First of all, let me say that this was a very un-scientific test. I used water as a simulant, and there's no data on penetration depth at all. I used milk jugs lined up, but I will try to refine this by shooting from the top of a ladder into a deep trashcan filled with water when I get a chance. This should capture all of the bullet fragments, and I should be able to do multiple shots rather than this somewhat (ahem) limited sample.

Now as far as using water as a tissue simulant is concerned: Water does accurately model a bullet's expanding properties, but does not correlate to penetration depth. I can dig up the reference by Dr. Fackler in that regard if someone doubts this assertion. Penetration depth  is not of that much interest to me - I was simply curious if the bullet would fragment at all. Shot out of a 20" barrel at 10ft.



Again - I don't claim that this is the ultimate proof in the fragmenting abilities of Silver Bear. I was simply curious about this cheap round. Interesting to note is that the large fragment representing the nose of the bullet does not seem to indicate that the hollow point itself was responsible for expansion as I expected. If anything, it looks like the bullet actually fragmented at the point where the hollow cavity ended. Unfortunately, a majority of the material ended up un-recovered due to my cheesy experimental methods....

Just to refresh your memory, here's a cross section of the same bullet:

Great pictures.  Very intersting.  I will be even more currious to see how it reacts in the trash can full of water.  Thanks for taking the time to test.

Troy:

I had never even considered this aspect and thought this was valid to do. In any case - thanks for pointing that out....

not the same ammo nor did i look for the fragments but at the NJ AR shoot
I tested some hornady TAP ammo 62g Ballistic tips on 2 2 gallon water jugs
lets just say they jumped about 2 feet in the air when shot...1st shot exploded it, second shot still half full jumped it

 How does that ammo group?  Might want to try some.  The 62 grain stuff is expensive compared to 55, for US made.

well i wasnt shooting paper i was shooting water jugs
however it did hit POA POI
not quite scientific though
I have about 100 more rounds which I dont plan on wasting it on too many objects
yes it is pricey so what I do is when i stop at the shop I buy a box here and there
didnt happen today as I brought home a Walther P22 and 1000 rounds of ammo to plink

I would expect it to fragment.  I have collected fragments from water filled milk jugs that were shot with Stingers.