Recipes for DIY Ballistic Gel

You know this isn't so hard to make and the recipes have been on the web for some years now... but unless you move in those circles you've probably never seen it before so here it is... two recipes for DIY home made ballistic Gel

1st Recipe
Take 1 part pectin powder (same store aisle as gelatin)
then take 1 part gelatin powder
take 3 parts boiling water (double boiler recommended)
Stir until dissolved.
Add color if desired
A few drops of oil of wintergreen (from baking supply store) can be used as a preservative.

2nd Recipe
Start with 20 grams gelatin powder
add 12 cc distilled water
then mix with 100 cc glycerin (sometimes available at drugstores, first-aid isle)
Let the mixture soak for about 45 minutes, then heat to 140 degrees in a double boiler, and pour into Ziploc bags and lay flat to cool. (Add color if needed)
add oil of wintergreen works as a preservative here too.

that's the home made version... now heres how the FBI makes there's

• Ballistic gel
• Gelatin Powder
o 1 kilogram of ordinance stuff or 2 boxes (32 packets each) of Knox/Kroger gelatin
• Distilled Water
o 6 liters of water for ordinance, 1 gallon for the packets
• A mold for the fissures
o Plastic
o Measures 6" x 6" x 8" or 7" x 7" x 8"
o Preferrably standing up as opposed to a meatloaf pan
o Multiple smaller blocks can't be used - fissures won't expand across blocks
• A mold for the backstop (optional)
o Only required if your original mold is smaller than 8" x 8" x 18"
o Plastic
o Purpose in life is to catch the bullet, not measure the fissures
• A very large pot
o It should hold at least 7.5 liters (2 gallons)
• Whisk, electric beater, drill with a paint mixer
o Used to help mix in the gelatin powder and remove lumps
o A must have
• Paper towels
• Wire mesh strainer
• Food thermometer
• Cloth
• Silicone spray
• Hearing and eye protection
o If this isn't automatic by now, stop here.
Preparation
1. Take a couple cups of water and use the wisk, electric mixer, or paint mixer to mix in the gelatin as well as possible.
2. Heat water to 130° F ± 10° F (54.4° C ± 5.6° C) in the very large pot. There's going to be foam, so make sure that you have room to spare.
3. Add in the gelatin goo. Add it in slowly and mix it well.
4. Put a layer of paper towels on the mesh to make a filter.
5. Use a large spoon to scoop off foam. Dispose of in the sink with running hot water.
6. Coat mold with silicone spray to make removal easier.
7. Put the filter over your mold. Either get it rigged up to stay there or get a friend to hold it.
8. Pour the gelatin into the mold through the filter to remove the foam and lumps.
9. Let stand for 4 hours at room temperature, with aluminum foil tented over the mold to prevent airborne contaminants.
10. Place into refrigerator at 39° F (3.9 ° C) for 24 hours or more.
11. Remove gelatin from mold. Pour a small amount of ice cold water between the mold and the gelatin to ease removal. Running warm water on the outside of the mold will help out if it remains stuck.
12. Blot water from block using paper towels.
13. Wrap gelatin in a plastic bag.
14. Return to 39° F (3.9 ° C) refrigerator and wait at least another 24 hours.
Use a cooler to transport the gelatin. Do not add ice otherwise it may skew the results. Shoot a steel BB into it at a velocity of 590 fps ± 30 fps (180 m/s ± 9 m/s). It should penetrate 3.35 inches (8.5 cm). If you don't shoot at the right speed, it will penetrate just a bit more or less, so a tiny amount of variation is acceptable

Just so you guys know... this doesn't keep very long... a few days without the oil in it... so use it soon after making

no offence - but why ?????????????/

to give any sort of valid results in tests - ballistic gel must conform to standards -

DIY " balistic gel " tells you nothing - unless you manage to produce a batch that is homogenous and is used in several experiments - even then it only reveals the differences between YOUR experiments

not any one elses

reply to post by ignorant_ape


your points are valid... but..I do have reasons to make gel
one it's better to pratice shooting at gel rather then glass or plastic bottles....
it also makes for a good backstop as the gel catches the bullet...

but the biggest reason is... I can... and it's cool...

reply to post by GrandpaDave


I have used the knox recipe for some time.

I know it is not completely accurate but it at least gives an idea of what the bullet does. My kids like it too, I used this to show what a bullet does. Seems to have worked better by showing them what a little bullet can actually do rather than just saying do not point a gun at someone. It seems to have sunk into their heads, which was the intended goal.

it will help in showing the pen and wound tract when making your own rounds, solid lead compared to a mix round copper, tin, lead, nickle. some pure lead rounds are more devastating, bigger wound tract then copper but with less pen, and some copper are deeper and more devastating than a mix lead round, then some can have multiple wound tracts or a full pen, all the way through.

reply to post by Skewed


I like to use it because it is biodegradable...
it might look cool to shoot a glass bottle but then you got all that glass to clean up... or possibly hurt some passerby...

Beside do you guys know what official gel costs????
Remember I'm a cheapskate so if there's a cheaper way I will find it

Could you provide links to the recipes? Those look like they come from sites that should be added to my bookmarks.

Thx.

Originally posted by bozzchem
Could you provide links to the recipes? Those look like they come from sites that should be added to my bookmarks.

Thx.

like I said there any number of places but...
heres a link to one of those many places

jello testing is mostly bs anyway. Test on flesh and blood. There's lots of nutria, possums, coons, feral cats, ground hogs, jackrabbits, etc out there. All you have to do is drive the backroads a bit, slowly, stopping to look carefully down the fence rows, at edges of woods/fields, etc. I used to average over 50 kills per year, for many years in this manner, using earmuffs and a pistol. Nowadays it's more like 20 per year, because I dont really bother very much. I've adequately proven to myself that only the lightest, highest velocity jhp's are likely to expand much, if at all, in flesh and blood.