* Posts by Ken 2

5 publicly visible posts • joined 15 Jun 2012

Bond's Walther PPK goes digital: A civilized gun updated

Ken 2

Re: the gun you have on you

Certainly I can think of times when the charge in the cartridge is too weak. This most often happens with handloaded ammo for target shooting. It's why, for instance, one might put weaker target springs into their 1911 if its used primarily for match purposes. I've had this happen several times when I've used match ammo that I've handloaded in my carry 1911.

Incidentally, another point of failure is when the rim of the cartridge case separates upon extraction, leaving most of the case in the chamber. The next round can't be chambered. This often happens with reloaded ammunition where the case has been weakened from excessive cycles of being fired and reloaded; I've had this happen a couple of times with my 1911. It also happens with a number of semi-auto or auto rifles where the factory round is too "hot" and the action cycles before the case has fully contracted after firing. The cartridge case head is ripped off, rendering the weapon useless until the rest of the case is removed. Some older post-WWII rifles came with case extractor tools for just this issue, though I don't think it's much of a problem with modern battle rifles and modern factory ammunition.

Ken 2

The Fort Hood shooter used a FN Five Seven which fires 5.7×28mm ammunition. Technically a .22, but then so is an M16 firing 223 ammo. It's the cartridge powering the bullet that makes a difference. In this case 5.7×28mm ammunition can be loaded to penetrate body armor, and in fact that's what it was designed for.

To your point though, any bullet can be deadly, even one fired from an air rifle.

Ken 2

.45 ACP lacks sufficient penetrating power?

Your comment that .45 ACP does not penetrate well is curious. The .45 ACP in +P chambering is more than sufficient to penetrate standard outer-wear and human bodies, though it is not as powerful as .357 magnum or .38 Super. It is not good at penetrating hard cover such as vehicle bodies or walls though, nor against body armor. However, 9 mm is also not very good at penetrating modern body armor, though it is much better than .45 ACP at penetrating hard cover. Against soft targets (i.e. a human body) the edge is to .45 ACP in terms of tissue damage. The question, when shooting people, is not so much penetration as it is stopping power. Since both cartridges propel the bullet sufficiently well into soft tissue, the greater sectional density of the .45 cal bullet gives it a bit of an edge over a 9 mm bullet.

This ballistics chart may be useful for you: http://www.ballistics101.com/45_acp.php

The main reason that .45 ACP handguns are not common issue weapons is that they are typically bulkier than pistols chambering the 9 mm and the recoil from a .45 is such that smaller people have difficulty shooting them accurately, particularly for follow-up shots.

Otherwise an informative and good read about Bond's movie weapons.

iPhone 5 poised to trounce Android, devastate BlackBerry?

Ken 2

The sample is really weird: 52% of respondents are iPhone subs and only 26% Android customers - that's way skewed from the general population.

And Minnesota? That hotbed of mobile fondlers?

Hitchhiker shot while researching 'Kindness of America'

Ken 2

Self-inflicted

Sumbitch done shot hisself:

http://news.yahoo.com/mont-authorities-hitchhiker-shot-himself-162754188.html