ballistic putty

[glider64]

I`ve seen a target holder with ballistic putty at the back ,i assume to keep the noise down, and wondered where this can be bought from , can any one help please?

[DaveP]

Are you sure about that? B&Q putty would be good enough to use for that sort of purpose! Nothing special required

[glider64]

I came acorss a thread some where showing a target box with this in the back and now can`t remember where , not sure about b&q putty but it may be an option,thanks

[Big Mafoota]

It was in one of the mags, ang on i'll have a look

[eddie ginley]

I'd try plumbers putty. Linseed oil putty dries out but plumbers putty is always sort of tacky.

[Steyr]

Dry sand in a tube would be better as it is self healing (so long as it is dry).

Ballistic putty was designed to simulate the density of flesh to guage penetration and wound channel injuries as far as I understood it - but of course that could be wrong. I didnt think it was self healing - i.e closed up after impact.

[Steyr]

Just googled and found this - may be a start

http://www.straightshooters.com/target/btputty.html

[Willyleigh]

try this, it would also be an interesting experiment to test the penetration of different pellets from different guns

http://thefifthrule.com/T5R/?p=225

[Thunderbolt A10]

Ballistic putty was designed to simulate the density of flesh to guage penetration and wound channel injuries as far as I understood it - but of course that could be wrong. I didnt think it was self healing - i.e closed up after impact.

Hi,

I am not so sure about this fact. Actually, it would be a wrong and unreliable medium to test penetration and wound channel injuries in because it has the same dense form all the way through. A live quarry does not behave like this because it consists of both bones and flesh and not to forget the "outer skin" either.
Besides, you will have no idea of what exact damages you made inside a real live quarry if you only use this type of putty for your testing.

But the putty is an excellent pellet stopper and will stop pellets from high power FAC airguns if necessary. It is not a super silent material for pellets, not like for example a thick carpet or similar material. For best performance pellets should be removed afterward and the putty should be pushed together again so it will be ready for a new round of shooting.

In fact, hollowpoint pellets may expand upon impact with this material and can therefor to some degree be a gauge for expansion of expandable pellets. Just remember that this form for both penetration and expansion of pellets will say absolutely nothing about how the pellets will behave in a live quarry or how good they will kill a certain quarry. Only live testing will give you the exact results in this matter.

[Willyleigh]

testing like this will not indicate exactly how it would behave in a live animal but it will show up the expansion of pellets and penetration, perhaps not the same as in an animal but if all tests were done in the putty you could draw your conclusions from it

[Steyr]

Indeed - I was just repeating what I had heard re a comparison to flesh (rather than other matter such as bone).

But if you are target shooting and potentially place numerous shots through the same hole, is there a deficiency in using BP as a backstop ?

Carpet squares, paper bundled, sand would be better and quieter and self healing to varying degrees.

If I had the inclination to buy BP, it would be more likely to see how pellets perform on a constant to measure penetration, expansion blady blah

[freewind]

One of our members at the club collects all the old pellets from his target holder , melts them down and moulds it to the back of his target holder,gives it some weight and makes it quieter. Good way to recycle all that old lead.

Andy Y

[Big Mafoota]

I think it's ballistic gel that somone was referring to. It has the same denisity as flesh and used to gague penetration, as seen on mythbusters.

The putty in question is a flue jointing compound and the brand in the mag is 'Puirmachos'.

[Thunderbolt A10]

I think it's ballistic gel that somone was referring to. It has the same denisity as flesh and used to gague penetration, as seen on mythbusters.

Hi,

Well, it is all good in regards to penetration but it does not give much information about "killing power" which in the end is the thing you are after. I mean here, what if the pellet or bullet for that matter hits a bone inside or has some problems about penetrating "the skin" (fur or feathers) ? This is not taking in consideration if you are just testing penetration in ballistic gel or putty !
Either you will need a live quarry for this or you have to invent a special model of a quarry with all skin, flesh and bones on and to it.

Neither can such ballistic gel be open up and examined like a live quarry that has been shot to see what particular destruction you have made inside the quarry. Information about real tissue damages, how many veins and vessels you have ripped over and bone damages to a quarry is quite essential for people who wants to know about "killing power" and how they can improve themselfs in this matter.

[vi11ain]

I think that to use ballistics gel for its intended purpose, you also need a high speed video camera, which films the results of the bullet passing into/through it.

Ballistics gel is clear, so you can observe the wound channel as it is formed.

As far as I know, it's not usually used for testing airgun pellets. More commonly it's used by the military and police with firearms (not to mention Mythbusters, for many varied and interesting applications!)

This ballistic putty stuff looks completely different.