Clearballistics Clear Gel

If you have chosen your home defense ammunition based on a test performed with clear gel, you may want to reconsider. Clearballistics clear gel is extremely popular in YouTube ammo testing and with product demonstrations for gimmick ammo companies.

 

Clearballistics claims that it mimics real ballistic gelatin in every way. We tested that claim by firing .223 Nosler 64 gr bonded soft point into real, properly calibrated 10% ballistic gelatin from Vyse and into a fresh block of clear gel with two shots each. The results will probably surprise you.

 

 

As you can see, the results plainly show that the clear gel product does not produce accurate measurements. This invalidates the results of a great number of amateur tests. If you have decided to rely on ammunition because it met the 12″ FBI recommended penetration standard in a clear gel test, you should reconsider that choice. Likewise, if you have dismissed ammunition because it seemed to penetrate too deeply in a clear gel test, those results might be misleading.

 

More testing is needed, but it is possible that the clear product may have other deficiencies. If the manufacturer was deceptive about accurate penetration measurements, they might not be honest about other factors. It might not be as temperature stable as they claim. It might not retain the same BB calibration over multiple uses. It’s even possible that it could allow a poorly designed hollow point bullet to expand when fired through heavy clothing when real gelatin might show that bullet to fail. Of course, this is all speculative, but it is worth investigating. My hope is that more testing can be conducted and we can uncover just how much Clearballistics has misled us.

 

For the time being, the only thing we can say for sure is that the clear gel product does not live up to claims and you should not place any weight in ammunition testing conducted with it, either for or against. As always, the best ammunition is ammunition produced by companies that have government contracts and loads that meet FBI standards in professional testing with properly prepared and calibrated 10% ordnance testing.

 

 

Andrew Betts served with the Arizona National Guard for over 12 years, including a tour to Afghanistan. Visit his YouTube Channel for more great shooting information.