Max Pellet Expansion / Deck of Cards test.

[ackuric]

Thought I'd welcome those with powerful airguns and a deck of cards laying around to a test to see what it takes, or if its even possible, to shoot through an entire deck of playing cards (Calling all .452 slayer owners hah). My attempt was at a mere 56 muzzle FPE @ a safe distance of 10 yards. If you attempt either test please note your caliber / grain / distance from target / velocity or fpe / target material (if attempting max expansion) and expansion (can use percent calculator to figure percent increase from original). Most importantly, be safe, and use safety glasses!



Caliber: .25

Grain: 33.95

FPE: 56 (865 fps)

Distance: 10 yards

Target: Deck of cards

Cards fully penetrated: 23 (few more were damaged / cracked but not full penetration)

Expansion: .602" = 140.8% 

(first card entry = king(king has 2 holes 1 from earlier 20 fpe shot), last card entry = 8)

This 'test' is purely for enjoyment / entertainment / bragging rights. May the lead measuring begin, lol. Lastly, feel free to guess what it will take to full penetrate a deck of cards, my guess is roughly 130 FPE.

 

[Revoman]

Howdy!

Were your cards clamped at the bottom only making the top 'free' without backing, or was the deck backed by any means (such as a board) making it a more solid target? Just trying to understand the perimeters. 

 

[Kaeokini]

Very interesting, I have to see which gun to use but most of all I have to convince my wife to buy some new deck of cards just so I can shot them. 

But my guess is at least 80fpe.

Aloha

 

[ackuric]

Howdy!

Were your cards clamped at the bottom only making the top 'free' without backing, or was the deck backed by any means (such as a board) making it a more solid target? Just trying to understand the perimeters.

The cards were placed in their original packaging and not clamped anywhere, just placed up against my rubber mulch box. The deck didn't move @ 20 fpe but it did jump at 56. Maybe if I clamped it down another card or two would have been broken through, who knows. The test certainly implies the cards should be stacked tightly with each other naturally as if they were in their original packaging. Good luck to those who try to defeat the deck! Lol.

 

[ackuric]

Very interesting, I have to see which gun to use but most of all I have to convince my wife to buy some new deck of cards just so I can shot them. 

But my guess is at least 80fpe.

Aloha

I had 3 decks and figured this would be a fun test, I performed it in the past at 40 fpe and was amazed how few cards I could make it through, still am at 56 fpe. Wonder if the dollar store carries decks of cards? I am willing to bet they do. The .25" entry and .602" exit in final card is quite amusing. The pellet actually fragmented to some degree, for a 33.95 gr mk ll to fragment means a lot of energy transfer. I've splattered some good lead on metal but doing it on paper is something else. 

 

[ackuric]

Here is the retrieved 20 FPE pellet for comparison. 

.25 Cal

20.06 Gr

20 FPE / 680 FPS

10 Yards

Deck of cards

8 Cards penetrated

.360" Expansion

 

 

[ackuric]

Welp, a Polymag did the job! This deck was secured with tape against the box of rubber mulch which likely favored it some, but still, I think it was more the Polymag that deserves the credit. 



.25 Cal

26 Gr Polymag

930 FPS / 50 FPE

10 Yards

Deck of cards

Full deck penetration

.358" Expansion (pellet irretrievable in box of mulch)



Pictured last card in deck: (the last 30~ or so were ripped like this as opposed to cut like one would normally expect/see) Quite interesting how the pellet ripped through as opposed to cut through towards the latter half of the deck.

Penetration into the box of rubber mulch. I was really shocked when I pulled the cards away from the box to see it.

Now I wonder how little FPE can achieve this and with what projectile. Nonetheless I still want to see some attempts / expanded lead! Happy shooting. 

 

[sonny]

speed is the answer like a 2x4 in a tornado also the hardness of the lead/projectile

 

[bdzjlz]

I did a very similar experiment a few years ago that produced wildly interesting results. I took a full ream of 8.5x11 paper in its original packaging. After clamping it solidly against a plywood backing, I put 12 1-inch target dots on the paper face, and shot 12 different pellets into it for a expansion, penetration comparison using my AA S-510 rifles. I did this for .177, .22, and .25. In the .22 alone, penetration ranged from 60 pages to 105. Expansion and fragmentation results were equallly interesting.

The test was done at 18 yards on my indoor range in front of my steel backstop.

It was worth the money in paper.

 

[Jammin22]

I performed an expansion test with my Power tuned Cricket .25 at 35yds using jugs of water. This is the same method I used for reloading pistols and hi-po. The reason for the test was the JSB pellet either in .22 or .25 shot at a squirrel and if you could retrieve one never expanded. They looked new other than the rifle marks on the skirt. I wanted a hunting pellet that would mushroom or dump energy into the animal for a quicker kill. It wouldn't have to be a one hole paper punching pellet either, hunting pellet. After Shooting many pellets, I found that the H&N Grizzly was the winner! I can't recall the exact amount of jugs it went through but the expansion was great. My Dad and myself have been using them ever since for hunting. I'm pushing that 31gr. pellet @ 922fps. Now, I know someone is going to chime in and say shot placement is the key. Well, I have been hunting since I was 10 and now I'm almost 51and sometimes poop happens. Not ever time is it perfect. At times we don't get that perfect head shot and want to take a chest shot. I have found at times the JSB pellet would zip through so fast that the animal had a chance to get into his hole, nest, or bury itself into a pile of branches unable to retrieve. I will say using the Grizzly pellet it has reduced that issue tramendously. Just my thoughts. 

 

[ctshooter]

I'd say if you want to punch through the card a slug would work best. Hollow-point for most expansion with a soft lead pellet.

 

[ackuric]

I did a very similar experiment a few years ago that produced wildly interesting results. I took a full ream of 8.5x11 paper in its original packaging. After clamping it solidly against a plywood backing, I put 12 1-inch target dots on the paper face, and shot 12 different pellets into it for a expansion, penetration comparison using my AA S-510 rifles. I did this for .177, .22, and .25. In the .22 alone, penetration ranged from 60 pages to 105. Expansion and fragmentation results were equallly interesting.

The test was done at 18 yards on my indoor range in front of my steel backstop.

It was worth the money in paper.

Lol, that is a good approach to testing various pellets and their effects. With my test I am convinced a 50 fpe Polymag would be much more devastating than a 60 fpe MK ll.

 

[ackuric]

speed is the answer like a 2x4 in a tornado also the hardness of the lead/projectile

I concur. A much harder pellet that moves MUCH faster and doesn't deform and lose more energy due to the deformation will penetrate MUCH better.



865fps MKll = 23 cards

930~fps Polymag = Full deck penetration

 

[Guest]

Ackuric, I couldn't find a deck of cards but I did find this old skillet in the cupboard... I shot it at 10 yards with my Wildcat using 34.0 grain MKI moving at 900 ft/s - around 61 fpe - just for fun! Will try to find some cards and do it over for you though...  

 

[ackuric]

That took quite the hit, wonder how a polymag would fair against it. The lead in Poly's seems quiet a bit harder than in JSB's.

 

[Guest]

Wish they would ever come out with Polymags in .25 shorts...

 

[Chunky_Munky]

Hi All,

First off, for those of you interested, Dollar General has cards for a dollar per pack. I grabbed a couple of packs last night in anticipation of a nice, leisurely day off spent shooting.



Here are my results with JSB 50.15 and 44.75 grain pellets, I used tape to attach the cards to my box of rubber mulch at 10 yards.

The 44.75 gain partially broke apart and failed to penetrate the entire deck (stopped 10 cards short). The 50.15 grain tore through the last card but didn’t completely exit the deck.



Red Wolf HP .303 @ 10 yards

JSB Exact 50.15 grain

798 FPS

71 FPE

 

Red Wolf HP .303 @ 10 yards

JSB Exact 44.75 grain

835 FPS

69 FPE

 

[Kaeokini]

Wish they would ever come out with Polymags in .25 shorts...

I know what you mean Chuck, there is a member here on AGN (monkeydad1969)and he's affiliated with polymags, anyway I asked him if they were going to come out with .25 short and he said it's not something there looking to do. Maybe if the demand is there they would start making them. But for now I just have to single load.

Aloha

 

[Guest]

Yes I know Joseph also from the past and it seems as though his affiliation with the owners a predator does not extend to convincing them to create the polymag 25 shorts unfortunately. I believe he is trying to convince them though ... I personally believe it is an idea with great Merit because I do not believe there's any other pellet available on the market today with the accuracy and expansion rate of a polymag. Some have one or the other but not both attributes unfortunately.

 

[ackuric]

@Chunky_Munky Holy cow, incredible how a 50 fpe Polymag can do it but a 70 FPE JSB Domed can't. I also find it interesting my 33.95 MK2 expanded roughly the same as your .30 cal 44.75 gr....obviously both your jsb's out did the 33.95 mkll in my test being quite the higher energy.



So far this test has been quite intriguing. Obviously some deformation is good and desired to reduce over penetration, but with harder lead designed to rip holes gets put in the softer leads place, a lot more damage can result...which IMO makes me feel very confident in what low energy can accomplish with the right projectile/ammo hardness/design. 



So far JSB's seem great to reduce over penetration, they expand and the expansion itself further slows down the projectile by having more surface area. 


I kind of wanna go digging into my box of mulch to retrieve the polymag I shot through the entire deck of cards at 50 fpe..