Re: (TFT) Doing damasge modernly

["Charles Gadda" <cgadda@earthlink.net>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "rmorger" <rmorger@mail.ev1.net>
To: <tft@brainiac.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 6:04 AM
Subject: Re: (TFT) Doing damasge modernly


> >Regarding bullets, tissue damage goes with cross sectional
> >momentum, while actual penetration goes with cross sectional
> >kinetic energy. So a big heavy slow bullet is effective against
> >tissue, but not very good against armour.
>
> As far as penetration goes, but unless you are talking about a
> modern type of armor that absorbs the kinetic force, AKA kevlar
> vest or similar, then the kinetic energy is spent in a direct
> force blow, AKA being hit by a sledge hammer or mace at full swing.
> Which can kill you every bit as dead as the bullet penetrating and
> bleeding you out.
>
> That is one of the reasons armor died when guns became more common.

Could you clarify the above? I am not quite sure what you were trying to
say.

> >A small fast light round is better against armour but lacks
> >stopping power.
>
> See above. The reason the 22 is used so frequently for "hits"
> besides being cheap, light, easy to conceal and very common. Is
> that the bullet usually has enough energy to enter a skull but not
> enough to exit it, plenty to bounce around several times in the
> cavity.

Obviously a .22 LR isn't going to do much against armour - even a heavy
winter coat can sometimes stop significant penetration; I was speaking in
generalities. As for the use in "hits" the biggest reason is the relative
ease with which the round may be silenced... that and the ability to bounce
around in the brain a bit (I see you watch CSI, too)

> <Of course, bullet construction is important too. A soft lead
> <round is useless against any decent hard armour, while an AP
> <round can make even an anemic cartridge a decent penetrator.
>
> Again it depends on how well that armor spreads the kinetic force
> on impact.

Welllllll...... sort of. Kevlar both spreads the force of impact and
"catches" the round. So long as the X-sectional energy of the round does not
exceed the yield strength of the fibres, all is well. Thus, a soft lead or
expanded hollow point easily speads the round's energy, and makes it fairly
easy for Kevlar to "catch" it (except in the case of high powered rifle
rounds .30-06, etc. - even spread out it still overwhelms most Kevlar). An
AP round, or sometimes even a higher powered FMJ round, does not deform as
much or at all, and concentrates its energy in a much smaller area, and thus
can blow through a lot easier. A review of the NIJ standards is instructive
on this point.

Of course, hard armour (steel and ceramic plate) does not really spread the
energy as much as try to shatter the incoming round. Of course, that is
heavy (I have a 2nd Chance "Hardcorps" rig with a ceramic plate and boy is
that a brick!)
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