ballistic gel

[UKairgunner]

Im off to the supermarket  tomorrow to get some groceries and cold beer.Im also going to get some gelatine powder and cinnamon oil to brew up some ballistic gel so as i can check the penetration of my 20 grain pellets when they arrive.

will try to get some good photos for this site.
Anyone any tips  for using this stuff realistically ..ive trawled YouTube and found the  usual idiots blasting away a what looks like jelly in their Mom's kitchen

[mr007s]

I have made several batches and it worked great. Found some ice cube buckets at the dollar store that were around 14 inches long. Worked great for my 909s 45 cal.

[chriswoz83]

I'm looking forward to the results

[UKairgunner]

well mixed it up as per the interweb and set it into a block 11" by 7"by 3"
laid it flat down and fired a series of shots into it at 12 "range from the right in the pic using my UK legal crosman2240
fired 7 times  5.5mm 21.4 grain bisley magnum into the top section and
fired 5 times 16 grain diabolo field field 16 grain into the bottom
the pellets have the same shape just with one being heavier

i used the same co2 cartridge alternating the shots at 25 o C

the pics shows the results .the heavier pellets have penetrated, on average,10 percent deeper ..with both groups being nicely clustered

seems that the heavier pellets hang around longer in the short 7" barrel and use more of the energy in the co2
nice clean tracks with clear entry lines

ill post pic when i can resize it for this site cheers

[UKairgunner]

pic here now

[quickster47 †]

Well, that is pretty kool.   

Carl

[mr007s]

You can place that gel in a container, place the container in a sink with hot water, and re-melt it. Stid it a couple times to remove the lumps and pour it back into your cooking sprayed mold. Set in fridge and chill for using second time or more. If you keep it too long it will mold and stink.

[UKairgunner]

yep i think so,used the US 13oz to 1 gallon mix rate..didnt bother with cinnamon oil as its only an anti bacterial and as ive used boiling water it should be good for a week or so. set it into a tupperware which id wiped a bit of oil around inside..best use a new container with a shiny inside to make it easier to get out

As for the distances i dont know if its a straight linear graph of kinetic energy of pellet to distance travelled in gel/...seem to remember from school that as an object increases in speed the friction of the air ingresses inversely or something.what im saying (badly) is maybe the 10 percent difference in distance might not mean a ten percent difference  in kinetic energy

Next time it might be good to use different shapes but same weight pellets  and use something to simulate squirrel skin which must deflect/change the pellets trajectory

[CraigH]

UKairgunner,

Yes, very cool.  Like little lead fish swimming east to west in a gelatin aquarium.     

[quickster47 †]

What is the recipe you are using for your gel, if you don't mind sharing, and without me having to do a search?

Carl

[UKairgunner]

13oz supermarket gelatine to 1 us gallon

dead simple,mix in near boiling water add powder to water and stir for ever till dissolved,let cool naturally in air till warm then pour into mould through sieve,having rubbed mould with oil first.pop in fridge overnight and ...da..dahh its ready. best make it 3 " thick to give you a good view of inside and make it long enough for what ever your testing in it!

[quickster47 †]

13oz supermarket gelatine to 1 us gallon

dead simple,mix in near boiling water add powder to water and stir for ever till dissolved,let cool naturally in air till warm then pour into mould through sieve,having rubbed mould with oil first.pop in fridge overnight and ...da..dahh its ready. best make it 3 " thick to give you a good view of inside and make it long enough for what ever your testing in it!

Thanks much, going to give it a try.  I like the idea of trying heavier pellets in one of my 2240 guns.

Carl

[Noah]

13oz supermarket gelatine to 1 us gallon

dead simple,mix in near boiling water add powder to water and stir for ever till dissolved,let cool naturally in air till warm then pour into mould through sieve,having rubbed mould with oil first.pop in fridge overnight and ...da..dahh its ready. best make it 3 " thick to give you a good view of inside and make it long enough for what ever your testing in it!

I'm totally going to try this. Before doing so, is obtaining 13 ounces of gelatin easy to come by? Does it come under a different name? Also, how long before the solution is cooled down enough to become pliable and solid?

Together with the high-pressured water bottle exploding target, I have a few chores ahead of me the next time I hit the shootin' cabin!

[CraigH]

Plain gelatin is near the canning supplies in any supermarket.  You can do a "test run" with Jello and eat it after it solidifies!     

[Noah]

Plain gelatin is near the canning supplies in any supermarket.  You can do a "test run" with Jello and eat it after it solidifies!     

Thanks - that is exactly what I thought initially.