Brick wall penetration?

[Cemetery-man]

Has anyone done any testing to see if pistol and rifle calibers would penetrate thru brick walls?

My house is brick, and I've often wondered about penetration.

If not, would anyone be interested in performing a test?

But NOT at my house!

Just don't use a 9mm. They'll go through anything.

 

[esrice]

I think there's going to be a BIG difference shooting a stack of bricks as opposed to a properly constructed brick wall.

Well then its a good thing lovemywoods is actually constructing small sections of wall.

Looking forward to Saturday guys!

 

[DragonGunner]

I was playing around with my 8mm mauser an had some AP rounds that went through both sides of a half inch thick steel pipe( I know it dont really count with this thread, but still cool none the less,lol) But used just some partison 8mm ammo and it still went completly through the front and dented the back of the pipe. This was done at 75yrds

Greek HXP 30/06 will go through 1/2" steel....I have 30/06 AP ammo an shot at 1.25" of welded steel plates, it dented an almost penetrated the last plate, I popped that last plate off....looks like it would of gone through 1" of steel, but that last plate stopped it, an heres the bullet....still with a sharp point....this was at 50 yds...it woould probably done even better at 200 yds.

 

[EM45HP]

Needless to say, 50 cal would do it. I find these interesting to watch...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJM0YBrILGI
skip to 6:00 if you aren't interested in the whole thing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxxKgOPz5R0&feature=related
skip to 2:00 if you don't have time for the whole thing.

 

[lovemywoods]

Well then its a good thing lovemywoods is actually constructing small sections of wall.

Not so quick….I’m not sure yet whether this is the direction I’ll go.

I think there's going to be a BIG difference shooting a stack of bricks as opposed to a properly constructed brick wall. The staggered pattern and mortar is going to hold the brick in place much more securely than a loose stack. The stack would allow the bullet to shatter and displace more of the brick it hits instead of having to penetrate it.

Ryknoll3,

Your post gets to the core of a decision I’ve been considering regarding how to structure this test.

I originally intended to build some small sections of wall using bricks and mortar. My desire was to keep the test as close to realistic as possible.

Like you, I wanted the bricks held in place as the mortar would do in real life.

My biggest concern with mortared sections is that once we start shooting a piece, we might too quickly damage the section to the point that we aren’t able to get as many calibers tested as I would like. The wall sections also take more preparatory work, are harder to move, and more difficult to position properly in front of water jugs. (The water jugs help measure the remaining energy in the round.)

I got the INGO Box-of-Truth out yesterday and found I could stack four bricks in the box with whatever layers of drywall and board around them that I wanted. That will make setting up the water jugs and different layer combinations easier.

But to your point about the bricks being in a ‘loose stack’; I believe I can hold the bricks front-to-back with plywood and drywall sheets. I also plan to wedge a board on the top of the brick stack to put some downward pressure on them. I realize there is no way I can duplicate the compressive force in a standard brick wall, but hopefully this will work.

I think this set-up gives me the best of both worlds. I have the bricks ‘captured’ somewhat and still have the flexibility to quickly insert new bricks for each caliber test.

Here’s the INGO Box-of-Truth with the brick stack surrounded by a half inch sheet of plywood and some drywall.

Close-up of the brick stack held in with wedges and a sheet of drywall.

This set-up is for testing for a shot from inside the house. So it's drywall, insulation, sheeting, brick. The last sheet of drywall is there to help hold the brick in-place since there isn't mortar to do that. From previous tests, I know that drywall is nearly invisible to a bullet.

You might also ask about a round hitting on a mortar joint. It’s my thought (however untested) that the mortar would be harder than the brick. Therefore, by testing the brick only, we can still gain useful information since the brick is the weaker material in the system.

I’m not fully resolved to go this direction and would welcome your thoughts and reactions to my assumptions and plans.

The very best situation would be finding a house where we could shoot an actual wall. However, that requires a house, an owner’s permission, located in a place that allows shooting, with a proper backstop, etc.

 

[lovemywoods]

Testing Update

We're scheduled to test bricks on Saturday, April 16th.

I took a single test shot at the brick stack to see if stacking them under some pressure would work. And it worked very well! A .223 round shattered a brick but didn't go any farther. Tomorrow we'll try a whole range of calibers.

Here's the range on Thursday evening. I'm going to put a canopy up on Saturday since it looks like we'll be dealing with some rain. That's the INGO Box-of-Truth on the left.

 

[HamsterStyle]

Packing up and getting ready to head south. Can't wait.

 

[colt45er]

Guns and gear loaded, headed your way before too long!

 

[esrice]

Just another hour at work!

 

[HamsterStyle]

Good times for sure. I think we even learned some interesting things.

 

[colt45er]

Good times for sure. I think we even learned some interesting things.

Yup! I wont even try to make a review until esrice and lovemywoods build their review.

I would like to thank Mr and Mrs Lovemywoods for their hospitality for the range and dinner! Thank you very much

Also a big shoutout to Hamsterstyle for the brick donation.

 

[esrice]

Good times for sure. I think we even learned some interesting things.

Yup! I wont even try to make a review until esrice and lovemywoods build their review.

Guys it was great having you down and we really appreciate all the help you provided for this test. I enjoyed being the photographer.

Give us 24 hours to get up a review and complete pictures/videos and then I would love to hear your thoughts on the entire process.

lovemachine, sorry you weren't able to join us, but hopefully you will be satisfied with our answer to your original question.

I think we can all agree that we were quite shocked at the results, and that every INGO member that lives in a brick house will need to read this upcoming review.

 

[esrice]

Teaser pic, more to come!

 

[esrice]

Ok one more!!

 

[lovemachine]

lovemachine, sorry you weren't able to join us, but hopefully you will be satisfied with our answer to your original question.

I think we can all agree that we were quite shocked at the results, and that every INGO member that lives in a brick house will need to read this upcoming review.

I'm sorry I couldn't make it. I'm even more sorry that I what I found out yesterday is gonna cost me lots of money.

But I can't wait to see what you guys found out yesterday!

 

[lovemywoods]

Results thread can be found at:

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...ential_brick_walls_pic_heavy.html#post1821592

 

[jd42k]

Appreciate the time and effort you've put into this curiosity test.