Thursday, August 03, 2000 10:42 AM
From: "Serita Stevens"
Subject: Bullet info
I am currently taking a course in Ballistics and wounds for my certification and thought that those of you who still belive in the one shot and they're dead immediately would be interested in this. Serita
Except for hits to the central nervous system (CNS), reliable and reproducible instant incapacitation is not possible with any handgun bullet. Incapacitation depends on the physical, emotional, psychological and mental state of the individual, and can also be influenced by the presence of narcotics, alcohol or adrenalin in the blood. They concluded that even if the heart is totally destroyed, an individual will still have enough oxygen in the brain for full and complete voluntary action for 10 to 15 seconds.
Temporary stretch cavities caused by handgun bullets have no wounding effect. Kinetic energy deposit has no wounding effect. Organs will only be destroyed if they are directly hit by the bullet. The experts agreed that it was vital for a bullet to be able to penetrate deeply enough to reach vital organs. They also agreed that the Relative Incapacitation Index (RII) was an extremely poor measure of "stopping power", as it relies on the temporary cavity caused by the bullet.
Given equal penetration, a bigger bullet will disrupt more tissue, and hopefully cause greater bleeding (the primary cause of incapacitation). In order reliably penetrate muscle, fat, clothing, arms, etc., a bullet must be capable of penetrating minimum of 10 to 12 inches of soft tissue. The experts agreed that bullet penetration is a function of mass and design, not velocity, and that the fear of over-penetration is greatly exaggerated, except in the case of full metal jacket (FMJ) bullets.
The single most important factor in assessing the effectiveness of any calibre is penetration. Given equal penetration, a bigger bullet will disrupt more tissue and hasten blood loss. However, the experts could not say that the .45 ACP caused significantly greater damage than the 9mmP.
Three of the eight experts recommended the .45 ACP over the 9mmP. Four advised that there was no difference in wounding effects of either calibre, given equal penetration. One expert recommended the 9mmP over the .45 ACP, based on expected improvements in the calibre based on military research in years to come.
Because incapacitation cannot be predicted or assumed from any handgun bullet, the Agent should keep shooting as long as the individual poses a threat. For this reason, several experts recommended increased magazine capacity.
While expansion is desirable, no bullet should be selected if it must expand in order to perform properly.
The perception of the agent using the weapon is an overwhelming factor. If the agent believes in the reliability and effectiveness of the weapon and ammunition, then they tend to shoot better with that weapon.
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