The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Is the impact of being hit by a bullet the same as the recoil felt by the shooter?

Sarge1064 · December 21, 2009, 05:27 AM

Why don't you ask someone who's been shot? I've been told by the few people that I have met who have survived a shooting that at first they don't realize that they've been shot, and then the body reacts in shock, and down they go! Just remember something about firing a round; when a bullet hits a SOLID target, depending on just how heavy or muscular the victim is can attenuate the effect of the round. And also one must take into account the bullet itself. If you hit with a high-speed round in 9mm, and a solid ball or FMJ, then it may not tumble well or "crumple" and make a nasty wound channel. But a .38sp with a 125 grain hollow point will expand up to .63 caliber and will "stick in" the wound channel itself, sending all of the force of the round into the body of the victim and causing a LOT of damage due to shock and massive wound trauma.
You're right about the amount of force of the round (foot pounds of energy) hitting the target, but as the round loses a bit of it's energy traveling from the weapon to the target, it lands with something less than what it started out with. Not much less, maybe, but something less.
And when it hits the target all those foot pounds don't have an "immediate" effect on the target. As you can now tell, there will always be different variables generating a differing range of effects, and remember that the diameter of the round is a major one. And the tendency of the round to make an effective wound channel is dependent upon the characteristics of the bullet itself: hollow-point vs full-point, full metal jacket vs semi-jacket, solid head vs partition-nosed, and so many more. And all this has to do with the effects of the impact.
Almost too much to want to trouble oneself with, ennit?

December 21, 2009, 05:27 AM	#74
Sarge1064 Junior Member Join Date: December 21, 2009 Location: Idaho - GOD'S country!! Posts: 2	A Pearl From Da Sarge Why don't you ask someone who's been shot? I've been told by the few people that I have met who have survived a shooting that at first they don't realize that they've been shot, and then the body reacts in shock, and down they go! Just remember something about firing a round; when a bullet hits a SOLID target, depending on just how heavy or muscular the victim is can attenuate the effect of the round. And also one must take into account the bullet itself. If you hit with a high-speed round in 9mm, and a solid ball or FMJ, then it may not tumble well or "crumple" and make a nasty wound channel. But a .38sp with a 125 grain hollow point will expand up to .63 caliber and will "stick in" the wound channel itself, sending all of the force of the round into the body of the victim and causing a LOT of damage due to shock and massive wound trauma. You're right about the amount of force of the round (foot pounds of energy) hitting the target, but as the round loses a bit of it's energy traveling from the weapon to the target, it lands with something less than what it started out with. Not much less, maybe, but something less. And when it hits the target all those foot pounds don't have an "immediate" effect on the target. As you can now tell, there will always be different variables generating a differing range of effects, and remember that the diameter of the round is a major one. And the tendency of the round to make an effective wound channel is dependent upon the characteristics of the bullet itself: hollow-point vs full-point, full metal jacket vs semi-jacket, solid head vs partition-nosed, and so many more. And all this has to do with the effects of the impact. Almost too much to want to trouble oneself with, ennit?