Safety firing pad (Read 3498 times)

CSaladino

Safety firing pad
« on: October 05, 2013, 12:09:35 PM »
Anyone have those safety firing pads?  R they any good? U know the ones u can shoot into to make sure your firearms clear!  I saw some online for $180!  What do u use?  Can I stack up some phone books?  Let me know please!   :shaka:
« Last Edit: October 05, 2013, 01:11:42 PM by CSaladino »

Darmok and Jalad @Tanagra

Re: Safety firing pad
« Reply #1 on: October 05, 2013, 05:11:28 PM »
A 5 gallon bucket filled with dry sand should be sufficient. 

Alternatives would be stackked magazines, newspapers and phone books as you said.

I've read some others use a ballistic vest/plate when dry firing a handgun -- of course, not while being worn! :)
"... the right to be let alone -- the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men."
--Justice Louis D. Brandeis

dafrtknocker

Re: Safety firing pad
« Reply #2 on: October 05, 2013, 06:47:01 PM »
These only weigh 1 pound, used in backpacks, you can see some balistic test on YouTube.
http://www.ar500armor.com/ar500-armor-carbon-nanotube-soft-armor-iiia-backpack-armor.html

CSaladino

Re: Safety firing pad
« Reply #3 on: October 05, 2013, 07:00:24 PM »
How many phone books should I stack up for a 45?

Darmok and Jalad @Tanagra

Re: Safety firing pad
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2013, 07:14:36 PM »
How many phone books should I stack up for a 45?

I'm sure not all phone books are equal thickness...  The number would vary.

"... the right to be let alone -- the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men."
--Justice Louis D. Brandeis

Darmok and Jalad @Tanagra

Re: Safety firing pad
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2013, 07:17:55 PM »
Quote
Thanks for all the advice, I ended up bringing 3 phonebooks, which was good 'cause I needed them...

So I shot 5 of each, .45 from a 5" Kimber and 9mm from a Sig 226:

.45 Federal HST +P (P45HST1)- 5 recovered, 3 opened up perfectly as designed and 2 look to have also expanded well but struck other projectiles causing damage to some of the pedals. Massive expansion and penetration.

.45 Federal Hydra Shok (P45HS1)- 5 recovered all expanded well with the exception of 1 partial, and the post on all was even still straight. 1 did have some damage from hitting another projectile but still expanded well.

.45 Winchester Ranger-T (RA45T)- 3 recovered, and all a real disappointment. 1 was just an expanded jacket(no lead core), 1 partially expanded, and 1 didn't appear to expand much before it hit another projectile.

9mm Federal HST 147gr (P9HST2)-5 recovered, all opened up beautifully, fully expanded. They could've come straight from a Federal LE ammo press release, they look perfectly mushroomed.

9mm Federal 124gr +P+ (P9HS3G)- 5 recovered, all seemed to expand well with 1 hitting another projectile after expansion. Did much better than I expected.

9mm Winchester Ranger 147gr (RA9SXT)- 4 recovered and expanded well, complete with exposed "talons".

9mm Winchester Ranger 127gr +P+ (RA9SXTP)- 2 recovered, expanded very well with 1 expanding with bent "talons" to probably an inch. Ouch.

For the hell of it I tried some Russian Silver Bear 9mm Makarov (94gr) JHP's to see how they'd do. NONE of the rounds recovered expanded at all except 1 round that had an expanded jacket but no core. Basically FMJ with an open tip. Totally craptastic.

So what did I learn? More phone books the merrier (most of the rounds were found in the second book but alot were also in the third), also spread the distance between shots more to keep from striking other projectiles. After it was done the books were absolute mush, those rounds do ALOT of damage. I'll do it again when I'm more prepared, esp to see if the .45 Ranger-T's can stage a come-back in my uber scientific test.

So what should one use when attacked by a crack-crazed phonebook? I'll stick with Federal HST's in both calibers but with the exception of the .45 Rangers and 9mm Mak Silver Bears all "tested" did well.

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=167711
"... the right to be let alone -- the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men."
--Justice Louis D. Brandeis