Ballistics for writers

By captain kate · Nov 1, 2012 · 667 · 4
  1. Ok, ballistics (the science of projectile flight) of firearms and their impact of injuries comes down to four factors: size of shell, impact force, solid projectile or hollow point. Distance standing from a person when firing will affect speed also, because a projectile's highest rate of speed comes from the first 10-20 feet from the muzzle.

    Time to cover the projectile. Each bullet is listed as a size, which is known at it's caliber. A 9mm bullet is actually 9.01mm in diameter, so you get the idea. The larger the number, the more stopping power. And they run in downwards size:
    .50
    .45
    .44
    .40 (10mm is essentially the same)
    .380 (there are several derivatives of these)
    .357
    .32
    .22

    then you have:
    10mm
    9mm.

    Damage to the human body also is determined by whether a full metal jacket (FMJ) round is used of a jacketed hollow point( JHP). A FMJ is a solid projectile, sometimes called a 'slug' in slang. This is the the metal tip of a cartridge. A JHP is a different design. The projectile has a hollow center, with the metal around it in a ring. What happens when they're fired is the projectile, without getting all over scientific, turns inside out. The edges turn into barbs and hooks, which dig into the flesh when tearing into a body. There are calls from Doctors, with good cause, to make JHP's illegal due to the bodily damage it causes.

    And firearms can, sometimes, use more then one size of round. Some of the .38 pistols can fire a .357 round in them, which can confuse someone just writing a basic fiction book. My recommendation: keep to the simple.

    Firearm makers are numerous, and there plenty you find on a crime scene.

    Glock
    Smith&Wesson
    Taurus
    Sig Saur
    Ruger

    They tend to be the most prevalent to be found.
    One last thought: the 9mm you'll find on crime scenes 9.9 out of 10 times is the 9MM Ruger round.

    Ballistics is a tough thing to explain, so this also is very simplistic-but it's enough to make a realistic novel. I hope it helps.

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  1. Selbbin
    You may want to include the sizing for military weapons, such as the 5.56 Nato round and the 7.62 - which is essentially a .308, mainly because of how common they are in any military, paramilitary or espionage type story.

    As you said, ballistics is a very large and complicated subject matter so a rough overview should suit a hobbyist writer.
    Selbbin, Nov 2, 2012
  2. James Berkley
    IMHO this needs some editing. i am shore it was a mistake but you call bullets, shells in the first paragraph. you should also make it clear you are just talking about handguns, makeing the simplifying it to JHP and FMJ's acceptable.

    you also incorrectly say the larger the caliber number the more stopping power. the 357 magnum is often compared to the of the 45ACP but with a flatter terjectory. this is just one quick example of the fallacy in thinking that bigger is always more lethal. a writter telling me a 380 acp is more powerfull then a 357 magnum or 357 SIG whould win them a chuckle and a did not do any reserch badge.

    when talking about the JHP you should also mention energy transpher. JHP transpher more of their energy into the targert ( hydrostatic shock) this decresses the likelyhood of overpenetration and makes them safer for bystandereds. therir is no legitment reason to ban them beyoned bad policy and lack of education.

    i think a better way to explain the multiple cartridges working in the same gun is like this.
    some firearms ( primarily revolvers) can fire multiple rounds of the same size but of diffrent power. if a gun can safely shoot one of these cartridges it can shoot the rest to the right
    357 Magnum to 38 special +p+ to 38 special +p to 38 special
    460 S&W magnum to 454 Casull to 45 long colt
    James Berkley, Nov 6, 2012
  3. SeverinR
    Hollow points flatten out on impact, thus transfering the energy from the bullet to the tissue, preventing the round from boring a hole through the person. This means fewer bullets flying out of a person into innocent bystanders, and more traumatic injury to the person hit. basically its a .380/9mm going in, and a .45 to .50 caliber when it stops.
    FMJ tend to poke holes wth small area of traumatic injury(the force transfered from bullet to tissue), while hollow points, and other special bullets expand on impact spreading the traumatic injury through out the area around impact.

    Note; the .22 and 25 caliber firearms commonly cause the walking dead. The victim feels alittle pain and is walking around upset, then collapses from internal injuries. These weapons are not great for self defense, but are good for concealled carry and can be silenced, and the sound made is less noticable from other loud noises. This is the type of gun that the movies say "if you shoot someone with that, you'll just piss them off."

    Magnum means extra power, so they should not be in the same zone as the regular firearms.
    No .38 can fire a .357, but some if not all .357 can fire .38. The weapon can fire the lower rounds not a higher round.

    Also if you decide on a firearm, know the specifications.
    Where is the safety lever on a Glock?
    There is no safety. So don't have some ignorant person try to shoot a bad guy and use the old safety on keeps the villian from being shot.
    SeverinR, Nov 6, 2012
  4. captain kate
    The safety on a Glock is internal, and on the trigger. As long as the "second trigger" (for lack of a better word) isn't depressed, the weapon can be dropped, ran over, and generally abused. The quick fire mechanism is there because of it's initial design for military usage. It's now the preferred weapon for police agencies because of their simplicity and fact they'll work when you need them. I should know, it's what I carry. As for Ballistics, it's, shall we say, complicated. I just wanted to keep it very, very, very, simple for folks. Otherwise, we'd be looking at thirty pages of information.

    For writing, unless you want absolute 100% accuracy, which really isn't necessary to make a realistic crime novel, there's enough information in these three posts for people to work with.
    captain kate, Nov 8, 2012
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