This Sparc 10 was a webserver running OpenBSD, for about a year. I bought it for $10, and I was told it originally cost $13,000 or so. It eventually started flaking out every couple of weeks, putting itself into debug mode. I replaced it with another box, and decided to see if the vaunted quality of construction of Sparcs was really true.

Near as I can tell in my highly unscientific (but very satisfying) test, it gets holes shot in it about as well as any cheapass PC.

Couple of shots from a .357 Mag, 158gr. JHP.

As you can see by this picture of the back of the case, the bullets didn't sucessfully penetrate.

6 rounds from a .45ACP 200gr unjacketed lead SWCs. Lancer ammo. Not bad ammo; not clean, but not expensive.

... and the corresponding lack of exit holes. When I later recovered the bullets, they had all 'mushroomed' and in some cases broken to pieces.

6 more rounds from .45ACP 230gr FMJ. Sellier & Bellot ammo. Great stuff, burns nice and clean so there's comparatively little fouling to clean out of the gun.

Note that unlike the softer bullets, some of these do actually barely make it through. When a bullet deforms, it absorbs some of the energy used to propel it. I've heard that as much as 30% of the energy of a hollow-point pistol bullet may be used up in deforming it to a nice mushroom shape. Bullets which tear themselves apart into fragments, lose even more of their energy. Less energy means less penetration depth, and less penetration depth (up to a certain point) means less likelihood of reaching the target's vitals (remember that living targets rarely present a perfect shot, so bullets may have to penetrate from odd angles or go through bone). You must reach and fully penetrate the vitals of your target in order to ensure a quick and humane kill.

Trying out my .30-30; 160gr Remington 'extended range' ammo.

As you may see from these exit holes, bullets from a rifle cartridge (even a comparatively old and weak design like a .30-30) are far more powerful than pistol bullets. Even though the .30 caliber bullets weighed less than the .45 caliber bullets (160 grains vs. 200 or 230 grains); they're going at a much higher speed (about 2200 feet per second vs. about 900 fps), so the extra energy forced them through.

Of course, nothing makes holes like 12ga. shotgun slugs. Still, it's amazing how much the plastic cover of the sparcstation closes back around the holes.

The computer was lying at a slight angle when shot; so the slugs exited higher up on the back than they entered on the front. Still, they made some impressive holes.