Test shooting a cast iron bathtub - Page 3

ppkheat · February 13th, 2008, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr_cmg

I would like to see what .357SIG and 10mm would do. I wonder if the porcelain coating is helping the tub to withstand the shots. Just wondering why the tub doesn't act like other cast iron.

Sorry I don't have a .357 Sig or 10mm, but if you could write a note in support of me buying one or both, I'd show it to my wife.

I'm pretty sure the porcelain wasn't doing much good regarding bullet resistance, and I believe it was coming off at the impact site due to the cast metal flexing a little bit and breaking the bond between the cast and the porcelain.

Just like there are so many varieties of steel, there are many varieties of cast iron and IMHO that is where the difference lies. I was at a home supply store recently and a quick glance told me that the cast iron tubs in todays market are thinner than the one I used.....not a surprise, but likely to cause different results using the same bullet tests. So I think that thinner/thicker and cast metal formula's would all cause inconsistencies in testing.

Any ideas on something else to test shoot? toilets?, concealed carry badges?, baked ham?, car tire? Hey I think a car tire might be interesting. Comparative shots with various calibers, across the sidewalls, then shots into and out of the treads.

P95Carry · February 13th, 2008, 02:03 PM

Car tires?? One thing with these is the potential for rounds coming back to the shooter - well - with lower velocity stuff anyways!

I think if tests were to be useful then a tire would need to be on a rim and fully inflated. If just a tire casing used then it is much better able to absorb energy as it deforms ... thus maybe giving a bounce back instead of penetration.

David III · February 13th, 2008, 03:55 PM

Fascinating - and I was expecting the tub to just kind of shatter. Also interesting to see how the "lowly" (by modern standards) 30-30 did.

ppkheat · February 15th, 2008, 07:30 PM

Okay I just got back from doing some more shooting at the bathtub. I never could get a .45 FMJ to penetrate it in one shot, it would finally bust a hole on the second or third shot, much like the 9mm.

After finishing the .45 shooting, we decided to try rifles, of course we knew that they would punch through at least one layer, so we stacked all our pieces together so we had a total of 4 layers of cast to shoot through. Shot the first one with a M-14, it punched through 3 layers of the cast and the bullet apparently disintegrated on the 4th layer, not damaging it at all.

Next was an AK-47, it went throught the first layer and disintegrated on the second causing no noticeable damage.

The last was a K31 (7.5X55 Swiss) it punched through 2 layers and disintegrated on the third.

The cast iron on that particular tub is TOUGH stuff.

BTW while we were there we stacked up five 2X4's and fired one round from each rifle through the stack. The AK went through 4 and lodged in #5. The other two rifles zipped through all 5 boards.

February 13th, 2008, 02:03 PM	#22
P95Carry Assistant Administrator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: South West PA Posts: 25,339	Car tires?? One thing with these is the potential for rounds coming back to the shooter - well - with lower velocity stuff anyways! I think if tests were to be useful then a tire would need to be on a rim and fully inflated. If just a tire casing used then it is much better able to absorb energy as it deforms ... thus maybe giving a bounce back instead of penetration. __________________ Chris - P95 NRA Certified Instructor & NRA Life Member. "To own a gun and assume that you are armed is like owning a piano and assuming that you are a musician!." If a BG dies as the result of pointing a gun at me, then he has merely succumbed to an occupational hazard of being a thug

February 15th, 2008, 07:30 PM	#24
ppkheat Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Louisiana Posts: 941	Update Okay I just got back from doing some more shooting at the bathtub. I never could get a .45 FMJ to penetrate it in one shot, it would finally bust a hole on the second or third shot, much like the 9mm. After finishing the .45 shooting, we decided to try rifles, of course we knew that they would punch through at least one layer, so we stacked all our pieces together so we had a total of 4 layers of cast to shoot through. Shot the first one with a M-14, it punched through 3 layers of the cast and the bullet apparently disintegrated on the 4th layer, not damaging it at all. Next was an AK-47, it went throught the first layer and disintegrated on the second causing no noticeable damage. The last was a K31 (7.5X55 Swiss) it punched through 2 layers and disintegrated on the third. The cast iron on that particular tub is TOUGH stuff. BTW while we were there we stacked up five 2X4's and fired one round from each rifle through the stack. The AK went through 4 and lodged in #5. The other two rifles zipped through all 5 boards. __________________ Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

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February 13th, 2008, 03:55 PM	#23
David III Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sturgeon, MO Posts: 740	Fascinating - and I was expecting the tub to just kind of shatter. Also interesting to see how the "lowly" (by modern standards) 30-30 did.