View Single Post
 
Old 05-07-2012, 04:57 PM
xICEMANx xICEMANx is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Utah
Posts: 229
Likes: 3
Liked 43 Times in 36 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by blujax01 View Post
There is a paper entitled "Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness" presented by the FBI Academy Firearms Training Unit.
The full text may be found here:
http://www.firearmstactical.com/pdf/fbi-hwfe.pdf

Excellent 20 minute read and the final paragraph sums it up quite nicely:
Kinetic energy does not wound. Temporary cavity does not wound. The much discussed "shock" of bullet impact is a fable and "knock down" power is a myth. The critical element is penetration. The bullet must pass through the large, blood bearing organs and be of sufficient diameter to promote rapid bleeding. Penetration less than 12 inches is too little, and, in the words of two of the participants in the 1987 Wound Ballistics Workshop, "too little penetration will get you killed." Given desirable and reliable penetration, the only way to increase bullet effectiveness is to increase the severity of the wound by increasing the size of hole made by the bullet. Any bullet which will not penetrate through vital organs from less than optimal angles is not acceptable. Of those that will penetrate, the edge is always with the bigger bullet.
Doesn't .357 tend to penetrate more than .45acp? Yet .45 is a bigger bullet. HMMM. Heck alot of 9mm loads penetrate better than .40 and .45. Kinda of contradicts that last line.
Reply With Quote