Twenty years ago, young men, guns, and a question...given the vaunted power of the mighty .45ACP, will it penetrate 1/8" steel?
Colt gubbmint model, .45 ACP, shooting at an abandoned car bumper embedded in a hillside 30 feet away. With the sun behind us, we started noticing little copper-colored frisbees flashing through the air toward us after each shot, and landing about 2-4 feet ahead. Closer inspection of these UFOs revealed nicely flattened 230 gr FMJs. And shallow dents in the bumper.
Lesson learned, all shooting at metal (read 'hard
objects thenceforth involved hanging them from ropes (build a WOODEN stand if you have to), in order to absorb the momentum of the bullet...the spent bullets drop directly underneath the plate.
Other lesson learned, the .45 ACP ain't so vaunted...but I still love that fat, old, slow chubster.
(by the way, .44 Magnums, in any bullet weight, punch nice clean holes through bumpers).