Saturday, February 03, 2007

The Only Ones And Their Secrets...

"...The FBI test events were:

  1. Bare Gelatin at 10 feet
  2. Heavy Clothing at 10 ft.
  3. Automotive sheet metal at 10 ft. (2 pieces of 20ga. hot rolled steel spaced 3" apart)
  4. Wall board at 10' (2 pieces of standard 1/2" wall board 3 1/2" apart)
  5. Plywood at 10 feet. One piece 3/4" AA fir plywood
  6. Automotive glass at 10 ft. (Standard windshield glass mounted at 45 deg angle)
  7. Light clothing at 20 yds.
  8. Automotive glass at 20 yards (shots fired from front otherwise same as #6 above)
All shots fired had to defeat the above obstacles AND penetrate 12" into a block of ballistic gelatin (except # 1 of course). The 12" was developed on anatomical averages, and failing to penetrate to that depth was considered a failure.

The FBI WAS NOT testing ammo for Law Enforcement use per se, as they considered their needs rather unique. However, it seems (IMO) that their obstacle penetration criteria are not only valid for LEO use, but any situation where a defensive use of a sidearm MAY be used in a reactive offensive manner. By this I mean that after a firefight has begun, a LEO could reasonably expect his/her bullets to defeat cover a felon would be likely to take in a protracted gunfight.

NOTE: Velocity, Energy, and Success rate were rounded DOWN from fractional results to a whole number in THIS data. All portions were tested using 40 rounds of each ammo sample and gun combination."
              FBI AMMUNITION TEST PERFORMANCE DATA

CAL MAKER BULLET Wt. GUN BBL VEL. FPE SUCCESS

.45 Fed HS 230 4506 5" 802 328fp 95%
.45 Rem JHP 185 645 5" 903 334fp 95%
.45 Fed HS 230 1911 5" 828 358fp 82%
.45 Fed JHP 185 4506 5" 874 313fp 90%
.45 Fed JHP 185 645 5" 953 373fp 57%
.45 Win S-Tip 185 4506 5" 951 371fp 50%

10mm Norma JHP 170 Delta 5" 1358 696fp 100%
10mm Fed JHP 180 Delta 5" 931 346fp 95%
10mm Win JHP 180 Delta 5" 955 364fp 92%
10mm IMP-3D JHP 180 Delta 5" 991 392fp 92%
10mm Buffalo Prfrg 191 Delta 5" 916 355fp 30%

.357 Fed HS 158 M13 3" 1183 490fp 100%
.357 Win JSP 158 M13 3" 1096 421fp 97%
.357 Win S-Tip 145 M13 3" 1166 437fp 82%

38sp Fed HS 147 M13 3" 874 249fp 92%
38sp Rem LHP 158 M13 3" 871 266fp 67%
38sp Fed LHP 158 M13 3" 834 244fp 70%
38sp Fed HS 129 M13 3" 841 202fp 60%
38sp Win LHP 158 M13 3" 808 229fp 65%
38sp Win S-Tip 125 M13 3" 843 197fp 17%

380 Win S-Tip 85 PPK 3" 954 171fp 20%

9mm Fed HS 147 226 4.25" 914 272fp 82%
9mm Fed HS 124 226 4.25" 1062 310fp 82%
9mm Win JHP 147 226 4.25" 902 265fp 62%
9mm Win S-Tip 115 226 4.25" 1091 303fp 35%

"Full details of this testing can be obtained by any qualified agency by making a request in writing, on their letterhead to:
Firearms Training Unit, FBI Academy
Quantico Va. 22135


This information in its entirety is NOT available to the general public."
_________________________________________________

And therein lies our rub. But of course we mere mortals should not be given access to the Royal Test Results, and it's no joke, kids, they won't spill the beans. A while back I spoke with a 2nd Amendment friendly attorney about a Freedom of Information Act request to dislodge this data, and after he stopped laughing and wiping his eyes he said no way. We the people are not a "qualified agency". We used to be. Wonder if we'll ever be again.


As to the test themselves? Notice that except for the first 10 mm round, the remainder are in reality .40 S&W's that of course DO measure 10 mm. I'm not a big fan of barrier tests and haven't been one since I quit the job that had me shooting through cinder blocks sometimes just to get someone to duck and/or cease firing. I do not imagine that will happen very often these days, so I simply select the bullet that makes the biggest hole.

Rocket surgery it ain't.

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