Posted By: tenyearsgone
I found the .45 projectiles I shot on the ground at the target - 07/25/15 05:18 AM
Was shooting steel plates at 60-70 yards today and found several nearly perfect projectiles on the ground under the target. Would these most likely have hit the plate but had so little energy they simply barely bounced off, or did they just run out of gas and fall in the dirt? They weren't completely round. Just curious as to what likely happened.
Posted By: toolman
Re: I found the .45 projectiles I shot on the ground at the target - 07/25/15 07:25 AM
Are you sure they are yours?
Posted By: Chris42
Re: I found the .45 projectiles I shot on the ground at the target - 07/25/15 01:31 PM
I believe it.
A friend and I were shooting in a near empty tank. We found plenty of the bulletslater in near perfect condition. 40 SW and 9mm
I've also seen a 40 S&W slug on an X-ray that looked like I could use it again. And that was inside a person.
Posted By: RiverRider
Re: I found the .45 projectiles I shot on the ground at the target - 07/25/15 01:42 PM
I've found many, many .45 caliber FMJs on the ground that looked like they hadn't been shot except for the rifling marks. They don't leave the muzzle very fast to begin with (about 830 fps) and they shed velocity quickly, plus, their construction doesn't lend much to terminal deformation.
Posted By: tth_40
Re: I found the .45 projectiles I shot on the ground at the target - 07/25/15 02:58 PM
Yup, we find them all the time on our range at the ranch.
Posted By: Gravytrain
Re: I found the .45 projectiles I shot on the ground at the target - 07/25/15 03:03 PM
Trust me, you still would not want to be on the receiving end, even of one of those
intact bullets at 70 yards.
Posted By: GasGuzzler
Re: I found the .45 projectiles I shot on the ground at the target - 07/26/15 12:01 AM
Oh, they hurt but they're jacketed and generally slow.
Posted By: rrflyer
Re: I found the .45 projectiles I shot on the ground at the target - 07/26/15 04:30 AM
Those are your misses... Or previous misses that have washed out of the dirt.
At 60/70 yards those bullets still flatten and brake up.
Posted By: kmon11
Re: I found the .45 projectiles I shot on the ground at the target - 07/26/15 01:36 PM
Have seen 45ACP bullets bounce back 15 yards off a dead liveoak stump. They were hitting the ground between the stump and the shooters feet. A few of them had little flattened spots but all other than the rifling marks looked like they could be reloaded and shot again. Those were 230gr ball ammo.
Posted By: J.G.
Re: I found the .45 projectiles I shot on the ground at the target - 07/26/15 01:55 PM
Run the external ballistics on them and see how much energy they have beyond 60 yards. It bet on paper it isn't much, but I wouldn't want to be hit with one.
I've never thought to look for the ballistic coefficient of a 230 gr. .45
Posted By: Cleric
Re: I found the .45 projectiles I shot on the ground at the target - 07/26/15 02:26 PM
.188 for some hornady xtp
Posted By: kmon11
Re: I found the .45 projectiles I shot on the ground at the target - 07/26/15 02:27 PM
It is more than one might think, with a BC of .183 for a 230gr FMJ.
Posted By: J.G.
Re: I found the .45 projectiles I shot on the ground at the target - 07/26/15 04:57 PM
Thank you kmon.
It does better than I expected. I've shot steel at 100 yards with my 1911, but could not remember how much SWAG I gave it on the elevation.