I wasn't sure where to pose this question, so I figured that GW was as good a place as any. I have a scene in which a character has murdered someone, and there is a stand-off with the lone witness to the crime. The killer is the owner of a pawn shop, and he is standing behind the counter pointing a SKS-45 assault rifle at the witness. The witness is near the entrance and makes a break for the door. He is shot in the back just as he reaches the glass door by a single .45 cal round. My question is: From a distance of, say, 15 yards, do you think a bullet of that caliber, shot from an assault rifle, would stay lodged in the victim or would pierce through him and shatter the glass door directly in front of him?
SKS-45 is an acronym for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945... the 45 is an indication of year, not caliber. Most SKSs fire the 7.62x39mm full metal jacket which would most definitely past through a person at close range. They were designed to do that.
not to be mean but this post has some problems. first of SKS-45 shots a 7.62x39mm ( a rifle round). ussaly this round would be found in FMJ ( full metal jacket) but HP ( hollow points) SP (Soft Point) can also be found ( along with more exotic stuff) and i have run all three bullet types mentioned trough my SKS. at that range (15 yards) the FMJ would have no difficulty going trough the body and their is a good chance on the other two whould. however a HP or SP would put more of their energy into the target. Second you are calling an SKS an assault rifle. an assault rifle is a selective fire weapon that uses a intermediate rifle cartridge and a detachable magazine. the only part of the criteria that the SKS fits is the intermediate rifle cartridge.
And a .45, depending on whether you're using the above mentioned full metal jacket or jacketed hollow points, could go through a person at that range-depending on grain count. However, as the others have stated, an assault rifle would blow right through a person at that range. A 7.62 is especially lethal.
Looks like some other gun people beat me to it. Regardless of weather your character is using a .45 caliber pistol or an SKS-45, the round could very likely go through and through the victim at that range. I imagine it would be more likely for a pawn shop owner to have a handgun readily accesible than an SKS.
Don't feel bad, no one ever realizes how little they know until they own one. There's so much to learn to be responsible when owning one. Best things to do, is check some of your criminal justice sites. I'm getting ready tomorrow to write a lengthy blog on crime scene investigation-what it is and how the CSI TV show influences people's opinions on the field (It's called the CSI-effect in the field)with unhealthy expectations. Will also go over some lengthy descriptions of what happens to bodies, etc, for writers to learn about. There's surprising things about bodies that have been in the water. When done, anyone on site should have enough basic knowledge on how crime scenes work, who's in charge of the scene, and various aspects that they'll be able to write fairly realistic stories on crimes. On a side note, violent crime scene investigation is a fascinating thing to do. It just wears on you after a while.
On a side note, "logistics" refers to the details of supply, not gunfire. Perhaps you mean "ballistics"?
What about using a suppressed weapon? The suppressor would help to slow the bullet down and less likely for it to leave the victim's body.
