Cast Iron Skillets Face Real Bullets on a Texas Gun Range

Cast iron skillets from the kitchen rarely meet bullets outside fiction. The team at Yee Yee Life set out to change that on their private range in Texas. They lined up fresh pans in a row and fired round after round to find out exactly how many it takes to stop each type of ammunition. Slow motion cameras rolled while safety gear stayed on and results stayed unpredictable.

The tests began with the lightest choice, a Ruger Mark IV sending a.22 long rifle bullets were placed directly into the first skillet. The bullet struck the curved surface, showering a silver mist outwards, leaving just a faint mark. However, none of the pans shattered, and the round was nothing near breaking through. Handgun rounds followed, with a Glock 19 firing a 9mm round into the center of the first pan. Fragments flew out the opposite side and bounced off the second skillet. While the margins of the second pan were severely damaged, the round remained intact; just one pan cracked under pressure.

The 1911, loaded with.45 ACP ammo, came next. This cartridge created a much wider hole in the first skillet, and a piece of the bullet lodged in the second pan without going completely through. To be fair, the damage appeared significant, yet it still required two pans to stop it. Then came magnum strength, which, combined with a.44 Magnum round, sent the first two pans flying cleanly, but only barely cleared the third, leaving a tiny bulge with no crack or exit evident. The round ended with three pans, which was the magic number.

A Desert Eagle chambered in .50 AE replicated the two-pan penetration approach, with the bullet escaping the second skillet and bouncing off the third while spinning rapidly. In tests using stainless steel pans, we saw the same round pass clear through the first three layers, but the cast iron ones proved to be much tougher. The hosts noticed this right away, as these pans were far more durable than their steel counterparts.

Shotgun slugs had a minor impact on the game, as one 12 gauge slug burst through the first three pans, leaving a trail of flames around the entry point and a wider hole on the third pan. Shrapnel flew everywhere, and a handful of pans were damaged because this round had significantly more penetrating power than the.44 Magnum or The.50 AE, but it took four pans to bring it to a stop.

Rifle bullets slipped into the mix, with an AR platform firing 5.56 NATO green tip ammo, striking little holes in the first two pans and ejecting clouds of dust and smoke as it approached the third, leaving a terrible divot and fracture. However, the round came to a sudden end with only two pans removed. It was over after three pans. Next up was an AK-47 chambered in 7.62×39 ammo, which easily cleared three pans before shattering apart on the fourth, sending pan parts and bullets flying everywhere. A gold SCAR in.308 followed the same course, striking three pans before coming to a standstill on the fourth. Then comes a bolt-action rifle.30-06 appeared and opened up, emitting smoke, sparks, and fire as it traveled through three pans before coming to a halt on the fourth tier. All three rounds ended with three pans pierced.

Then, in the big leagues, he used a.50 BMG rifle, his most powerful hitter. Nine brand new cast iron pans were lined up in a row, waiting to see what would happen, and it soared perfectly through, entering the first pan without a hitch and leaving a wonderful large hole in the second. By the third pan, it was turning slightly sideways, and by the fifth, it was still clearly on a roll. The sixth pan eventually halted it dead in its tracks. We must emphasize that no other round in the entire test progressed past the third pan. Five pans fell down, and six pans finally brought everything to a halt.