CLEAR BALLISTICS GEL®: HIGH SPEED RETARDING FORCE ANALYSIS OF PARAFFIN-BASED ALTERNATIVE TO GELATINBASED TESTING OF LEAD-FREE PISTOL BULLETS

摘要

This paper presents high speed video analysis of 11 service caliber lead-free pistol bulletsimpacting Clear Ballistics Gel® with the dual purpose of assessing the equivalence of ClearBallistics Gel® and calibrated 10% ballistic gelatin as test media and providing an initialassessment of wounding and incapacitation potential of these 11 service caliber loads. Thepresent study suggests that Clear Ballistics Gel® results in lower retarding forces, erraticexpansion, greater variations in penetration depth, and larger average penetration depths thancalibrated 10% gelatin. Taken together with other results, testing in Clear Ballistics Gel®should only be used to identify candidates for further testing in calibrated 10% ballisticgelatin; it should not be used for the selection of duty ammunition without furtherperformance testing in calibrated 10% ballistic gelatin. Depending on the wound profile andpenetration desired for a given application, several loads analyzed here may warrantadditional study. The Liberty Civil Defense 60 grain lead-free hollow point had the largestpeak retarding force, temporary cavity, and permanent cavity while meeting the oft-citedminimum penetration requirement of30 cm.