It ain’t stopping it that’s important. What’s more important is how far the bullet goes into you before it starts to tumble. As one of “we slender, nervous people” (to quote Barney Fife) I’m happy to report that a 5.56 projectile would be in and out before it started to tumble and fragment, presuming I stand up squarely and take it like a man. Sorta like an armor-piercing shell going through a destroyer without detonating until afterwards.
Well, different bullets perform very differently, and mass and velocity, in addition to bullet design, make for some very dramatic differences.
They could have used a real rifle with real, lead bullets, and gotten wildly different results from even the same cartridge.
Justthisguy: Here’s a good example of matching bullet the design to the desired terminal effect, from that same .223 rifle, but with light-jacket, hollowpoint bullets at high velocity (probably in the high 3000s fps): http://www.dogbegone.com/video.htm
Your typical hunting bullet (heavy softpoint) launched from a .300 magnum, is going to go right though your vest, do a lot of major damage, and exit the other side at high speed. A little .32 automatic pistol, launching a 60 grain hollowpoint, may very well be stopped by a big layer of fat. I can tell you from experience that a .32 Auto full metal jacket bullet (best for penetration) fired from a few inches away, did not make it through the thin 1.5″ of a standard, fir 2 x 4 stud board. (that’s when I traded it for a .45)
I was trying to be a bit facetious, there. I do still hold that the thicker you are, the more likelihood of a military FMJ bullet losing stability and tumbling in your thick greasy body.
June 26th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
It ain’t stopping it that’s important. What’s more important is how far the bullet goes into you before it starts to tumble. As one of “we slender, nervous people” (to quote Barney Fife) I’m happy to report that a 5.56 projectile would be in and out before it started to tumble and fragment, presuming I stand up squarely and take it like a man. Sorta like an armor-piercing shell going through a destroyer without detonating until afterwards.
June 26th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
Well, different bullets perform very differently, and mass and velocity, in addition to bullet design, make for some very dramatic differences.
They could have used a real rifle with real, lead bullets, and gotten wildly different results from even the same cartridge.
Justthisguy: Here’s a good example of matching bullet the design to the desired terminal effect, from that same .223 rifle, but with light-jacket, hollowpoint bullets at high velocity (probably in the high 3000s fps):
http://www.dogbegone.com/video.htm
Your typical hunting bullet (heavy softpoint) launched from a .300 magnum, is going to go right though your vest, do a lot of major damage, and exit the other side at high speed. A little .32 automatic pistol, launching a 60 grain hollowpoint, may very well be stopped by a big layer of fat. I can tell you from experience that a .32 Auto full metal jacket bullet (best for penetration) fired from a few inches away, did not make it through the thin 1.5″ of a standard, fir 2 x 4 stud board. (that’s when I traded it for a .45)
June 26th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
I was trying to be a bit facetious, there. I do still hold that the thicker you are, the more likelihood of a military FMJ bullet losing stability and tumbling in your thick greasy body.