Shooting Various Calibers (.338 Lapua, .50 BMG) at 6-Inch Aluminum Block
Updated: March 21, 2016 BY S.H. Blannelberry What’s it like to shoot a bunch of different rounds at a 6-inch block of solid aluminum?
Well, watch as DemolitionRanch finds out.
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What’s behind him? Lots and lots of distance. His place is huge! I would have liked to see what happened with shots that were more centered, but oh, well. He only had one block. I shot a 3/4″ aluminum piece with a 22TCM. It made a heck of a divot in it. It looked a lot like the .44 mag. The 9mm and .22lr gave similar results. I just had the advantage of a barrier to shoot past, although I think it’s important to mention the fact that the Lexan I used (like the guys on Mythbusters always used) didn’t take a direct hit from the 9mm. It punched right on through on a direct shot.
Isn\’t it illegal to shoulder that 9mm short barrel since it has the sig brace on it?
If you can’t get center hits on a test medium, don’t waste the ammo, or our time. A Lead Sled would be a good investment, as would a correct zero on your weapons before making a video to post to the whole world. You placed yourselves way over into the Billy Bob category with this video.
Thank you! I thought it was just me.
It’s people like this that give the shooting world a bad name
Idiots. Your unsafe and horrible shots. You putt yourselves as well as everyone around you in danger. You proved and accomplished absolutely nothing.
didn’t prove much but fun to watch 2 guys legally enjoying themselves!
nice video BUT.. You shoot basically flat trajectories WITHOUT pratically anything behind the target to stop the bullets that missed or “chipped” the block !! VERY dangerous ! Some day You will get in troble and maybe kill someone.
Please just be more careful
all the rest is really cool, thanks for the video
Alberto
Yea, there was probably a shopping center on the other side of the trees. Or, more likely, they ARE smart enough and there is nothing that could be hit for MILES! Alberto the genius.
The skinny pants made me laugh.
Fun video….as an engineer…now onto the real meat of ballistics 101. When performing penetration tests all calibers MUST be fired at the same distance or the same maximum velocity distance for said caliber for the results to be demonstrative. Likewise a central hit on a target is critical (ideally a new media is used for each shot but for the sake of demonstration the course taken & subsequent cost is understood ).
25 -50yds is typically enough distance for a projectile to reach it’s max velocity. ..this is the point where you’re comparing apples to apples.
Still it was interesting to see the effects on a single dense material. Conversely I’ve fired a 50bmg completely thru a passenger car lengthwise (rear to front) which managed to completely penetrate the vehicle & engine block while dropping thermite the entire way resulting in an inferno once the combustible materials (no fuel) ignited…so seeing a real world situation can be equally impressive.
As “an engineer”, you *should* know that a bullet reaches it’s maximum velocity as it exits the barrel. At 25-50 yds, it would be slightly slower than when it left the muzzle of the barrel.
Very cool. Looks like you guys had a blast! What could be more fun? I’m wondering if you own all those weapons or who supplied them to you. Even more so, the ammo. On top of a perfect place to shoot. That’d be like kids in a candy store to me. Thanks for sharing.
Looks like it was a lot of fun! Now just some constructive criticism: I have to side – mostly – with the folks who criticized bullet placement, if only because the results would have been more dramatic if not on an edge. Also, why not rotate the block to use a fresh face as often as possible? Even if you don’t want to use the “pour” side of the cube, that’s 5 shots before a re-use. That would minimize the possibility of a “Robin Hood” impact. Also, as there was some cursory mention of ballistics, how about trying different bullet construction (other than the standard/AP rounds you did use) in each caliber? On the “scientific” side, using a caliper (or even just a thin stick and a ruler) would give you a better idea of penetration depth for the few cailbers that did more than dent the cube. As for any of the rounds splitting the block, I’m pretty sure that the ductility of aluminum would preclude that. So let’s see some more fun!
How is a projectile supposed to go faster 25-50 yds after leaving to weapons barrel? Bullets are at their fastest speed at the muzzle, they start losing speed as soon as the pressure pushing them through the barrel drops and aerodynamic drag starts.
Okay, I agree but I don’t understand why you posted your comment in response to mine.
What College ring are you wearing??
Are you wearing khakis?
Nice clip, I’d like to see more
I would be interested in see what the differences would be in shooting 4×4 pieces of pine vs. oak vs. treated wood.
Was interesting and entertaining and that’s what the intent was. Thanks fellas.
Yes, it’s true. Some people would complain if they were hung with a new rope. I enjoyed the video.
What an IDIOT!!! Shoots a pistol with an arm brace, video’s it, then posts it??? DHS could be knocking at the front door as we watch this.
Hide your dog!
Why would DHS care what he shoots? Its wayyyyyyy outside their jurisdiction. ATF is the branch who would be interested, however they said that they would not be seeking charges on people using arm braces on people unless used in a crime. So yeah stop hyperventilating.
Shooting a pistol with an arm brace is not illegal. Which is why they sell them. Or are you implying that he was using it as a stock? Because whenever i see someone use a stock they brace it against their shoulder, which he doesnt do. Its ok not a lot of people pay attention to things when they are reaching for excuses to bitch about something
You guys can’t shoot worth a damn.
This wasn’t worth 10+ minutes of bandwidth
Go watch his Vet Ranch video instead. It’ll make you feel better.
Was that a pair of JORTS?? LOL!
Looks like. Are you one of the Fab Five?
It would be nice to see what the bullets actually do if you are not shooting the edge. Think you could do it again and actually shoot the target instead of glancing off the edge on most shots. You are real good at shooting the edge how about trying to shoot the center. Maybe you should aim at the edge and might accidently hit the center. Or just slow down a little bit and aim.
Well they wouldn’t have gone through, they only would have made small holes in the front. If the AP 50 bmg didnt go completely through at that range nothing else they were shooting would have. Still pretty impressive for the aluminum.
But, if ALL the tests were more centered, the results would have been comparable – instead of just chipping/glancing…….As it was, not.
Great video. What were the makes and models of the various handguns? Thanks.
A slow motion vid at the block would be interesting!
Now were talking the next step in professionalism, giving us all a birdseye view of the effect realtime.
A 12-gauge slug would’ve also been enlightening.
More “indepth” on the armor-piercing rounds hitting squarely would be of interest, like later sawing the block later to get a visual on penetration.
They or someone could do a revised indepth version, it was a great idea just expand it.
It was wise for them to give the harmful ricochet effect to warning neophytes of possibly serious such effects.
like losing an eye ~!
I loved it…lol I like Vids where they are shooting different guns at unusual targets. There’s enough videos online of guys shooting water jugs and Jello or Melons… Sometimes we don’t need “Scientific” results or tests, Sometimes we just like to see stuff get tore up! lol.
Nice video. You presented a quasi-scientific demonstration (in a trailer-trash sort of way) that was straightforward and allows people to see the effects of various ammo. You two work well together and keep things moving/interesting. Keep ’em coming guys!
About as far from scientific as you can get, but still an interesting video. Wouldn’t hurt to take some practice shots at a representative target before each “money shot” so that the impact will be as close to center mass as possible; those close-to-the-edge shots don’t really reveal usable results when the media fails and the projectile loses energy.
You guys need to learn how to aim! Especially with the bigger rounds. I think you were anticipating, thus making you jerk on the trigger, or…,a little nervous about making a video, or…just can’t shoot worth a sh*t!! LOL
Interesting and good vid guys, …keep it up!
mks
Yeah……interesting. Kinda disappointed in their accuracy with these rifles. Would be cool to have used slightly smaller blocks and got better center placement and then sliced them open to see how it looks. THAT would be cool! Also…I think a lot of penetration was limited by the fact that the block was not somewhat secured. But an Interesting video for sure.
Nice clip(video) – interesting – I would honestly have thought that 338 Lapua and 50 BMG would split that block
If the block was secured the bigger rounds would do more damage. I’ve shot through 4 inch with 50bmg