Quote:
Originally Posted by ponycar17
Delta, I'm going with purely comparative numbers and not converting to ft-lbs, but a .38 spl traveling at 850 fps with a weight of 125 gr. is going to produce only ~3% more energy than a 32 gr. .22 traveling at 1650 fps from a 20" barrel. For a 40 gr. .22 round traveling at 1250 fps. the energy difference is much more, at ~30% less energy for the .22. I get this by the formula that Energy is proportional to Mass * Velocity Squared (E=1/2 M*V^2).
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I trust your numbers, but this was my point to begin with.....with either weapon you are only looking at 100-200 ft-lbs of energy across a variety of loads, barrel lengths etc. 20 or 30 ft-lbs of energy this way or that is not much to fiddle about.
By just the numbers, a bowling ball rolls down a lane with more kenetic energy than all five cylinders of that snubby combined will deliver. Actually more than a cylinder of .44 magnums even. But lay on that lane and all that bowling ball will give you is a bad bump and a bruise.
The stopping power of a pistol bullet is in its ability to penetrate vital organs and destroy tissue in order to drop blood pressure through blood loss. More or less like an arrow does....except a hangun bullet crushes much more tissue, thus is a better tool to quickly stop a man.
Bullets fired from .38 Spl and .22 LR have a terminal effect reliant on crushing tissue and puncuring blood-rich organs/vessels. Neither bullet hits with enough kenetic energy for the energy alone to transfer into tissue damage of anything more than could be delivered by a healthy man's kick or punch. Both bullets have plenty of energy to punch deep into a body, so long as the bullet remains together/little or no fragmentation.
A centerfire rifle bullet. That is where ft-lbs of energy transfered into the mass of the target can be measured by terminal effect. In the thousands of pounds of energy. Where large organs and large vessels actually burst, rip, and tear loose from the shock of a ton (tons) of energy instantly releasing into the body.
Pony you're a smart dude and I'm not preaching to you. Just want to explain in my humble opinion why numbers in this instance are highly decieving.
On the follow up shots etc etc....that is a matter of skill and up to an individual to answer a tactical problem with whatever technical solution he may choose.