One more penetration test.

[Nomadic Pirate]

I scored this very High quality 3/4" particle board.
This stuff is really dense, really heavy and hard to cut with a circular saw
I don't know if it's any harder to penetrate then a quality 3/4" Birch ply but it's definitely gonna be more uniform by nature.

This test I will shoot 2 of each 200gr .357 Western Bullets, 190gr .357 Hunter supply, 148gr .357 Hollowpoint Matt's bullets, 120gr .357 Hollowpoint Rick Merrell, 81gr .357 JSB, 81gr .357 Polymag
I also will shoot for comparison 51gr .30 JSB and 34gr .25 JSB to see what kind of difference we'll get compared to the .357s

I will shoot all the .357 out of my REX Carbine that gets 180 FPE with the 200gr

I will refill the REX after each 2 shots that I take.

The .30 will be shot with a 90 FPE gun and the .25 with a 65 FPE gun.

[Nomadic Pirate]

Forgot to mention,

I will then alternate several layers of alternating thick carboard and 1/4" Birch Plywood.

[Nomadic Pirate]

8 sheets of 1/4" ply are cut

[Nomadic Pirate]

And the target face has been mapped,
Trying to keep at least 4" between the shots to minimize any possible disruption

[RichH]

That looks like MDF to me, not particle.

[Fussell]

Nice, that board looks too purty to shoot?   I'll be following.

[smythsg]

Woohoo, I'm guessing that at 20 yards, everything but the Polymag will jet right through...

[Nomadic Pirate]

That looks like MDF to me, not particle.

What is MDF ?

I just figured was some kind of super dense Particle board.

[nervoustrigger]

Medium density fiberboard.  Finer particles than particleboard...basically dust bound together. 

[bduares]

Medium-density fibreboard


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-density_fibreboard

I see you live in Hawaii. That's where I'm from. Moved to Texas several times in the 80's and 90's, and been here since 93 or 94. I'm from Waipahu

[mrbulk]

Test seems quite scientifically structured to eliminate whatever variables you can.

But exactly how are you gonna measure penetration depth (or anything else) with that tape measure? Belongs in a museum!

[Nomadic Pirate]

Woohoo, I'm guessing that at 20 yards, everything but the Polymag will jet right through...

Ya think ?

[Nomadic Pirate]

Medium-density fibreboard


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-density_fibreboard

I see you live in Hawaii. That's where I'm from. Moved to Texas several times in the 80's and 90's, and been here since 93 or 94. I'm from Waipahu

Cool, thanks for the link.

so not only it's more consistent then Ply, but looks like it's stronger too.

Should be perfect for this test and other tests too,....I have more to take from work as well

[Nomadic Pirate]

OK, so I finished my test target :

MDF board, then 2 layers of thick cardboard,
After that alternate layers of eight 1/4" ply and thick carboard
and last a 3/4" Ply to complete the test target.

[Rallyshark]

Yep, that's MDF, and I'll also note, a darn good testing medium!  That's what I use to determine if a gun has the snuff to poke though a skull.  That MDF is really dense, and consistent, so should be great for repeatable tests.  The only warning I'll have is, don't put shots too close to each other.  Try and keep them at least 2" apart, because the exit will blow out a larger piece of wood on that MDF.  This should be interesting!  Smythsg is probably right.  Everything will probably poke through that MDF, with the exception of the 65 fpe .25, maybe... 

The real question is gonna be how far the projectiles make it after that MDF, because it will cause expansion  

[JuryRigger]

Watching; this will be great -that mdf is no weak stuff; I will be very surprised if there are any pass throughs, personally. Though I do expect to see some very nasty looking "wound" cavities...
Jesse

[Nomadic Pirate]

Yep, that's MDF, and I'll also note, a darn good testing medium!  That's what I use to determine if a gun has the snuff to poke though a skull.  That MDF is really dense, and consistent, so should be great for repeatable tests.  The only warning I'll have is, don't put shots too close to each other.  Try and keep them at least 2" apart, because the exit will blow out a larger piece of wood on that MDF.  This should be interesting!  Smythsg is probably right.  Everything will probably poke through that MDF, with the exception of the 65 fpe .25, maybe... 

The real question is gonna be how far the projectiles make it after that MDF, because it will cause expansion  

Cool, I'm excited now and I have more of this stuff I can swipe from work for future testing
 always been looking for a medium that is consistent and uniform for accurate comparison

All shots will be a bout 4" apart exactly for that reason, also the clamped layers at the back should minimize expansion and damage to the back of the board,.....I guess ?

[Nomadic Pirate]

Watching; this will be great -that mdf is no weak stuff; I will be very surprised if there are any pass throughs, personally. Though I do expect to see some very nasty looking "wound" cavities...
Jesse

Yeah, I don't expect anything to go through all that layering

It will be interesting to check the damage and distance traveled into the system.


This time I will do a post for every pellet/bullet recovered with distance and pictures otherwise it gets to confusing to do the report all together.

[JohnnyPDX]

Nice test.

The tape measure is just getting broke-in.

[Rallyshark]

This should work very well!  I'm really looking forward to seeing the results on it, because I've wanted to do a very similar test to test ultimate penetration after the 3/4 MDF.  I just haven't gotten around to it   This should be a PERFECT penetration test me thinks.