Penetration of pine
- Thread starter Jayjay.22cal
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Here in the southeast, that stuff is everywhere I turn. I’ve tried every whiz-bang pellet imaginable...Redfires, Predator Polymags, Baracuda Hunters, even those buzzsaw-like Crosman Piranhas, but they just shake it off like nothing. Then one day, this grizzled old man
saw me toiling in vain and stepped out and pointed a stern finger at me and said, “What the hell are you doing, boy?”. It took me aback but he continued, reaching into the back of his truck, “Here, try this”.
Oh yeah, now we’re talking.
saw me toiling in vain and stepped out and pointed a stern finger at me and said, “What the hell are you doing, boy?”. It took me aback but he continued, reaching into the back of his truck, “Here, try this”.
Oh yeah, now we’re talking.
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Depending on the pine type. Southern Yellow Pine is borderline hardwood. While lodge pole pine is soft like butter.
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1 inch nominal (3/4") or actual?
For nominal I'd say about 30-40fpe would be the point where you would start seeing it bust through occasionally. But that's just an educated guess. Softer woods can actually stop pellets better since the wood is less brittle. Ply wood of the same thickness can also be better due to the layers.
If you are considering backstop materials, the long-term problem with using a board of any thickness is that the pellets will erode it away over time and eventually they will start busting through the weak spots created.
For nominal I'd say about 30-40fpe would be the point where you would start seeing it bust through occasionally. But that's just an educated guess. Softer woods can actually stop pellets better since the wood is less brittle. Ply wood of the same thickness can also be better due to the layers.
If you are considering backstop materials, the long-term problem with using a board of any thickness is that the pellets will erode it away over time and eventually they will start busting through the weak spots created.
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An old army standard for lethal range was the distance a projectile could penetrate a 3/4" pine board.
![Mrs._Hammer[1].jpg](https://www.airgunnation.com/attachments/mrs-_hammer-1-jpg.420634/ "Mrs._Hammer[1].jpg")
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I can shoot through 3/4 plywood with my 25 calibers tuned to mid to upper 40s fpe. But you basically cannot get that fpe out of a gamo redfire. I think it weighs 15.4 grains and even at 1000 fps it would only produce about 34 fpe. My P35-22 gets to 32 fpe with it's preferred 21 grain pellet and it will only shoot through 1/2 inch of plywood. 22 will penetrate a bit better than a 25 caliber but 1000 fps is not very practical for a pellet either. If 32 won't even get close, 34 isn't going to make it.
I don't test in solid wood because it is so variable. If you shoot near a knot pine can be very hard. Away from a knot, it is probably similar to plywood which is, after all, made primarily or totally of softwood. I have a test block I shoot made of 1/4 inch layers of mdf glued together. MDF and plywood give similar results but mdf is more consistent than plywood (and cheaper). But I also shoot scraps of 3/4 plywood sometimes. Even at 49 fpe pellets tend to make it through by blasting part of the last layer of plywood away, they do not typically make a hole through all the layers. That would not change with solid wood, it will tend to split if you hit it hard enough.
I don't test in solid wood because it is so variable. If you shoot near a knot pine can be very hard. Away from a knot, it is probably similar to plywood which is, after all, made primarily or totally of softwood. I have a test block I shoot made of 1/4 inch layers of mdf glued together. MDF and plywood give similar results but mdf is more consistent than plywood (and cheaper). But I also shoot scraps of 3/4 plywood sometimes. Even at 49 fpe pellets tend to make it through by blasting part of the last layer of plywood away, they do not typically make a hole through all the layers. That would not change with solid wood, it will tend to split if you hit it hard enough.
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My .20 Talon shooting JSB 15.89 at 850 fps (25 fpe) will shoot through a 5/8 exterior grade plywood board at 50 yards every time. YMMV
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I’m just curious because my Airgun will shoot the Gamo red fire and 23grain hp slugs through an inch of pine but I’ve modded my Airgun from 1100 psi output to 2000 output and some other internal mods I won’t go over it all because it’s a lot to cover but anyways I don’t have a chrono so I was wondering if anyone had a good guess thanks for the feedback
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I’m just curious because my Airgun will shoot the Gamo red fire and 23grain hp slugs through an inch of pine but I’ve modded my Airgun from 1100 psi output to 2000 output and some other internal mods I won’t go over it all because it’s a lot to cover but anyways I don’t have a chrono so I was wondering if anyone had a good guess thanks for the feedback
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