I have been a member here for some time, and I have seen a large number of posts about which cartridge should be chosen for this or that, usually it seems to be about CCW or woods protection. While reading one of these posts recently, I realized choosing a cartidge is like choosing a hammer, in a lot of ways. Let me explain....
With each given task, there is a range of hammers that seems to fit the bill the best, but you can probably use about any of them if you can hit your mark. For example, if I am building a cabinet, probably a tack hammer or finishing hammer would be the best, but I could use a regular claw hammer or a ripping hammer and still get the job done, I just have to be careful to hit my target. But, with the larger hammers, over-penetration is a concern, as I may ruin my cabinet.
Moving on up to building a shed or something like that, a general claw hammer in the 16-20 oz range is probably best. However, you could probably use a tack hammer, but you're going to be swinging a lot. Similarly, you could use a 4# mini-sledge but again, you risk messing your target up too bad with a less than accurate hit. And sure, you could use a 10+ lb sledge, but everyone would agree this is overkill, and you're just going to wear yourself out.
Finally, if you are trying to pound a 100 penny nail into a pressure treated timber, then you NEED a big hammer. Again, you can get it done with smaller ones, but you're going to be there a long time.
Also, as in firearms, the smaller hammers tend to allow for faster swings (i.e., muzzle velocity) and subsequent swings (i.e., follow up shots), but tend to require more hits to do the same job (less energy). However, a larger hammer delivers more energy at a lower velocity, but does so with a lower rate of follow up shots and greater risk of unwanted damage if you miss.
In the end, they are very similar - you are using a tool to drive a metal object into a target. You have a large number of choices as far as what you use to get the metal into the target, but what really counts is being able to hit the target with whichever one you choose and keeping it within reason.
With each given task, there is a range of hammers that seems to fit the bill the best, but you can probably use about any of them if you can hit your mark. For example, if I am building a cabinet, probably a tack hammer or finishing hammer would be the best, but I could use a regular claw hammer or a ripping hammer and still get the job done, I just have to be careful to hit my target. But, with the larger hammers, over-penetration is a concern, as I may ruin my cabinet.
Moving on up to building a shed or something like that, a general claw hammer in the 16-20 oz range is probably best. However, you could probably use a tack hammer, but you're going to be swinging a lot. Similarly, you could use a 4# mini-sledge but again, you risk messing your target up too bad with a less than accurate hit. And sure, you could use a 10+ lb sledge, but everyone would agree this is overkill, and you're just going to wear yourself out.
Finally, if you are trying to pound a 100 penny nail into a pressure treated timber, then you NEED a big hammer. Again, you can get it done with smaller ones, but you're going to be there a long time.
Also, as in firearms, the smaller hammers tend to allow for faster swings (i.e., muzzle velocity) and subsequent swings (i.e., follow up shots), but tend to require more hits to do the same job (less energy). However, a larger hammer delivers more energy at a lower velocity, but does so with a lower rate of follow up shots and greater risk of unwanted damage if you miss.
In the end, they are very similar - you are using a tool to drive a metal object into a target. You have a large number of choices as far as what you use to get the metal into the target, but what really counts is being able to hit the target with whichever one you choose and keeping it within reason.
Y/D
