The
Box O' Truth #19 - The Water Box O' Truth
Part 3: Rifle Rounds - Page 4
I
had tried to straighten out the box a little,
but this busted it up even more.
It
penetrated 7 jugs and finally stopped.
I was surprised that it did not break up
at all.
When fired into armor or dirt, an AP round
will usually shed its jacket covering and
leave the hardened penetrator.
But the water did not cause this one to
break up at all.
At
this point we had gone through almost all
of the water.
We only had 6 gallons left and decided to
give the Shiloh Sharps .45-70 a shot at
it.
Tman caught me in full recoil.
I
was shooting my handload of a 510 Grain
lead round nose, gas checked.
It busted all six gallons, busted through
the back of the box, and was last seen headed
to Oklahoma.
And
finally, here I am with 33 dead gallons
of water.
A fine day by any standard.
Lessons learned:
1. Let's say it once more: Rifles are rifles,
and pistols are pistols. Anyone that says,
"I'd just as soon have a rifle in a pistol
caliber", hasn't seen the difference
in performance. There is no comparison.
2. The rifle rounds tended to depart from
a straight line after contacting the water.
Some rounds even left the box.
3. The 5.56 Ball did not fragment. It blew
up the water jugs just fine, but it did not
fragment.
4. 8mm and .30-06 penetrated pretty far, as
expected. The hydrostatic shock from the big
rifle rounds was impressive.
5. The .30 carbine penetrated further than
we expected. The JHP round expanded and fragmented,
while the round of Ball did not.
6. Three feet of water will not slow a 510
grain .45-70 down much.
7. And, as always, shooting stuff is fun.
(Thanks to Tman for the photo and water-hauling
help)
