Forum Overview :: Operation: Hammer Time :: Actually that's been commonly known among terminal ballistics for years

[quote name="Senor Barborito"][quote name="MOAB"]The FBI recently released the results of a study on the penetration/lethality of 5.56 (.223) ammunition, unfortunately it is (the study) law enforcement only. The gist though is that 5.56 is a poor penetrator of drywall and car doors, but when used correctly (in a rifle with an 18" or better barrel, not a sexy but useless SMG form factor) and at correct velocities, it becomes immediately and horrifically frangible in soft tissue. Meaning the round disintegrates when it hits anything besides people. This has nothing to do with launching 2mm flechettes at 7800FPS through a SpaceGun but hell, there is nothing going on here but a funeral or some shit anyway.[/quote] I used to post about this shit a lot on OMM (about two years ago) and the effects in the whole Black Hawk Down scenario re: Paul Howe's comments on wishing he had 7.62, and his (valid) distrust of the 5.56/M4 combo. See <a href="http://home.snafu.de/l.moeller/military_bullet_wound_patterns.html">here</a> for some good information. The most important bit is this image: <img src="http://home.snafu.de/l.moeller/wund5.jpg"> This is on M193 ammo, which shatters less completely than the larger M855 does at lower velocities - see <a href="http://home.snafu.de/l.moeller/wund4.gif">here</a> and <a href="http://home.snafu.de/l.moeller/wund6.gif">here</a> - note the velocities at which the respective impact images occur. In regards to the inlined image, it would help if you got a sense of velocity-barrel length correlation. Why is this important? Because terminal velocity is a result of force from exploding powder applied over time inside barrel, and long barrel = longer time for force to act on projectile. I've lost the great link I had back on OMM to one of Colt's licensed manufs. for the AR-15 family, but the velocity range according to the manufactuers are from very low (900-910m/s) muzzle velocity (and rounds lose velocity fairly quickly over distance) for the 11" Colt Commando, 930-950 m/s for the 14" (M4), 970-980m/s for the 16" *(M16A2), and in the the 1000+ range for the 20" and 24" (sniper) barrels. Anyways, if you want more info, read anything and everything you can find on the web by Dr. Martin Fackler on the topic - he's a good and incredibly informative author on the subject of terminal ballistics and as someone who had no real interest in even guns at all before reading him, I can vouch for his ability to make the material seem very interesting. I wouldn't have gotten interested in guns at all were it not for him - he transforms the topic from a bunch of good old boys sitting around drinking and talking about cars into a real science. You can learn a bit more about his work <a href="http://www.firearmstactical.com/wound.htm">here</a>. --SB[/quote]