marine6680
New member
Been thinking on this... It seems to spark a lot of argument online.
First, know that I am writing this on free periods at work... On a phone. Spelling and punctuation may be off, and it may be a little disjointed from stopping and starting. Should be fine overall though.
Two sides... Those who think light and fast are tops, and those who think a little slower but heavy win the day.
Most everyone is in agreement that good penetration is important. Some argue that a large wound cavity is just as or more.
The light and fast crowd will point to the massive damage cavity left in the test medium of fragmenting types, and say that the non-fragmenting rounds can penitrate ten inches usually and sometimes twelve or more, while still having a large cavity. That massive wound cavity is great, and speeds bleeding and helps spread damage to organs even if the shot isn't the best.
The heavy crowd point to those tests and say that "sometimes" is not good enough, when final penitration can vary so greatly from as little as six inches at times. And 10-12 inches is still less than ideal. They say that the heavy round reaches 13-15 inches with every test in ballistics medium, and that the wound cavity created is more than sufficient to increase bleeding over a simple clean hole.
A lot of enphasis is placed on "energy" or "stopping power"... This seems silly to me. It is only one measure that is important when determining a bullets potential.
I doubt this argument will ever be settled...
What I think can be explained is why heavy bullets are more consistent.
When looking at a projectile you have 3 important factors.
Kinetic Energy
Momentum
Inertia
Everyone knows energy... It's touted everywhere.
E=.5(m*v^2)
Velocity squared... A change in velocity makes more impact on energy than a change in mass. It's why people chase velocity... And it is what those that like light and fast, point to as validation.
That's all well and good, but what of the other two measures, momentum and inertia?
In a pistol round, I think they matter more. Why?
Energy of pistol rounds is fairly low, so even a full transfer of it does little work overall.
Momentum is the property of objects in motion.
Inertia is an objects inherent resistance to a change in its current state from external stimulus. Be it sitting still or moving, it wants to stay that way, unless acted upon externally.
Momentum =m*v
You see that here velocity does not have an advantage of being squared.
Inertia is related to the objects mass
Mass is in all three measures but velocity only two.
So let's think about what happens to a projectile as it enters a test medium... Let's assume a non-fragmenting type.
As soon as the projectile first contacts the medium, it begins to loose velocity, mass will more or less stay the same.
Looking at the equation for energy shows that it will be loosing energy fast, as velocity slows. Remember, changes in velocity affect the energy levels more than mass.
Momentum... It looses momentum as velocity decreases, but at a slower rate.
Inertia... It stays the same. The projectile's velocity does not affect it's inertia.
That to me seems to point to the fact that starting with a heavier mass is better.
Long range shooters know this... They can't prevent velocity loss, but performance down range can be conserved longer.
Yes... Different needs and circumstances... But the desire to retain energy/momentum over a given distance is the same.
In defensive use, we want to retain energy/momentum over the desired depth of penetration. A nominal 15 inches according to most experts.
Whether the fast and light crowd are right about energy transfer and wound cavity being more important or equal to overall penitration... Or the the heavy and slower crowd are right... We may argue that forever.
I hope I was able to at least show why heavier rounds perform more consistently with regards to penitration... Which is the only quantifiable performance figure we can really look at. Energy transfer and effects of wound cavities are harder to test and predict results, due to testing being limited to gel and not living entities.
Me I am in between the two sides, with a leaning to heavy. Feeling that accurate shots and proper penetration is the best bet. Though I am open to a lighter round that fragments but still retains a core that can penitrate to proper depths. Moch testing would need be done though to show it performs well.
First, know that I am writing this on free periods at work... On a phone. Spelling and punctuation may be off, and it may be a little disjointed from stopping and starting. Should be fine overall though.
Two sides... Those who think light and fast are tops, and those who think a little slower but heavy win the day.
Most everyone is in agreement that good penetration is important. Some argue that a large wound cavity is just as or more.
The light and fast crowd will point to the massive damage cavity left in the test medium of fragmenting types, and say that the non-fragmenting rounds can penitrate ten inches usually and sometimes twelve or more, while still having a large cavity. That massive wound cavity is great, and speeds bleeding and helps spread damage to organs even if the shot isn't the best.
The heavy crowd point to those tests and say that "sometimes" is not good enough, when final penitration can vary so greatly from as little as six inches at times. And 10-12 inches is still less than ideal. They say that the heavy round reaches 13-15 inches with every test in ballistics medium, and that the wound cavity created is more than sufficient to increase bleeding over a simple clean hole.
A lot of enphasis is placed on "energy" or "stopping power"... This seems silly to me. It is only one measure that is important when determining a bullets potential.
I doubt this argument will ever be settled...
What I think can be explained is why heavy bullets are more consistent.
When looking at a projectile you have 3 important factors.
Kinetic Energy
Momentum
Inertia
Everyone knows energy... It's touted everywhere.
E=.5(m*v^2)
Velocity squared... A change in velocity makes more impact on energy than a change in mass. It's why people chase velocity... And it is what those that like light and fast, point to as validation.
That's all well and good, but what of the other two measures, momentum and inertia?
In a pistol round, I think they matter more. Why?
Energy of pistol rounds is fairly low, so even a full transfer of it does little work overall.
Momentum is the property of objects in motion.
Inertia is an objects inherent resistance to a change in its current state from external stimulus. Be it sitting still or moving, it wants to stay that way, unless acted upon externally.
Momentum =m*v
You see that here velocity does not have an advantage of being squared.
Inertia is related to the objects mass
Mass is in all three measures but velocity only two.
So let's think about what happens to a projectile as it enters a test medium... Let's assume a non-fragmenting type.
As soon as the projectile first contacts the medium, it begins to loose velocity, mass will more or less stay the same.
Looking at the equation for energy shows that it will be loosing energy fast, as velocity slows. Remember, changes in velocity affect the energy levels more than mass.
Momentum... It looses momentum as velocity decreases, but at a slower rate.
Inertia... It stays the same. The projectile's velocity does not affect it's inertia.
That to me seems to point to the fact that starting with a heavier mass is better.
Long range shooters know this... They can't prevent velocity loss, but performance down range can be conserved longer.
Yes... Different needs and circumstances... But the desire to retain energy/momentum over a given distance is the same.
In defensive use, we want to retain energy/momentum over the desired depth of penetration. A nominal 15 inches according to most experts.
Whether the fast and light crowd are right about energy transfer and wound cavity being more important or equal to overall penitration... Or the the heavy and slower crowd are right... We may argue that forever.
I hope I was able to at least show why heavier rounds perform more consistently with regards to penitration... Which is the only quantifiable performance figure we can really look at. Energy transfer and effects of wound cavities are harder to test and predict results, due to testing being limited to gel and not living entities.
Me I am in between the two sides, with a leaning to heavy. Feeling that accurate shots and proper penetration is the best bet. Though I am open to a lighter round that fragments but still retains a core that can penitrate to proper depths. Moch testing would need be done though to show it performs well.
