Plasticine Goes Ballistic Down Under:

It might just be possible - when continually pistol punching holes though paper - in front of a dirt bank .. to almost forget that the bullets popping down range are capable of causing serious injury or worse. - NZ Police Authority rulings ban using "Man shaped" target images - or hunting any animal with handguns .. even on-approved ranges. Any fully licensed and endorsed pistol owner who might be asked to put-down an injured pet dog would be in breech of police requirements if he/she were to assist the animals owner and end it's suffering this way ..

IPSC TARGETS Went "pc" & 'HEADLESS'

(See no evil .. Think no evil) .. Thought Control police?

 I took 5 kilos of red "plasticine" modelling clay to the range today to see how stuff would work - well you gotta start somewhere eh.

Placed on top of an old desk about 12-15 foot from the firing line .. the first tentative shots were an Aguila  .22 Super Extra 40 grain from my Glock 44 & then a 22 WINCHESTER 29 grain copper-washed SHORT HIGH VELOCITY from a 4 inch  Ruger SP101 ..

Both .22" pills were round-nose and both drilled clean straight holes through five inches-plus of the heavy clay and exited onwards downrange - much to the audience' bemusement. - The third round fired was a 45 ACP 'full-metal-jacket' which also went on straight through leaving a caliber sized drilling.

We were concerned that anything hollow-point & too "reactive" would blast my plasticine lumps to bits .. so the lads next enjoyed an obsolete under-powered 38 S&W (short) hand-loaded lead wadcutter from my 4 inch Webley Mk IV revolver .. 'surprise of the day' when instead of cutting a clean passage it's meplat expanded to .390" - blowing an enlarged double diameter 3/4" bore channel through a full six inches of heavy clay .. enough for anyone eh.

OBSOLETE "Wimp Caliber" 38 S&W Wadcutter 

from Obsolete Webley 38 Revolver:

- I know this isn't 'Scientific' but merely indicative guesswork - but I get the idea that penetration in this clay might roughly be half to one third? of ballistic Gel.

A WINCHESTER 555 bulk pack .22 Hollow-point raised a few eyebrows by expanding to .435" (7/16") as it punched a short .75" x 2.75" cavity with the mushroomed pill before bouncing back two inches.

WINCHESTER 555 Bulk Pack Hollow-Point ..

VERY INTERESTING GRASSHOPPER eh,

Next session I'll try to lay-down a dust sheet of some kind as the plasticine readily picked-up gravel and ground dirt .. and I reckon to need another 5 kilos of the modelling clay to further extend the available penetration depth and bulk when using hotter rounds.

Marty K.

It's not (yet) unlawful to own this paper army target - but whatever you do - don't poke any holes through it eh ..

MK.