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?

fastforty · December 17, 2009, 04:13 PM

Einstein and Newton would be shaking their heads at this discussion, LOL.

Since you guys have already hashed out all of the math, I'll just make a couple of comments to think about:

As far as bracing a rifle stock against a solid object, good stocks have been cracked, splintered and broken by the practice. The recipient of a speeding bullet is much like the braced rifle stock, as the target doesn't have time to move in response to the energy being dumped into it, thus much more damage is done on the down range end of the equation.

What would happen if you attached a 2 foot long hardened steel rod with a bullet shaped tip protruding out the back of a rifle stock, poked it against a dead pig & discharged the weapon? The penetration would be much less then on the dead pig downrange, who received the FMJ bullet @ 2,000+ fps BUT, they would both have absorbed roughly the same amount of energy.

December 17, 2009, 04:13 PM	#25
fastforty Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 1999 Location: In a kornfield in kalifornia Posts: 1,161	Einstein and Newton would be shaking their heads at this discussion, LOL. Since you guys have already hashed out all of the math, I'll just make a couple of comments to think about: As far as bracing a rifle stock against a solid object, good stocks have been cracked, splintered and broken by the practice. The recipient of a speeding bullet is much like the braced rifle stock, as the target doesn't have time to move in response to the energy being dumped into it, thus much more damage is done on the down range end of the equation. What would happen if you attached a 2 foot long hardened steel rod with a bullet shaped tip protruding out the back of a rifle stock, poked it against a dead pig & discharged the weapon? The penetration would be much less then on the dead pig downrange, who received the FMJ bullet @ 2,000+ fps BUT, they would both have absorbed roughly the same amount of energy. __________________ When Banjos are outlawed, only Outlaws will have Banjos The Bible is my lawbook. I turn the other cheek when applicable, and spend the rest of my days resisting evil at every front, until I have breathed my last breath.