hay

[George Holton]

:hmm: how far will a 50 cal RB penetrate into one of those big rolled up hay bales. 68 gr of 3f black, lenghtwise or crosswise. at 25 yds. maybe two of them end to end ? Bob

 

[Minuteman]

You plan on feeding the cows lead?
edit
In the interest of answering yer question instead of hackin' on ya. I'd say that shooting into the rounded edge of the bale would give you the most resistance . I WOULDN'T advise using one as a backstop. Not a positive way to stop a bullet. A good thick pile of dirt or creek bank with a couple acre hill behind it is good insurance. They do make excellent archery targets if you got 'em layin' around.

 

[Rebel]

Find yourself 4 or 5 old tires and stack them up and fill them with dirt. Then set you target stand in front of them. Nothing gets through .

 

[rich pierce]

It ain't going through. That's more dense than flesh.

 

[Many Klatch]

I have done penetration tests with wet and dry phone books. A Brown Bess or a .54 rifle will go through about 6 or 7 inches of phone book. Into a hay bale, I might expect 12 to 18 inches of penetration.

Many Klatch

 

[spottedpony]

I think i'd want a good backstop behind them, but shooting into the side of the bale will provide more resistance than using the end.
Years ago i used round bales for my archery targets, and though i never thought to measure penetration, arrows went about twice as far into bale ends as they did in the side of the bale.

 

[BrownBear]

At over $100 a ton (one or two bales per, depending) that's a really expensive backstop that's going to rot, settle and fall apart before long. Besides, successive shots will eventually penetrate further and further.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I haven't used hay bales for penetration testing, simply because the results will vary so much depending on how wet the hay is inside the bale.

I have done testing using 1 inch pine boards, spaced 1 inch apart, and a .50 cal. RB in front of 60 grains of FFg powder passed through 6 boards( and 6 more inches of air spaces) to impact on the 7th board. Based on that, I would expect a PRB to pass through at least 16 inches of hay in a bale, and possibly go further, if the hay is dried out.

Oh, I also tested 100 grains of FFg powder in the same gun, and the PRB penetrated the same 6 boards and impacted the 7th, the same results I got using the lighter, 60 grain, target load. So, I don't expect that increasing your powder charge will increase penetration in hay, no matter how much a ball penetrates the hay bale(s) with your current load.

 

[Maynerd62411]

You will not go thru a big bale endways or sideways. But like was already said, feeding lead to the cows? :nono:

 

[RedFeather]

Are you talking hay or straw? I never knew there was a difference but there is. Either way, once you've put a couple of rounds into it, you will be gradually reducing the stopping ability of the bale. It's not like shooting arrows, as those round balls will begin to tear it up. better to use a dirt backstop.

 

[Gordon Horn]

Naturally, it depends on the density of the bale. Not all balers will wrap with the same tension. If it has net wrap on it, its usually fairly dense. I use them fairly regularly as a backstop because I have them setting around most of the time. As was said, continued shots in the same place will eventually shoot a hole clear through the bale. As for feeding the cows lead, I have found that the way a cow tears hay out of a bale loosens it up as its eaten and the lead balls just fall to the ground. Smaller animals like sheep/goats are natural sorters as they eat and nothing to worry about there.

With the load you've stated, I'd say that the first shot penetration would be about a foot and a half to two feet into the side of a fairly dens bale at 25 yds. I usually shoot 50 yds and crude ramrod tests I've done will show game loads will penetrate about that far. However these tests are'nt very reliable as a roundball might not always penetrate a hay bale in a strait line.

 

[George Holton]

thanks to all of you,No the cows are not endangered, my neighbor has them sitting about and knowing how cows eat hay,,,,,,, just didnt want to be suprised by penetration. I have found that a big white plastic drum full of sand also does a good job. This is for home use, where I can slip one out the shop window,taks a single shot without my neighbors getting ******. Bob