The G2 RIP: a Post-mortem

Around the time the G2 RIP, the Radically Invasive Projectile that would “buzzsaw” through barriers and then burst like a grenade in your target, started going around the gun blogosphere, we were quick to jump on it and point out all of the people demonstrating its flaws.

Source: ShootingTheBull410

One of the more amusing videos in that first wave was from ShootingTheBull410 on YouTube, showing that you could get a similar-looking ballistics gel block result from two .22LR rounds as one G2 RIP. It made the point well and with humor, but also drove home the idea that in the modern age, consumers can test for themselves a lot of these claims ammo makers publish, and then go back to carrying Gold Dots and HSTs.

But prompted by an email from friend of the show Andy, I decided to follow up and see what had happened in the G2 RIP saga. Perhaps G2 Research had deftly countered the claims of all these pajama-wearing, unscientific, YouTube blaggars. Maybe they sent some to the FBI and got the same response from them that the most charitable independent tests gave, which was “It’s not any better but it’s not bad either.” Nope.

Instead, something awesome happened: in-depth testing, side-by-side comparison, and some gen-u-wine education from ShootingTheBull410. First he did a video about the G2 RIP vs a Federal HST, testing G2’s claims about the RIP cutting through barriers like a buzzsaw and penetrating 12 layers of denim like it was nothing. At 10 minutes long, this video isn’t the quick, pithy takedown of the G2 that we saw go viral when it was first announced, but it’s got a lot of good information and gives a lot of food for thought about shooting through barricades and heavy clothing. (Hint: use a rifle.)

But the pièce de résistance is the third video in his series, clocking in at almost 15 minutes, every one of them worth your time. He tests the G2 vs some Gold Dots in a number of simulants, up to and including a gel block with actual (pig) ribs in it covered with (pig) skin and denim. Awesome.

He also gives useful information on the art and science of ballistics testing, like answering why the FBI wants 12-18 inches of penetration when the human torso is usually no more than 12″ thick. He also comes up with a verdict on the G2 RIP that I think is both fair and honest about its capabilities: the 96 grain projectile is basically a hybrid between a .380ACP FMJ (the “penetrating base”) and half of a 9mm birdshot shotshell (the fragmenting “trocars”).

Obviously nobody would want to be shot with either of those, much less both, but when your life is on the line, why would you settle for two marginal options when there are proven ones available?

Oh, right. Marketing.