Weekend Reading

Greg Ellifritz has a new Weekend Knowledge Dump available at his Active Response Training website. Some articles to check out: using cold drills to measure your performance; tactical flashlights for concealed carriers (this is about handheld flashlights not weapon lights); additional lessons from a concealed carry renewal class; the best shotgun barrel length for home defense; an article on what to look for in a weapon mounted light; and an article (and video) on testing the "brush gun" myth. 

    On the latter article about "brush guns", the myth is that certain sized or shaped bullets are better at shooting through brush without being deflected off course--that is, rather than the brush pushing the bullet aside, a large and heavy bullet should be able to push the brush aside. I've watched many videos over the years testing this theory, including an old VHS my father had that appears to have been filmed in the late 1970s or early '80s. 

    Because it is not possible to ensure that a bullet will actually strike brush if you are simply shooting through brush, most tests make use of thin wooden dowels to emulate a branch of a bush or actually break off the more central branches and stand the sticks up in a bunch just to make sure that there is a strike. I will say that every single one of the tests using dowels or sticks has shown some deflection of the bullet (or it starts to tumble) no matter the caliber and power, up to and including .50 BMG. 

    However, the results are not so clear cut when shooting through natural foliage. For instance, in the following video shot by Paul Harrell, where he was shooting through the boughs of an evergreen, he saw no deflection with 9mm or .45 ACP, but some tumbling with .223 where it had struck something, nothing to the group of 7.62x39, and deflection of one bullet from a group of .45-70. I suspect it is the difference between the bullet actually striking a branch that offered some resistance versus not striking anything or just through the very light needles. But he did have issues hitting the target (or making accurate hits) where he could not clearly see the target. 

 VIDEO: "Bullet Deflection While Shooting Through Brush"
Paul Harrell (8 min.)

   Another video, below, tests shooting through grass (represented by hay), a bunch of nettles, and then, finally, sticks. The hay and nettles seemed did not seem to effect the bullet paths, while the sticks, as with other similar tests, resulted in some deflection or tumbling. The host makes a point that shooting through the brush does not necessarily mean that you will miss your target (although this is also a possibility), but if you are hunting, it could be the difference between a clean kill and having to track a wounded animal.

    So the takeaway is to try to avoid having to shoot through brush because it is just too easy to miss entirely or not make a clean kill due to even minor deflection or tumbling.  

 VIDEO: "Bullet vs Twigs"
Fieldsports Channel (8 min.)