Here is a "real" stoopid question

[mdi]

I have been watching a lot of shooting videos lately (I'm researching the purchase of a new gun) and like the meat target, gel and water jug testing videos. It never crossed my mind mainly because I have used wet magazines/newspaper as a test medium, and I don't drink enough milk to get several 1 gallon jugs to shoot or buy a few gallons of water just for one shot. So, where do you fellers get gallon jugs?

 

[Hockey7711]

There are no STUPID questions, just STOOPID people.

 

[mdi]

I'd have to disagree, but I guess I'm just plain stoopid. "There are no stupid questions" is just a phrase for being kind to a new comer that hasn't bothered to think, or look for an answer.

 

[AJC1]

I buy gallon water jugs. They work well for being at the skate park with my kids in the heat.

 

[bdb242]

Friends with C-Pap machines use a lot of water, friends with school age (cereal eating) children buy a lot of milk, use your imagination. Hope this helps.

 

[FLIGHT762]

Go Dumpster Diving.

 

[Hugger-4641]

I have a daughter and granddaughter still living at home. We use about two gallons of milk a week. I drink about a gallon myself.

 

[Seedy Character]

I have 12 grandkids. Wife buys gallons of drinking water.

We accumulate lots of jugs.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Put water in a freeze lock bag, freeze it and pop away

 

[entropy]

For a splash of color in your testing, buy gallons of Dean's 'juice', fruit punch, lemon-lime, etc. When I stocked shelves on overnights, I drank a whole jug a night.

 

[mdi]

The cheapest drinking water I've seen is around $1.00 per gallon. For a test with my 9mms I prolly have to use 4 jugs ($4.00 per shot) my 38 +P maybe 5 or 6 jugs ($6.00 per shot).I was wondering if/where gallon plastic jugs can be purchased. Jes me and Ma here so no gallons of milk or fruit punch (ugh!) to use the empties and I guess I'm too cheap to buy gallons of drinking water. One video tester often uses 4-6 jugs per shot and when comparing ammo, often goes through 12-16 jugs per session (Gun Sam).

 

[Rule3]

Why do people even shoot water jugs? It proves nothing and is a waste of water.
Guess it is for dramatic effect? Most any HP bullet that hits water will expand, then they like to evaluate pretty perfect flower petals and such. Good for getting YouBoob viewers and making some money from views or whatever.

If one really needs bottles, rummage through the neighbors trash, fill them with pond water.

Then you see videos of people shooting 1 liter bottles of cheap soda or cans of soda, Gee what fun. Lets be like Hickup 45 yack yack!

 

[Jim Watson]

The Facklerites did a good bit of work on shooting water instead of gelatin.
They prefer the Fackler Trough, with water filled baggies rowed up in contact.
They were willing to take square cardboard milk cartons, rowed up in contact.
I don't recall seeing any trials of stiff plastic jugs, though.

 

[Mark_Mark]

line up bags of ziplock full of water! will have the same effect as gallons waters

 

[AJC1]

The cheapest drinking water I've seen is around $1.00 per gallon. For a test with my 9mms I prolly have to use 4 jugs ($4.00 per shot) my 38 +P maybe 5 or 6 jugs ($6.00 per shot).I was wondering if/where gallon plastic jugs can be purchased. Jes me and Ma here so no gallons of milk or fruit punch (ugh!) to use the empties and I guess I'm too cheap to buy gallons of drinking water. One video tester often uses 4-6 jugs per shot and when comparing ammo, often goes through 12-16 jugs per session (Gun Sam).

Drink the good water first!!!!!

 

[bikerdoc]

I'm not looking to do science!
On my private land
I save tin cans, Styrofoam cups plastic or styrofoam take out containers and any other one use containers and Shoot them Up.
Haul the trash out, to the recycling bin

Want to test your skill?
Punch a hole in it and hang it from a frame, or branch, make it swing and see how good you do

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I have been watching a lot of shooting videos lately (I'm researching the purchase of a new gun) and like the meat target, gel and water jug testing videos. It never crossed my mind mainly because I have used wet magazines/newspaper as a test medium, and I don't drink enough milk to get several 1 gallon jugs to shoot or buy a few gallons of water just for one shot. So, where do you fellers get gallon jugs?

Well, this might not go over well with the family-audience crowd but, I'll just say not all wild pigs are healthy enough grind up into sausage - some are too wormy even to send to the butcher. If you want to know what a bullet will do in a body, a short-pig's as close as you're going to get to a long-pig.

 

[Dibbs]

Old laundry soap bottles, gallon water jugs, Motor Oil comes in gallon and 5 quart jugs, Kitty Litter comes in 3 gallon containers. There's a lot of stuff you can do penetration testing with. Old pallets, old wheels and rims, old frying pans, you are only limited by your imagination.

 

[bluejay75]

I go to Dollar General and buy cheap gallons of water. I usually ask for the ones out of the back that are wrapped in the packing stuff. They come wrapped in 3s. So for about 20 dollars I can test 5-6 bullets. I may do it twice a year.

 

[GBExpat]

... So, where do you fellers get gallon jugs?

I drink at least a gallon of milk and 3-4 gallons of distilled water (drinking water & coffee) a week, so ...

I mainly use a water jug setup for bullet capture when I have acquired a new (usually vintage) handgun and want to capture bullets for [1] close inspection and [2] groove measurement on lead bullets.

 

[GBExpat]

... The cheapest drinking water I've seen is around $1.00 per gallon. ...

Only 65¢/gal for Distilled 'round here at Super Target.

 

[Bfh_auto]

My 2 and 3 year old drink 7-8 gallons per week. So I just go to the recycle can

 

[Archie]

Testing is established. Currently the U. S. government (FBI) tests and evaluates handgun rounds with 'ballistic gelatin'. Which is fairly expensive to buy, but the federal government gets it free via taxes. Available at Midway for about $120.00 per block of 6x6x16 inches. (Little steep for me.)
As an alternate to that, common water is pretty good. However, water has to be moved and contained in some manner to test and evaluate individual shots.

The biggest problem is that of comparability. Ballistic gel (I'm going to use "BG") is supposedly formulated to duplicate actual tissue. It likely does (within tolerances) but water is consistent (like BG). I have a suspicion there is a 'conversion factor' which indicates 10 inches of one is equal (within tolerances) to "X" inches of the other. But how to stack water up to replicate BG? Row of plastic jugs? How much do plastic sides count? Does air space matter?

Another variable is distance from muzzle to test media. No doubt the FBI has a prescribed distance to insure uniformity of test information. But if I think 15 yards is proper and he thinks 2 meters is a good idea we're going to have different results, even in the same media. At one time, I thought two inches of newspaper or old magazines in front of three gallon jugs of water would be useful. This presumes everyone's news paper or magazines, everyone's water and everyone's jugs are pretty much the same. However, that requires a carrier of some sort to hold it all for testing and separately, a means of getting it to the range and back. (For those who can shoot in the back yard, I'm jealous!)

I rather like the set up 'Gun Sam' has on his Youtube channel. Perhaps not perfect, but repeatable.

For transparency, most of my testing is for 1, accuracy and grouping, and 2, muzzle velocity.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I like to shoot at bricks and cement blocks for effect. People dump them at one of the bush shooting spots. I put them to use.

 

[1KPerDay]

Then you see videos of people shooting 1 liter bottles of cheap soda or cans of soda, Gee what fun. Lets be like Hickup 45 yack yack!

Remember having fun? Shooting soda cans and plastic soda bottles is fun. Just remember to clean up your trash.
Pro tip: DIET Shasta or other cheap store brand diet is preferred. No yeller jackets or sticky sugary cleanup.