Will a .45acp knock you down?
- Thread starter Brasso
- Start date
lonegunman
New member
There is a big difference in the question you ask, and the choices you provide.
Being knocked down is a whole lot different than being hurtled thru space Hollywood style.
I would be willing to wager that a nice head or torso shot will result in the target rapidly assuming a supine position, but undoubtedly wont send him flying thru the window behind him.
A 12 gauge or 30-06 won't send you flying through windows either, though.
Being knocked down is a whole lot different than being hurtled thru space Hollywood style.
I would be willing to wager that a nice head or torso shot will result in the target rapidly assuming a supine position, but undoubtedly wont send him flying thru the window behind him.
A 12 gauge or 30-06 won't send you flying through windows either, though.
lonegunman
New member
Well then, no, a 45 wont knock you down based on momentum, Brasso
Mike Irwin
Staff
Now a shotgun... That'll toss your fat butt clean into the next zip code...
P
PreserveFreedom
Guest
Maybe...if you are standing on the wrong end of it.
I forget now where I read it, but the answer is absolutely NO, it only happens in Hollywood.
Simple physics. A bullet and its velocity don't have enough inertia to knock someone over. Newton's Laws (every action has an equal and opposite reaction) tell us that you, the shooter, would be planted on your butt every time you pull the trigger. Ol' Clinty boy would be off his horse, and on his ass in a second.
I do have a theory to explain what some people, like service men who have seen action, claim to have witnessed this in battle.
What could be happening when victims seem to 'jump', is that it's an autonomic reaciton by the nervous system, causing the muscles to suddenly contract, as though he got whacked with a jolt of electricity, which gives the illusion that it was attributable to the shot. But it's certainly NOT because the mass of the bullet was enough to move him.
This, of course, is only a theory, and I have zero substantiation whatsoever. But if it's found to be true, it would explain a great many things.
'nuff said.
Simple physics. A bullet and its velocity don't have enough inertia to knock someone over. Newton's Laws (every action has an equal and opposite reaction) tell us that you, the shooter, would be planted on your butt every time you pull the trigger. Ol' Clinty boy would be off his horse, and on his ass in a second.
I do have a theory to explain what some people, like service men who have seen action, claim to have witnessed this in battle.
What could be happening when victims seem to 'jump', is that it's an autonomic reaciton by the nervous system, causing the muscles to suddenly contract, as though he got whacked with a jolt of electricity, which gives the illusion that it was attributable to the shot. But it's certainly NOT because the mass of the bullet was enough to move him.
This, of course, is only a theory, and I have zero substantiation whatsoever. But if it's found to be true, it would explain a great many things.
'nuff said.
Oh oh oh.... I once saw a Chuck Norris movie where a shotgun blast sent an evil-doer through a window and halfway down the street. Needless to say, I now have a shotgun. 
(No, really!)
Anyway, my answer to the question would be: Of course not!
Some special tactical rifle ammunition is designed to dump a majority of its energy inside the target. If a .45acp with 350 FPE will knock someone down, a .308Win Magsafe with 3000 FPE would do what, make 'em airborne?
I have a buddy at work that swears if anyone were to take a .45acp in the thumb, it would "Knock 'em a flip"....
I damn near had coffee spray out my nose the first time I heard him say that. Poor guy.
(No, really!)Anyway, my answer to the question would be: Of course not!
Some special tactical rifle ammunition is designed to dump a majority of its energy inside the target. If a .45acp with 350 FPE will knock someone down, a .308Win Magsafe with 3000 FPE would do what, make 'em airborne?
I have a buddy at work that swears if anyone were to take a .45acp in the thumb, it would "Knock 'em a flip"....
I damn near had coffee spray out my nose the first time I heard him say that.
Poor guy.
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No, it won't knock ya backwards unless you are backpedaling in that direction in the first place.
At the same time we have the second school of thought that believes the 45 Auto is ineffective because in some weapon/ammo combinations you only have approx 750fps velocity with 230gr loads. I've even heard of folks comparing it to BB Gun velocities. If we use that school of thinking, we have pellet guns that launch pellets at 1100 fps. So I guess just about everything we shoot is running at BB gun velocities!
Anyway..nope..it won't knock your bottom for a flip. But the chances are high that you will be riding in an ambulance with the lights turned off.
Good Shooting
RED
At the same time we have the second school of thought that believes the 45 Auto is ineffective because in some weapon/ammo combinations you only have approx 750fps velocity with 230gr loads. I've even heard of folks comparing it to BB Gun velocities. If we use that school of thinking, we have pellet guns that launch pellets at 1100 fps. So I guess just about everything we shoot is running at BB gun velocities!
Anyway..nope..it won't knock your bottom for a flip. But the chances are high that you will be riding in an ambulance with the lights turned off.
Good Shooting
RED
I spent my childhood reading all the gunrags I could talk my parents into buying for me. Imagine my shock and disappointment when I saw my first shooting victim as a brand new paramedic. A guy got shot through the thigh with a .45 ACP (hardball) and we didn't even realize he was the victim until he told us. He refused treatment and transport. We did talk him into it, but not only wasn't he knocked down, he wasn't really concerned about it.
Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement, shot placement
Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement, shot placement
Here's an excellent article on this very topic
http://drumright.ossm.edu/physics/gun-momentum.htm
http://drumright.ossm.edu/physics/gun-momentum.htm
Let's look at this problem mathematically. Let M be the mass of the bad guy, m be the mass of the bullet, v1 be the velocity of the bullet before impact, and v2 be the velocity of the bad guy and the bullet after impact. Then the total momentum before impact will be mv1 and after the collision it will be . According the conservation of momentum:
So the recoil velocity of the bad guy will be about 6 cm/s, not nearly fast enough to send him hurtling across the room!