Strasborg Tests
Strasborg Tests
Strasborg Tests
In early 1991, a privately-funded research group was formed to study the physiological effects of bullet impact on medium-sized mammals. Electroencephalography and arterial transducers were employed to record an animal's responses prior to, during and after bullet impact. The primary objective of the study was to isolate the physical mechanism responsible for rapid incapacitation of man-sized targets and to disseminate these findings along with the test results to the military and federal law enforcement agencies. These tests resulted in a time-based rating system of commercially available handgun ammunition. At this time, phase one of the testing has been completed and the results are being correlated. The following is a preliminary report only. A complete report may be available as early as the 2nd quarter of 1993.
Methodology
The Strasbourg Tests were initiated on the strength of the premise that briefly amplified systemic pressure of a specific magnitude can cause disorientation and loss of consciousness. It was determined that an accurate means of monitoring this elevated system pressure would be to surgically install a custom-designed peak-hold needle transducer in to the carotid artery of an animal. While this type of transducer is extremely expensive it, is capable of responding from 0 to peak pressure at the rate of 2,000 times per second, fast enough to respond to a bullet violently invading the circulatory system. The signals from such a transducer could be stored into memory using a 486 computer and l later transferred into post-processor/amplifier circuitry and, finally recorded by way of a "Vari-Sync" strip chart recorder. With this concept firmly in mind, medical members of the research group discussed the merits of a study in which electroencephalograms (EEGs) were used to analyze lowered states of brain activity in anaesthetized animals as the result of projectiles fired into nonvital areas. Unfortunately, EEGs of anaesthetized animals do not show a clear picture of actual incapacitation. To better approximate the real-life situations normally encountered by law enforcement agents and military personnel, a corporate decision was made to conduct the tests using fully conscious animals.
Test Equipment
Equipment inside the test room consisted of: (1) A large tripod assembly to which a Ransom Rest was bolted. The tripod was securely fastened to the floor. The tripod head afforded X, Y and Z positioning of the test weapons. This system allowed for accurate bullet placement after adjustments were made for a particular load. (2) Transducer/computer/strip chart recorder.
(3) Electroencephalograph/strip chart recorder. (4) Two oscilloscopes. (5) TV camera./CRT (monitored loading room activity). (6) One mic-activated, digital timer/buzzer system. (7) One mic-activated stroboscope. (8) Two mic-activated, motor driven, 35mm cameras. (9) Two manually-activated V HS camcorders. (10) Two manually-activated exhaust fans. (11) One manually-activated dimmer system.
The Subjects
The animals selected for testing were French Alpine Goats. These animals were chosen Because their weight, lung capacity and thoracic cage dimensions are very similar to those of man. All of the goats were of male gender. These were large, adult animals ranging in weight from 156 to 164 pounds. To reduce the chance of adversely affecting the test results, the goats were certified to be free of a number of serious diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia prior to purchase. The health of the animals was continually monitored throughout the tests by an in-house veterinarian.
Procedures
After surgically implanting the transducers, the goats were allowed to recover for several days and then placed in narrow stalls where needle electrodes were inserted into their scalp areas and glued in place. After clipping the electroencephalograph leads to the electrodes, electrodes, the goats were monitored by way of an oscilloscope in an effort to establish a stable (many artifacts were recognized and disregarded), baseline recording. Food was supplied to the animals during the monitoring period. If a reasonably consistent baseline recording could not be established regarding a particular subject, the animal was rejected as too high-strung (since a nervous or easilyadrenalinized individual might adversely affect the test results). Each animal producing a stable baseline recording and showing no signs of fever was led to the loading area of the test facility and positioned toward one end of a revolving, stainless steel cubicle chamber where it was confined inside a "rubber fence" (i.e., rubber cords stretched across the entrance). Once confined, the twin-cubicle was turned 180 degrees by way of a large bearing assembly so that the animal was inside the test room itself. Electroencephalograph and transducer leads were connected to the animal's head and neck area and taped to isolate them from each other. The animal (now facing left) was then allowed to eat heavily salted oats from a stationary, conical-shaped container, the opening of which was of a diameter which forced the goat to remain in one position (this greatly assisted the shooter, as the X-coordinate variables were greatly minimized). At this point, the shooter quickly made any minor weapon-positioning adjustments to align the sights with the target area (a 2-inch circle stamped on the animal's chest). Within 10-20 seconds from the time the animal commenced eating, the lights were dimmed and two camcorders were manually activated. Brain wave patterns were again monitored by way of an oscilloscope while the recorder charted a permanent record of
the pre-invasive condition of the animal. If the baseline recording was unstable, disconnects were made. The animal was then tagged (rejected) and returned to a holding area. If the baseline recording was stable at the end of this 60-second acclimation period, the technician monitoring the oscilloscope signaled the shooter by way of an LED. Once the shooter received the signal, the weapon was fired. The muzzle report was picked by a series of microphones. The mics sent separate signals to various devices. One signal activated a digital timer. Another activated a stroboscope (flashing at the rate of one-flash-per-second). The signals from two other mics electronically opened the shutters of two 35 mm cameras which recorded the goat's reaction (body movement) in the form of strobe-sequenced time-exposures. During this 60-second flash period, two assistants (each manning a gang of 5 stopwatches) timed each collapse that occurred. At the end of this 60-second period, an alarm built into the digital timer sounded. At this point, the camcorders were switched off manually (by way of a remote switch), the 35 mm camera shutters were closed (by way of two solenoids attached to electronic cable releases) and the room lights were turned on. At this point, if the animal was still standing or had its head up, two marksmen armed with .22 caliber semi-automatic rifles intervened, humanely terminating the animal by firing rounds into the juncture of head and neck, just below the ear. Once brain death was confirmed, the electrode and transducer leads were disconnected and the cubicle turned 180 degrees. Personnel in the loading room then wheeled the goats body and the backup gelatin to another room where an autopsy was performed. At this point, the cubicle chamber was thoroughly cleaned and rinsed. Fresh straw was scattered on the floor, the food container filled and the stall area generally prepared for the next subject.
Autopsy
During the autopsy, medical personnel searched for signs of entrance rib contact, disease, genetic deformities, tumors, pierced or burst vessels, bullet or bone fragments that pierced the heart or spinal cord anything which could have incapacitated the animal sooner than a direct shot through the lungs. If any physical conditions were found which may have substantially lowered the incapacitation time, the records reflected this and a retest was scheduled. Additionally, the blood and pulped lung tissue were strained for projectile parts and weighed in relation to those recovered from backup gelatin positioned behind the animal. The wound channels created by the bullet and any bullet fragments were traced. If lung damage was slight, obvious bullet instability was noted. Damage to the individual lung walls was estimated in cubic centimeters. If the autopsy revealed a valid test, technicians began the painstaking task of "real-time correlation. This process amounted to comparing the strip chart tracings produced by the transducer signals (systemic pressure) with the electroencephalograph tracings (brain wave patterns). What the technicians looked for was a match between the spiked areas of the transducer tracings (high systemic pressure) and slowed or flat EEG tracings (diminished consciousness or possible brain death). If a spiked pressure tracing corresponded to a flattened or sluggish EEG tracing (which was usually the
case), a positive correlation was recorded. It should be understood that the abovereferenced correlation process was very time-consuming because the transducer tracings were so highly compressed (in order to correspond to the 1-second vertical chart spacing of the EEG) that they appeared solid in some areas. This was because lines from as many as 2,000 vertical stylus movements were crowded together over a short linear distance.
Target Area
The lung area was chosen as the impact zone in these tests due to the high probability of a bullet striking a human target in this area, regardless of its angle of entry. The goats used in these tests were shot from the side (at a distance of l0' +/- 3"). The bores of the firearms were leveled and every attempt was made to strike the animal as squarely as possible through both lungs. To minimize contact with the heart, the bullets were directed just behind the shoulder and above the centerline of the lungs.
breathing shallowly, the ribs were closer together. While eating, the animals tended not to breath deeply. The shooter ran a 6O% chance of at least contacting a rib during these tests.
Technical Observations
In a substantial number of cases, the subject was incapacitated almost instantly. Each time this occurred, between 2 and 5 pressure spike tracings of high amplitude and short duration were found which immediately preceded and matched corresponding, diffused, or flattened lines (EEG tracings). Normally, the time-lag between the first pressure spike and the beginning of the slowed or flattened lines was between 30 and 40 milliseconds (although there were several cases where this delay lasted as long as 80 milliseconds). How mucho f this delay can be attributed to a slow electroencephalograph response (an equipment limitation) is unknown. What is known is that: (1) The taller pressure spike tracings always preceded the slowed or flat line tracings. (2) The initial spikes had to be of a certain height in order for the animal to collapse immediately. (3) A secondary group of shorter pressure spikes of diminishing height and longer duration always occurred after the taller spikes occurred. These are believed to be produced by the wake of the bullet and maybe indicative of a raised system pressure caused by a rapid compression of lung material (initiated by temporal cavitation). These subsequent spikes are essentially a continuation of the taller, initial spikes. (4) A third group of low amplitude pressure spikes of still longer duration occur last and are a continuation of the group two spikes. These spikes tend to blend with the lowest amplitude of the group two spikes. These spikes diminish in intensity and it is believed that they are produced by the violent oscillation of the lungs after impact and cavitations. What each of these spike patterns contributes to lowering incapacitation time is unknown. However, it is the general consensus of the research staff that the group one and group two pressure spikes work together and act as a catalyst to bring about incapacitation. It is believed that those cases of near-instant incapacitation may be the result of a pressure-related interruption in normal electrochemical activity
Extent Of Testing
Over the course of Phase One testing, 611 goats were terminated. Of this number, 3l were discounted for various reasons. There were 580 valid tests. The results of the valid tests are found in the tables of this report.
Incapacitation
An animal was deemed "incapacitated if it collapsed and was unable to rise to a standing position.
Animal Reaction
Animal reaction varied greatly and was nearly always dependent on the caliber and particular ammunition used. Some animals collapsed immediately and could not rise. Others collapsed immediately and managed to rise to a standing position only to collapse and rise again (this was recorded up to 5 times with some animals. Animals collapsing two or three times was not uncommon). Many animals faltered shortly after bullet impact and did not collapse until much later. Several animals reacted vigorously by jumping over the rubber fence, resulting in "disconnects" subsequently invalidating the test. Some animals faltered or stumbled repeatedly and then collapsed unexpectedly. Others faltered shortly after bullet impact and collapsed within a relatively short time Thereafter (it is believed that this common reaction was due to a system pressure level that was near, but below some threshold level required to cause immediate incapacitation) On three occasions, (two validated) the animals stayed on their feet in excess of 60 seconds. The most notable of these subjects showed only slight agitation immediately after bullet impact, shifting its position in the stall area several times and then becoming relatively stationary until approximately 5l.3 seconds had elapsed - at which time it made a two-second attempt at eating! At this point, this rather determined animal began to falter, but remained on his feet until the marksmen intervened. The projectile was a 158 gr. RNL bullet fired from a 2-inch barreled .38 Special revolver. Average muzzle velocity for this load was 587 fps. The bullet did not strike a rib.
Conclusions
After lengthy discussions between the surgeons and technical personnel involved in these tests, it was concluded that the most effective ammunition available for an unobstructed lung strike is the high velocity type which uses pre-fragmented or fragmenting projectiles or those types that caused immediate expansion on impact. It was found that the more rapid the fragmentation or expansion, the greater the organ damage. Likewise, the more violent the fragmentation or expansion, the higher the system pressure and the more rapid the blood loss. It should be understood that, with few exceptions, most of the ammunition Currently available does not fragment (or even expand well) at speeds under 1200 fps if a rib is struck. The ability of a particular bullet to cause damage was easily assessed by the size of the permanent cavity created in the entrance wall of the first lung.
Recommendations
Based on the results of these tests, this committee strongly opposes the use of: (l) All handgun ammunition under .45 caliber which utilizes round nosed bullets. (2) Any of the so-called, "deep-penetrating" ammunition loaded with expanding" hollow point bullets. These bullets consistently penetrated not only the animal, but the 6-inchthick backup gelatin behind the animal. Ammunition employing the two bullet types
mentioned above consistently scored the longest incapacitation times of all the ammunition tested. Because of the high probability of rib impact, a single handgun bullet cannot be counted on to immediately incapacitate an individual. Multiple rounds should be fired.
Future Tests
Due to the heavy burden imposed on many of the key members of the research group by an unrelenting test pace over an l8-month period, future tests have not been scheduled. If follow-up tests are conducted, they will be of a limited nature (possibly 70 additional goats). As presently contemplated the tests will consist of re-testing only those loads that scored the lowest incapacitation times. If conducted, these tests should determine a correlation between the consumption of alcohol and incapacitation time. Due to the sensitive nature of this information, strict anonymity concerning the individuals involved is being maintained. The recipient of this information will be apprised of how to correspond regarding this data by way of various publications.
Not all the tables from this study have been included in this document. The following tables include the basic incapacitation and ammunition data.
The following abbreviations are use in these tables: FPS = Velocity, in feet per second AIT = Average Incapacitation Time FT-LBS. = Foot/Pounds of Energy LB.SEC = Pound-seconds of momentum
FPS
1338 1313 1008 1007 1041 980 965 996 984 934
AIT
7.12 7.94 10.94 11.06 11.12 12.88 13.40 13.46 15.58 22.80
FT-LBS.
238.57 268.03 203.10 202.70 216.62 181.31 182.01 193.89 193.55 184.07
LB.SEC
.3566 .4083 .4030 .4026 .4162 .3700 .3772 .3893 .3934 .3941
FPS
776 1313
AIT
15.52 7.94
FT-LBS.
211.32 268.03
LB.SEC
.5446 .4083
LOAD
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Glaser 80 gr. +P (Blue) MagSafe 65 gr. +P+ Cor-Bon 115 gr. JHP +P Win 158 gr. LHP +P Fed 158 gr. LHP +P Fed 129 gr. Hydra Shok +P Rem 158 gr. LHP +P PMC 125 gr. Starfire +P Fed 125 gr. JHP +P Win 110 gr. JHP +P+ CCI 125 gr. JHP Lawman Rem 95 gr. JHP +P Win 110 gr. JHP +P Win 125 gr. JHP +P Rem 125 gr. JHP +P Hornady 125 gr. XTP-HP Fed 158 gr. RNL (control round)
FPS
1667 1841 1243 996 982 951 924 946 998 1136 947 1138 999 938 935 936 708
AIT
4.72 4.76 8.98 10.76 10.80 10.84 10.86 10.88 10.92 11.02 11.36 11.38 11.66 11.70 11.74 14.82 33.68
FT-LBS.
493.76 489.30 394.64 348.12 338.40 259.12 299.61 248.45 276.52 315.29 248.98 273.25 243.82 244.27 242.71 243.23 175.90
LB.SEC
.5924 .5316 .6350 .6990 .6892 .5449 .6485 .5253 .5441 .5551 .5258 .4802 .4881 .5208 .5192 .5197 .4969
FPS
1747 1301 1555 1311 1333 1267 1290 1288 1181 1126 1105 1175 1199 1166 958 1286 1258 962 1149 979 1093 890 1134 1163
AIT
4.74 4.82 7.42 8.90 8.92 8.96 8.98 8.98 9.02 9.28 9.28 9.30 9.36 9.36 9.58 9.62 9.66 9.68 9.80 9.84 9.86 9.90 12.02 14.40
FT-LBS.
460.95 432.32 429.64 438.99 453.85 442.11 425.04 425.04 356.25 349.18 336.28 352.64 367.19 347.26 299.64 330.58 435.85 302.15 337.20 312.92 390.04 258.61 328.45 345.47
LB.SEC
.5277 .6646 .5526 .6697 .6809 .6979 .6590 .6590 .6033 .6202 .6087 .6002 .6125 .5956 .6256 .5141 .6929 .6282 .5870 .6393 .7137 .5812 .5793 .5941
LOAD
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Quik-Shok 125 gr. HP MagSafe 68 gr. Glaser 80 gr.(Blue) Rem 125 gr. JHP Fed 125 gr. JHP Cor-Bon 125 gr. JHP Fed 110 gr. JHP Win 125 gr. JHP CCI 125 gr. JHP Lawman Fed 158 gr. Hydra-Shok Win 145 gr. STHP Rem 110 gr. JHP Rem 125 gr. JHP Win 110 gr. JHP CCI 140 gr. JHP Lawman Fed 158 gr. JHP Rem 158 gr. JHP Win 158 gr. JHP Fed 158 gr. Nyclad HP CCI 158 gr. JHP Lawman Hornady 125 gr. XTP-HP Rem 158 gr. JSP (control round)
FPS
1409 1757 1687 1458 1442 1419 1351 1382 1367 1213 1285 1334 1277 1281 1322 1205 1220 1246 1188 1221 1314 1224
AIT
4.40 4.62 4.82 7.34 7.44 7.66 7.72 7.76 7.78 7.84 7.86 7.90 7.94 7.98 8.06 8.28 8.30 8.34 8.42 8.48 10.88 12.80
FT-LBS.
551.17 466.24 505.68 590.18 577.29 559.02 445.92 530.25 518.80 516.34 531.78 434.77 400.91 543.43 543.43 509.55 522.32 544.82 523.17 523.17 479.35 525.75
LB.SEC
.7824 .5307 .5995 .8096 .8007 .7879 .6601 .7674 .7590 .8513 .8277 .6518 .7091 .8221 .8221 .8457 .8563 .8745 .8570 .8570 .7296 .8591
FPS
1753 1449 1210 1142 991 1136 1183 1044 989 988 992 1157 1277
AIT
4.52 5.34 7.86 7.90 8.32 8.40 8.42 8.66 8.86 8.90 8.92 10.38 7.94
FT-LBS.
573.32 489.65 504.03 448.97 392.62 444.27 446.25 435.74 391.04 390.25 338.77 460.84 400.91
LB.SEC
.6541 .6758 .8331 .7863 .7923 .7822 .7882 .8348 .7908 .7900 .6830 .7966 .7091
10
FPS
1729 1311 1624 1286 1267 1155 995 1202 1367 1018 986 996 1133 1121 1103
AIT
4.48 7.56 7.60 7.66 7.92 7.94 8.22 8.26 7.78 8.46 8.76 8.88 8.96 10.22 13.98
FT-LBS.
637.41 591.69 615.06 550.97 623.95 533.33 395.80 577.61 518.80 414.31 431.86 396.59 513.20 558.21 418.83
LB.SEC
.7373 .9027 .7575 .8569 .9849 .9235 .7956 .9611 .7590 .8140 .8760 .7964 .9059 .9959 .7594
FPS
1644 1355 1124 847 1156 1004 924 936 829 1043 1011 939 839
AIT
4.68 4.72 7.98 8.40 8.56 8.82 8.88 8.92 9.14 9.22 9.24 10.66 13.84
FT-LBS.
576.28 570.90 519.11 366.48 549.09 414.19 350.81 389.17 351.07 483.23 419.98 362.29 359.59
LB.SEC
.7011 .8427 .9237 .8654 .9500 .8251 .7593 .8316 .8470 .9266 .8308 .7717 .8572
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