Matt Carriker with DemolitionRanch is famous for putting up an assortment of weapons against an assortment of targets and measuring for effects. Can this stop that? What happens when I shoot this with that?
In this 2021 video, Carriker puts his .50 caliber rifle up against a solid glass ball. The balls themselves weigh approximately forty pounds and are larger than his head.
Watch his test in the video below:
Carriker starts his test with an assortment of small arms pistols on a much smaller glass ball, approximately the size of a pool ball. The small rounds make quick work of the glass balls and shatter them into pieces.
What was most interesting was that the glass absorbed the lead round, shattering, but never let the bullet penetrate the glass ball entirely. Although there would be a terrible shrapnel effect, the glass could be bulletproof in a true definition.
After being satisfied with the small balls, Carriker moves to the big glass ball. He starts with a 9mm, which leaves a small impact on the front of the glass ball. Some shrapnel comes off, but no penetration. Carriker is left surprised and questioning if he missed the shot.
The next round is a .45 ACP, which has similar effects as the 9mm, just with more shrapnel.
Carriker rotates the ball to a new side and pulls out his .44 magnum pistol. This leaves a much larger effect on the ball, and what is the most surprising is not what is happening on the front of the ball, but what has been happening on the rear of the ball.
Although the bullets are not penetrating the ball, the force is being transferred through it, almost as if the bullet is moving through the ball, and leaving a dent on the backside of the ball that follows the trajectory of the bullet. This same effect happens with every round Carriker tries. He doesn’t know what to call this, so he says “the counter effect.”
Carriker moves on to 5.56mm, which has similar effects to the .44 magnum round. The ball is still in one piece, despite having a very distinct crack around the entire sphere.
In typical Carriker fashion, he finishes his evaluation with a .50 caliber. The round is armor-piercing and incendiary, meaning it will penetrate the target and explode once inside at a pre-determined distance, maximizing the destruction of the hit.
When Carriker shoots the glass ball with the .50 caliber, it immediately explodes and sends glass fragments flying back towards the vehicle. The glass ball is no more.
The .50 caliber round destroyed the glass ball, penetrated the ball’s stand, and was left sticking out the top. The effect seemed fake, but was the result of the bullet traveling with the curvature of the ball and left sticking out the top.
As with most targets, the glass ball is unable to stop a .50 caliber bullet.
