The Truth About 12 Gauge Kitchen Sink Ammo

If you've spent any time scrolling through ballistic testing channels on YouTube, you've almost certainly seen someone mess around with 12 gauge kitchen sink ammo just to see what kind of chaos it causes on a block of clear gel or a stack of plywood. It's one of those things that taps into our collective curiosity. We see a shotgun shell—basically a little plastic cup filled with lead—and we can't help but wonder what happens if we swap that lead out for literally anything else we can find in the garage or under the sink. ...

February 21, 2026 · 6 min · Mulhern Rieder