38 Special 130gr +P HST Tested in Gel

[Tokarev]

Here's something you will be interested in. At least all y'all who carry a 38SPL for defense.

There have been a few tests of this particular load in Clear Gel but, so far as I know, mine is the first test in 10% organic gel. I've used Clear Gel previously but have only recently started messing with making true organic gel. I've tried a couple different blocks with grocery store gel but have decided to start using VYSE gel since it is the correct stuff. It is supposedly favored over other options for its consistency and I've found it easy to work with.

The organic gel block used here was made last weekend and has been under refrigeration for a week. I took it out of the fridge this morning and immediately put it into a Coleman cooler for transport for the hills. Total time in the cooler was about 35 minutes from fridge door to range setup.

Three .177 BBs were used to validate the block. Chrono data was only captured for one BB. This showed a muzzle velocity of 579 fps. All three BBs fell within millimeters of the 8.5cm calibration.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180210/f6b3b4596a66f4b47f57d5814e64d915.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180210/5b8420a0c941f6ee44492c61311dd725.jpg

Next up was one round of the 38 HST +P fired into bare gel. The firearm used was a Ruger LCR with a 1.87" barrel.

The recorded muzzle velocity was 854 fps. This bullet penetrated to a depth of 11.25 inches.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180210/d9bce4e62c4c514260cbc46405839e41.jpg

Next was a round through FBI spec heavy clothing. The heavy clothing sample was bought from Clear Ballistics and is two pieces of cotton fabric covered by a layer of insulation and topped with a sheet of denim.

The first bullet through clothing had a recorded velocity of 825 fps and punched to 11.75 inches in the block.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180210/5e437c64273550e1d0c18d31bcca9501.jpg

The 3rd and final round fired through clothing penetrated right to the 12" mark with a velocity of 860 fps.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180210/0d4efdb5143625c552a213e9489038b9.jpg

Just for comparison I also fired one round of Winchester 110gr +P+ through clothing into the block. This bullet showed 1,015 fps for velocity and penetrated to 10.25 inches.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180210/bef5ccbb2bee6be33b8c9af902b0d581.jpg

All shooting was done from 10 feet. The chronograph was set up directly in front of the gel.

In gel the HST bullets all lost at least one petal. But the part(s) that broke off are small pieces of the lead core. None of the jacket material appears to have been lost. The small pieces all broke off between about five and eight inches in the gel.

Here are the three HST bullets on the left. The Winchester 110gr JHP bullet is on the right and is included for comparison.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180211/a88d3bdc8649ab2dda849c0ed419fb9f.jpg

The HST bullets all lost a few grains of mass but it probably wasn't enough to radically change the outcome.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180211/6839424fe27bc964cbd025e4174b80f3.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180211/ec61a3e431cd62c9e5f5fd6d86b48cd0.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180211/b3ff3179e9e3480aa5274901d17b65b8.jpg

The Winchester bullet's weight wasn't photographed but it was 109.6 grains.

And here are the expanded diameters. All three bullets show a jacket that's peeled back against the shank of the bullets. The exception is one petal on one bullet. It didn't roll back fully but rather sticks out just a bit.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180211/895509af0f7a1053051da3bbde4ae376.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180211/7592f7a3b45f905b755b5bf68d20e4bd.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180211/25b08c9477a7186895646af9115fdb1d.jpg

And here's the Winchester bullet. Again just for comparison.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180211/26f7b1ecde22e037d363b06ba7e8f6c6.jpg


Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.

[1168]

Thanks for the cool test.

If you are into killing jello with revolver loads, I probably have some .38 special and .357 in my garage that I can send you, for the good of the forum. I don’t have those sort of guns anymore.

Edit: what I have is .38 148gr jacketed wadcutters, .38 146 LRN (theres a dude in another thread asking about a similar load), 4 .357 hydrashoks, weight unknown, and a single .357 golden saber, weight unknown.

[gunnerblue]

Thanks for doing this test. Does the gel record any cavitation (maybe I’m just not seeing it on my phone)?

[Tokarev]

Thanks for doing this test. Does the gel record any cavitation (maybe I’m just not seeing it on my phone)?There is some cavitation in the gel although I don't really take note of it.

There are a number of opinions on cavitation. I generally subscribe to this school of thought:

http://www.gunnuts.net/2014/10/13/the-myth-of-the-temporary-wound-cavity/

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[Tokarev]

Pretty good read on incapacitation.

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?t=4328

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[Mrgunsngear]

Thanks for the organic gel results. Varied a little from the clear ballistics as you stated.

FWIW, clear gel test:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgGjNQ_hhIQ

[1168]

Thanks.