration was minuscule.  This light and cumbersome piece of shrapnel would have dumped it's small amount of flight energy very quickly presenting little danger a few hundred yards downrange.  The major remaining portion of the slug left a quarter-inch-deep keyhole shaped dent in the board, bouncing or falling back out after striking.  Even in it's sideways orientation this fragment should have penetrated the plywood if it carried enough energy to be a threat very far downrange.   I would guess that this projectile exited the ground strike with a velocity of well under 1000 fps.   It exited it's ground-strike at an angle of ten degrees.  On this trajectory that would have placed it's path at a height of 50 feet above the ground 100 yards downrange.  This became a basic pattern present in the testing.  Angles of deflection were consistently steeper that the bullet's angle of impact with the ground and will help us determine the range of our worst case scenario bullet fragment later.  At this point results were encouraging.  If a tough hunting bullet was leaving the ground at a relatively slow velocity,  the area of danger when the undoubtedly tumbling and misshapen fragment leaves the ground may be well within four or five hundred yards perhaps.  In theory varmint bullet fragmentation would render the shot even more benign

 

                                                                                            

 

My first test firings sent three Speer 100 grain boat-tailed softpoints downrange at 2960 fps.  This was a hunting bullet load I had always wanted to use because of it's probable fur friendly exit wounds.  I had not done so however, feeling the ricochet hazzard would be too great with a tough bullet like this.   Two of the three strikes failed to produce a visible strike on the target board probably striking too far ahead of the board and possibly sending the fragmentation over the top. (hey this is harder than it looks)  The third shot plowed a small channel through the snow and corn stubble before finally meeting the ground three feet from the target board. 

Text Box: Jacket only, little penetration

Text Box: Main fragment, only .25 inch penetration