Going Ballistic in the Gel
Alco Precision Bullets wanted to share a recent test we performed with our .308 caliber 168-grain projectiles on ballistic gel. As you probably know, “Ballistic gelatin is a testing medium scientifically correlated to swine muscle tissue (which in turn is comparable to human muscle tissue), in which the effects of bullet wounds can be simulated.” The gel block we used was 6x6x16 – 10% ballistic gel.
We are often asked what physically happens to our projectiles when they are used in hunting applications. We have had great reports from hunters who use them, but it was amazing to see what happens when they are smacked into ballistic gel and you can recover the shrapnel. Needless to say, they are wicked. The tip releases and the jacket acts like a hollow point, peeling back and expanding. We loaded a round for a .308 Winchester with a muzzle velocity of 1700 fps. This would simulate a downrange impact of approximately 700 yards. The wound channel was in excess of 14” long.
We are going to do more of this and will bring reports to you when we have them. Alco makes precision bullets that work well for long range target applications. We just wanted to show you how they do on ballistic gel.