Concrete Bullet Ricochet
Rob PincusDescription
A bullet ricochet is something you need to consider when you’re in an environment with heavy, solid structures or using such as cover from a bad guy in a public space. For the first time in a PDN video, Rob uses concrete blocks instead of steel targets to demonstrate bullet ricochet. In general, the harder and flatter a surface is, the more parallel to that surface a bullet will ricochet off. See what happens when bullets hit concrete and how that affects our defensive tactics.
Bullet's skip, or what is commonly known as ricochet, is something it needs to be considered whenever you're in an environment with heavy solid structures or if you're using something as cover in response to a bad guy, who's actually in a public space. So, if we look at this concrete block over here this is gonna be something a little different than we've ever done at Personal Defense Network before, because usually when we demonstrate skip, we use steel targets. Well, the truth is that the harder and flatter the surface that you're shooting against, the more parallel to the surface that bullet is going to skip off. So if you're using steel, you're gonna see the bullets come off almost completely parallel with that surface. Using something like this concrete block, obviously a construction material that's very common in the public space, is gonna give us a different result. So as usual, I'm gonna start at what is a relatively shallow angle. So again, imagine it that's a concrete wall and this is you or some other person who has stepped out beyond the wall. And this bad guy shooting at you is gonna miss three or four, maybe even five feet over to the right. I'm gonna lower myself down. Get down into a position where I'm about parallel with that block. I'm gonna drive out. And again, think about it, I'm firing in about a 30, maybe 45 degree angle. And I am way off from that target. If we go in there and take a look, we're gonna see that I've created this big divot in the concrete block whereas that never happens with steel. We just hit the target and slide right off. But even though there's a divot there we still see that most of this splash, most of what's come over here and hit the target, especially the biggest pieces are relatively close to parallel because this is a hard and flat surface. And that was a relatively shallow angle. Now I'm gonna go ahead and move over so that I'm at a much steeper angle. Now I'm at more of a 60 or 70 degree angle into the block. Again, I'm gonna lower myself down, take a shot. And if we come out here, we're gonna see that, again, we've got a divot. That divot's a little bit deeper. And now we've got still a lot of things that are over here along that parallel line, but some of the heavier pieces came out a little bit further. Now think about what this means. If I'm in a situation where this is the corner of the cover that I've got and I step out this far beyond it, somebody can miss me by two or three feet, by 10 or 20 or 30, 45 degrees and still cause damage to me. Is it gonna be as bad as being hit directly by a bullet? No, of course not, but it is going to cause damage. This is another reason why it's important not to go beyond your cover and to expose as little as possible. Even if I were to come over here into a situation where I was just slightly exposed we can see that someone can miss a hard flat surface, the bullet can skip off and hit us. And remember this skip effect also happens on the horizontal plane. So if you're standing behind something like a car somebody shoots low and goes under the car, those bullets aren't gonna bounce off at a 45 degree angle. They're gonna follow very close to that concrete or asphalt and come right under the car in most circumstances. So remember when you're operating in any kind of an environment around hard flat surfaces, stay away from those parallel lines and also try to be back from your cover because obviously the further back we are from cover the more that angle can take effect and pull that shrapnel those pieces of bullet, the sharp jacket, and even pieces of the brick or concrete surface, away from hurting us.
With all due respect, did anyone see MORE holes in the target after the second shot than after the first? I must have missed them. Anyway, great info in general, and I've spoken with folks who have been on the incoming side of fire back up exactly what Rob is discussing. USE COVER as if your life depends on it...because it does.
I fired a .25 caliber pistol at a large block of concrete, which had a large dished-out place on it, like a large soup bowl, at about 40 feet; straight on. The bullet must have hit the bottom side of the "bowl", because I almost immediately heard a piercing whine past my left ear. It circled up and back out toward the ignoramous who fired it.
I would like to make another observation; years ago target practicing I had shot repeatedly into a target one hundred yards away. I was using a .30-06 and had shot hundreds of rounds and the rifle could shot sub MOA. What went un-noticed behind the target I had created a parabolic hole into the berm. I was shooting atop my car's roof and had a very good Redfield Spotting Scope. I discharged a round and was moving up to look through the spotting scope when I felt something burn atop my left shoulder. I found with inspection the bullet had come back at me with a bullet hole in my shirt front and back and the bullet had removed perhaps two inches of my first layer of skin. As I was using a 180 Boat Tail Hollow Point Match King Bullet; you better know how lucky I truly was. BTW I was all alone at a rifle range just out of town. I know what this bullet is capable of - what are the odds that could happen. Since then I have heard this has happened to others.
I noticed he never addressed shooting directly into a hard surface. Years ago rabbit hunting with a 22-250 with 88 grain SPBT Match King Bullets in very turbulent weather and high winds; I attempted a shot at a rabbit sitting about five feet away for a granite bolder [perfect back stop]. The distance was laser sighted to 230 yards away. I watched as the round when under the rabbit's chest directly behind his front leg and impacted the bolder behind. I then saw the rabbit picked up and thrown toward me about ten feet. Examination of the rabbit found a piece of granite had been blown away from the bolder by the blow up of the round impacting the rabbit's head.
Thank you; for that great video. Sometime we overlook the simple things like ricochet.
Could that be used as a "bank shot" kinda like playing pool? Seriously though, shooting at hard surfaces is NOT a good idea. Even my pellet rifle has been know to send a ricochet down range when hitting a rock. I can hear it zing off at an odd angle with almost a classic movie type ricochet sound. Be careful.
thanks for the great tip these videos are so great that's why I joined looking forward to more thanks again