Lucky Gunner talks to some ballistics experts about bullet performance.

[just Warren]

Short, but informative article.

Might cause some gnashing of teeth and rending of garments for some people though.

[Hawkmoon]

So the take-away is that we should all be carrying AR-15s with M193, 55-grain ammunition.

Got it.

[WLJ]

M193 is my standard load.
Kind of hard to conceal a AR-15 and/or in my case also a Tavor though

[just Warren]

You just need special pants.

[lee n. field]

Makes sense.  Can't have that.

With that in mind, peruse the results yourself: https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/.

[MechAg94]

You just need special pants.

Yeah, because those trench coats might cause some suspicion. 

[WLJ]

You just need special pants.

Mag and all
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK2zQmre8Uw

BTW: The "AK" is actually an AR

[Brad Johnson]

My take is that lighter and faster is slightly better than heavier and slower (but only just) for a given amount of muzzle energy and bullet design. The faster round will cause more terminal damage due to tearing because of its greater speed in excess of the tissue elasticity threshold.

That said, shot placement is still key.

Brad

[makattak]

My take is that lighter and faster is slightly better than heavier and slower (but only just) for a given amount of muzzle energy and bullet design. The faster round will cause more terminal damage due to tearing because of its greater speed in excess of the tissue elasticity threshold.

That said, shot placement is still key.

Brad

Not my takeaway at all.

My takeaway was that unless your round is as fast as (or faster than) 2200 FPS, shot placement is SIGNIFICANTLY more important than bullet size, speed, or expansion.

So shoot what you can shoot accurately and comfortably.

[Perd Hapley]

Not my takeaway at all.

My takeaway was that unless your round is as fast as (or faster than) 2200 FPS, shot placement is SIGNIFICANTLY more important than bullet size, speed, or expansion.

So shoot what you can shoot accurately and comfortably.

This.

This temporary wound cavity as we expand and recover is different when projectiles hit at greater than 2200 feet per second. At that point, it appears we have surpassed the elasticity capability of human tissue and that temporary wound cavity begins tearing at its limits and margins and becomes a permanent wound cavity, which also is a conclusion why people who are center-punched with rifle projectiles typically succumb much quicker than people who are hit with handgun projectiles...

You know, you take, for example, a .44 Magnum, which is a 240-grain projectile coming in the neighborhood of 1400 feet per second. Is that significantly more than, say, a 180-grain projectile at 950 feet per second, your typical .40 cal? Yes, it’s a big difference but it does not seem to translate out into a corresponding amount of damage in a human organism. I believe that is because we expand, we recover from that, it falls within that elasticity threshold. You take, for example, that .44 Magnum, does it make a bigger more significant wound than, say, a .40 cal or a 9mm? Yes, it does, but really not enough to matter to change the outcome of a critical event in those next few seconds at that are crucial. However, at the same time, you launch that little bitty 55-grain pill coming out of an AR-15 at two and a half times the speed of sound and it hits and you see that a radical planar tearing where you have tissue damage five or six inches away from the path of the bullet. That’s what creates that a rapid hemorrhage, the blood pressure drop, the shock setting in, tissue disruption, hopefully in the right location, cardiopulmonary collapse, and things cease, lights go out. And that really seems to be concurrent with the 2,200 feet per second that was discovered by the FBI.

[Brad Johnson]

Well dang...

I guess these Hornady FTX .500 S&W 300 grainers at 2075 fps just ain't gonna cut it...   

Brad

[Fly320s]

Well dang...

I guess these Hornady FTX .500 S&W 300 grainers at 2075 fps just ain't gonna cut it...   

Brad

Cut them in half and they will go twice as fast.  Problem solved.

[TommyGunn]

Should I worry about .50 BMG? ? ? ? ? ?     ......

[WLJ]

Should I worry about .50 BMG? ? ? ? ? ?     ......

Yes

[TommyGunn]