Heer decal opinion and bullet ding

[Pablo]

I'm considering this helmet and would like to know if the decal is legit. What's your opinion of the bullet ding....can one tell if it is a wartime ding?

[VolksJager]

Dont see any problem with the decal, not the best photo but looks good from here. As for the ding, no way to tell when it was done. Its been there awhile though looking at the patina around it. One would like to think it was a lucky escape during the war for this guy though..

Jason

[milmuseum]

Friendly fire perhaps?

Burt

[Normandie]

No problem with the decal, the bump...
I would say it have been dropped once or something like that,
I don't think this is from a bullet though.

[Mikel]

That is a .45 cal bullet ding.

No way to tell when and how. I would suspect it was as a target.

[Wagriff]

Looks like a pistol bullet either from a near spent round coming from a good distance, or else a ricochet. Either way, it still hit it with enough force to crack the steel but not penetrate. If a guy was wearing it at the time, he certainly did Not like it... But, I, too, would say it happened a good while ago, as the metal has patina-ed down dark again and has lost the bare metal shine it must have had. As for the decal, I'm not seeing any red flags on it either. An interesting helmet. Has it a good liner and strap?

[milmuseum]

That is a .45 cal bullet ding.

No way to tell when and how. I would suspect it was as a target.

I agree, looks like a .45 round hit, and period perhaps. No way to tell for sure. I could see some soldiers having some schnapps and shooting their war booty for thrills. or the soldier wearing it had a very lucky day, If you can call being shot and living lucky?

Burt

[Mikel]

I have fired .45 ACP rounds and others into relic German helmets I acquired as a kid. They were plentiful and had no value.

This damage is identical to what I did at ranges of 25 yards. 45s are known for lack of penetration. Much farther and there would be no hole at all.

30/06 punched right through, 9mm usually left a dent and .30 Carbine penetrated with a lot of distortion.