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Rhodesian Jungle 12 Gauge for Home Defense?

15K views 34 replies 19 participants last post by  Spalt 
#1 ·
Video results with slow motion footage can be found here:




The Rhodesian Jungle

The Rhodesian Jungle shotgun shell is one of the many "exotic" rounds you can purchase online. It is comprised of a standard 12 gauge shell that is loaded with both buckshot and birdshot. Apparently the birdshot is supposed to destroy any small vegetation barrier while the buckshot continues through killing your target.


Good For Home Defense?

We decided to test the Rhodesian Jungle because of the claims made on the packaging. I purchased this load from FireQuest.com, and they claim that this shell is "great for home defense".


The testing Setup

For our test we used 10% ordinance gelatin. Our block was purchased from clearballistics.com. We fired the Rhodesian Jungle through the Remington 870 at roughly ten feet.


Results

Firing the Rhodesian jungle was a breeze. The recoil felt similar to a low recoil buckshot load. The Rhodesian Jungle spread a decent amount after the ten foot trip to the target. We measured a four inch pattern on target which is an acceptable yet unimpressive pattern for only ten feet. Surprisingly the buckshot seemed to have passed over the top of the gelatin. We only recovered three out of the six lead balls.

Upon striking the target the birdshot immediately began arcing towards the outside of the block. This expanded the damaged area to roughly five inches. An immense amount of energy was released by the steel shot. Some of the BB's created permanent cavities roughly a quarter inch in diameter.

Most of the BBs penetrated anywhere from six to eight inches, while the three buckshot penetrated between fourteen and fifteen inches. The deepest penetrating part of the shell was a piece of buckshot that made it to the fifteen inch mark.


Home Defense Conclusions

I would not recommend this ammunition for home defense for a few reasons.

1. The lack of penetration makes this round unreliable for self defense use.

2. At around five dollars a shell, the ammunition is incredibly expensive. If you rely on a shotgun for home defense, there are a lot cheaper more capable rounds out there that I would recommend before the Rhodesian Jungle.
 
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#4 ·
We use the FBI ballistic gelatin block from clearballistics.com The block is calibrated to meet the specifications necessary for testing. This particular block is 10% ordinance gel measured at 16"X6"X6". The reason why it is only semi-clear is because this type of gelatin gradually yellows after each use. Thanks for the question! :)
 
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#5 ·
If it's 10% ballistics gel then it has to be shot at 40deg F or less and should be calibrated with a .177 steel bb at 600 fps +- 10 fps making not of the depth of penetration of the bb. I've seen many gel shots and 10% ballistics gel is never clear. Might be that the vendor is saying it replicates 10% ballistics gel results.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for your concerns. It's important that we try to replicate the testing environments of other shooters so we have comparable data. Let me first dispel a few myths. Our gelatin is 10% ordnance gel. It does not contain any organic material and technically would not be classified as a gelatin, but because the term is so widely accepted it is referred to as such. I have personally calibrated these blocks and they meet the FBI requirements for testing. No where in the protocol for testing does it state that the testing block must be kept at a certain temperature.

On our channel we try to give information in a quick and entertaining way. Sometimes this means we have to skip some details. There are actually six tests that must be done to fully examine a rounds performance. We do not have the time or resources to complete these. No one wants to watch a forty five minute video, and they would be too costly for our channel to produce. This is why we choose to complete only the first test. We try our hardest to maintain the testing protocols established by the FBI in order to produce valid results. I must admit that we are always improving our testing procedure, and I thank you for giving us some constructive criticism.

All information can be found here: (PDF) http://www.hornadyle.com/assets/site/files/hornady_tap_report.pdf

I didn't need a gel test to accurately guess the test results.

By the way, there is no gelatin in it; it is synthetic.
You're absolutely right. We call it gelatin because it's what people understand and are searching for on Google. I don't want to bore the audience with details.

Nice review and I happen to like 000 for my defense round but that's just me.
Thanks! I would love to test some. It's on my list of things to do. :)
 
#7 ·
I didn't need a gel test to accurately guess the test results.

By the way, there is no gelatin in it; it is synthetic.
 
#8 ·
generally speaking I avoid ANY ammunition that is sold in a blister pac. I have never found anything to be worth the cardboard it is printed on in such a case. 10 bucks buys 5 rounds or more of buckshot and doesnt rely on some crappy name to sell it...
 
#12 ·
All of the above having been said I think that there are common sense reality based reasons for not using any of the exotic 12s as home defense ammunition regardless of their performance.

It should not take a genius to figure out what those reasons would be.

Can anybody envision how any of the below 12s could cause some additional problems in the legal aftermath of an otherwise justified shooting?
Even if not in the Criminal but, in the Civil......

 
#15 ·
Yeah, I really don't get the "specialty shotgun ammo" market. Is anybody complaining about the lack of stopping power of 12 gauge buckshot?
 
#16 ·
Don't get me wrong...I think that the exotic shotgun ammo would be great fun to play around with and to test it as was done here.
I hate it when the lawmakers make all of the fun stuff prohibited just because some sporadic idiots manage to get themselves injured or killed.

YouTube seems to be really doing a great job of thinning the idiots out of the general gene pool. :biggrin2:

If you are going to put fireworks in your mouth and then light them....expect problems! :hand5:

And for sure if you happen to be in the Rhodesian Jungle with your trusty scatter gun you (for sure) might want to purchase some of this ammo.
 
#17 ·
I'm sure it would be fun! I do have to laugh at the marketing, though. I remember seeing some of the "incendiary" type of shells at a gun show, with a video trying to convince people they were good for defense. I guess people aren't sold on ammo that stops the BG's AND burns down their houses - funny thing.
 
#19 ·
Each little ball of bird shot seeks out an individual jungle leaf or vine and clips it in order to provide a clear trajectory pathway just fractions of a second before the buckshot arrives to do the more serious work of taking out the intended target.

It's amazing that it all happens so fast!

Aren't you sorry that you asked? :biggrin2:
 
#27 ·
And finally, for comparison, here's MrGunsNGear's test of the same Controlled Chaos round, in ClearBallistics gel.

You'll see that our overall penetration results were comparable, but the initial damage cavity just looks a lot nastier and shredded in the organic gel than it does in the clear gel.

So, understand -- I like the ClearBallistics stuff for its advantages and for what it's good for. But I think you'd do yourself and your viewers a favor by being a bit more precise in your descriptions, so they know what they're looking at and how it compares to other tests, etc...
 
#30 ·
I like slugs and double 00 buck for home defense.
 
#31 ·
If you can afford to spend $5 per round for 12 gauge defensive ammo, you can afford to live in a gated community with 24/7 armed security. And shoot it from a custom Perazzi Tactical shotgun. :biggrin2:
 
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#32 ·
Late to the thread, but buck and ball loads date back to muzzleloading days. A .60 caliber ball with smaller buck makes sense, particularly in volley fire. Loading 2 sizes of buck or buck and shot together makes sense if each size is niche effective. 3 000 buck and #4 to capacity seeks to take advantage of two effective parent loads. My concern would be offset of the pellets as they travel down the bore. The different sizes may yield a group more erratic than either of the parent loads.

If you reload, these combo loads are easy to make once you have the buck and balls. You can purchase musket balls that the blackpowder folks use.
 
#33 ·
The jury is in: No. 1 Buck is the home-defense solution. Otherwise, 00 is what you go with. All the others, from 4 to 9 are amusing and maybe useful if bagging doves, but not what you bet the farm with. The crazy specialty ammo like ball-and-buck is just silly.
 
#34 ·
If my research is correct, a muzzleloader firing a .69 ball and three swan shot is roughly equivalent to a reduced recoil 1 ounce slug and 3 #1 buck. Swan shot was .28 in diameter, according to one source and thus falls between #2 and #1 buck. So the muzzle load would appear to be very sensible!

I would make a strong argument that #4 buck shot is very capable at room distance, but the #1 excels at longer distances.
 
#35 ·
Update: some archeological digs and opened military cartridges put the shot size closer to 0 buck. Modern tests with shotguns indicate that the buck will not pattern at 25 yards (without special wads), so the colonial soldier making a well- aimed shot with a muzzleloader might hit his target and the man on either side, which still makes sense in that application. I have a friend who is into blackpowder and will ask him about his experience.
 
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