I don't know if you've ever fired a Govt. Colt .45, but the bullet is almost
slow enough to see, and at half an inch around. If hit with one, at least in
the torso or head it certainly would knock you down because the bullet is
fat enough to stop in you without going through! I'm no engineer, but if you
did the math of 1/3 oz of lead going about 550 or so fps coming to an aprupt
stop inside you....
The recoil is absorbed somewhat by the action of the gun.
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: Trevor Boicey <tboicey@brit.ca>
To: John J. Peloquin <peloquin@mamba.bio.uci.edu>
Cc: Nory <Nory@webtv.net>; Richard D. Arnold <richard.arnold@juno.com>;
mgs@autox.team.net <mgs@autox.team.net>; spridgets@autox.team.net
<spridgets@autox.team.net>
Date: Tuesday, February 10, 1998 10:38 AM
Subject: Re: NO LBC -- WAY OFF TOPIC
>John J. Peloquin wrote:
>> Depends on the weapon. During the early years of the US colonization of
>> the Philipines, there was a problem with the side arms issued to US
>> military not being powerful enough to knock down machete wielding
>> guerrillas before the assailant could hack the soldiers to bits. The .45
>> was developed to provide knock-down capability.
>
> Please note that "knock-down power" is a product of television
>only, not of physics.
>
> In order for a bullet to be travelling fast enough to knock
>someone down, it would have to be accelerated to this speed
>using the firearm held in your hand, and would therefore
>have to knock you down as well (or require you at least
>to be SERIOUSLY well braced).
>
> This simply doesn't happen, as even the most heavily
>recoiling small arms far from knock you across the room.
>
>--
>Trevor Boicey
>Ottawa, Canada
>tboicey@brit.ca
>http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
>
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