Excellent Video on Gunshot Wound Ballistics <GRAPHIC>

B

Bartholomew Roberts

Moderator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tku8YI68-JA&feature=youtu.be

The video is a medical lecture given by an anethesiologist who treats gunshot wounds. The first 15-20 minutes of the 35 minute video are spent discussing how bullets work inside the body and how they do what they do. For someone who is using a firearm for defensive purposes, he hits a lot of points that are important in understanding how to use a firearm defensively.

The last 15-20 minutes cover wound treatment procedures by EMTs and other medical personnel and while also interesting, are probably not as useful to the layman.

I found the video extremely useful. While not hitting on some of the minutia we discuss on gun boards, it does cover the basics very well and the use of explanatory photos and video, really drive home the points he is making. This is definitely worth 35 minutes of your time if you carry a firearm for self-protection - I consider myself fairly well-read on this subject and even I appreciated and learned something from some of the examples he used to demonstrate these concepts.
 
Wrong bullets?

What I got out of this video was that handgun bullets generally lack sufficient penetration to incapacitate the victims.
Makes me wonder if all of the hype about maximum expansion is legit. Should defensive loads need to have a combination of both qualities? Expansion and penetration? And if so, what bullet is that?
Just thinkin out loud.
 
"What I got out of this video was that handgun bullets generally lack sufficient penetration to incapacitate the victims.
Makes me wonder if all of the hype about maximum expansion is legit. Should defensive loads need to have a combination of both qualities? Expansion and penetration? And if so, what bullet is that?
Just thinkin out loud."


I think to a certain degree you may be correct. But I would think in most self defense situations, there can be other people present. In this case, I don't want a lot of penetration because of innocent people possibly behind the target.
 
Should defensive loads need to have a combination of both qualities? Expansion and penetration? And if so, what bullet is that?
Click to expand...

Yes, it should have a combination of both. The FBI recommends a bullet that will penetrate a MINIMUM of 12" in ballistics gel and no more than 18". They have determined that a bullet that penetrates less than this can sometimes show inadequate penetration from certain angles while a bullet that shows more is likely to exit a person.

As for what bullets meet those standards, this website is a good place to start: http://ammo.ar15.com/project/Self_Defense_Ammo_FAQ/index.htm
 
I notice the shotgun pellet X-ray with some small pellet load. Looked like trival damage in the shoulder. Who am I to Judge though.

Thanks for the find, Bart.
 
Most of the doctor's statistics and illustrations were taken directly from firearmstactical.com , and used many Dr. Martin Fackler quotes. FT is an excellent unbiased source of terminal ballistics information worth checking out.


Cliff Notes:
  • Handgun gunshot wounds are survivable 6 out of 7 times with immediate critical care
  • Shotgun and rifle wounds are much more traumatic and complex due to active secondary bullet and bone fragmentation
  • Larger calibers are generally more effective than smaller. ("Use Enough Gun"▬"Bigger is Better")
  • Deep penetration= good▬shallow penetration= bad
  • Shot placement, shot placement▬yada, yada, yada...
 
I notice the shotgun pellet X-ray with some small pellet load. Looked like trival damage in the shoulder. Who am I to Judge though.
Click to expand...

:D Yes, I saw the x-ray and the first thought I had was "Look, someone caught a load of birdshot and it did not penetrate past the muscle."


There wasn't a lot of new information there but it was very good at presenting the information in an easy-to-understand format.
 
Makes me think all the BS and money spent after the miami shootout concerning the 9mm not penetrating enough. They spent years and a fortune coming up with the .40. The video tells the truth what they really needed was a rifle. PS The .40 didn't do to well in one of the x rays hitting the sternum and stopping before reaching the heart. Should they look for a replacement for the .40 because the one .40 cal round in the video failed to reach the heart. That's the logic of the FBI-s reaction to the miami shootout.
 
What I got out of this video was that handgun bullets generally lack sufficient penetration to incapacitate the victims.
Makes me wonder if all of the hype about maximum expansion is legit. Should defensive loads need to have a combination of both qualities? Expansion and penetration? And if so, what bullet is that?
Click to expand...

The same FBI study referenced in the video includes a test protocol that specifies a minimum penetration of 12" in 10% ballistic gelatin for SD ammo, and specifies a maximum penetration of 18".

You can find quite a few test results online, many of which are on the ammo manufacturer's LE websites, that present expansion & penetration results in gelatin. Plenty of 9mm, .40 and .45 ammo SD will meet the 12" minimum and produce impressive expansion. (HST, Ranger-T and DPX seem to have the most reliable expansion and all achieve the 12" minimum).

The 12" depth in gelatin doesn't = 12" in humans, and there is no guarantee that penetration in gelatin will result in adequate penetration in a human. But you have to use some benchmark ........ and we still have to get good hits ............ and we shouldn't stop getting good hits until the threat has ended.
 
Most of the doctor's statistics and illustrations were taken directly from firearmstactical.com , and used many Dr. Martin Fackler quotes. FT is an excellent unbiased source of terminal ballistics information worth checking out.
Click to expand...

Actually it is quite biased. Fackler tried to set himself up as the UL Lab of ballistics. I find it interesting that an Anesthesiologist and a Dentist are the biggest proponents. :confused:
 
Excellent find, and great post. I've got a few bonehead friends I'll have to show this to. People don't get knocked down on their backs when they get shot by pistol rounds.
 
great vid

I really liked how he had a pretty good overview of general firearms knowledge. I like the statistics shown, and mostly the images and actual files and his medical knowledge he has used in surgery. I guess nothing tells it better than a human body. Very good video.
 
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