Thread: Knockdown power

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings Moa Hunter,
I got pulled up on this once before so can't help much other than I believe that the energy transfer is through momentum. At the end of the day we need a projectile that will penetrate sufficiently to reach the vitals and sometimes enough expansion to sufficiently damage the clockwork to cause a quick death. Both of these relate to projectile construction more than to how many foot pounds force or Joules of energy it is carrying. We would be better spending our time looking at the projectile and matching it to velocity and game hunted rather than fussing over the exact energy. Micky has alluded to this previously.
Regards Grandpamac.

I think that the point I wished to make has been lost, I'll try explaining in more detail. Bullets dont 'knock down' game. Sudden collapse ( unless a brain or spine shot) is caused by a disruption to the CNS - A shockwave or a bullet striking a rib and transferring disruptive shock to the spinal cord. Bullet deceleration from high velocity causes this. Big slow bullets can be high in momentum, cause great penetration and permanent wound channel but dont drop animals on the spot because there is no shockwave and temporary wound channel to 'stun' the nervous system. So still having 1000 fpe retained at some great long range but low velocity ( under 2000 - 2500fps depending on cal) will likely result in a slow kill. Answer = big bullet going fast