The shockwave from the .556 is enough to break the femur without hitting it, although not in this case.

Graphic yes. But much worse if you see it in person. A good lesson on the damage a round can do to a human being, (hopefully not yourself).

From the article linked in the first post:
“[T]he casualty was hit by a single M4 round from a range of approximately 150 meters.”

Based on Internet research and data from the Applied Ballistics solver, at 150 meters under “standard” atmospheric conditions the velocity of the 62 grain M855 bullet would be about 2440 feet per second, a loss of almost 500 fps as compared to the muzzle velocity from the M4 carbine. Although velocity is critical to the wounding effects of the 5.56mm cartridge, it doesn’t require shooting at bad breath distances.

Interesting article. I've taken a few deer and two in particular illustrate the difference between slow, heavy bullets and fast, light ones.

I shot one deer with at 40 yards with a 325 grain .45 cal Hornady Leverolution 45-70 and the bullet went straight through. The entry and exit were about the same size, there was a clean hole through both lungs, and the top part of the heart. The deer ran 90 yards into the woods.

The next deer was the same size as the first. I shot it with 140 grain 7mm Rem. Mag. Core Lokt at 120 yards. It had an entrance wound, but no exit wound. It had nothing indentifiable as lungs, just runny mush. The deer didn't take another step.

Looking at the pictures in the article, it would seem 5.56 would be effective on deer as well.

quote:

Originally posted by highroundcount:
or the catheter stuck up his dick hole?

Doesn't even need answering. He was clearly under some good drugs. He felt neither.

My experience with catheters is that they're a joy. You don't need to get up to take a leak every couple of hours. You don't need to go at all, it just runs out. After surgery, the painful part is the nurse ripping it out. I'd guess some nurses are better at it than others, with mine being one of the poorer ones. The wound healing is another story.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
From the article linked in the first post:
“[T]he casualty was hit by a single M4 round from a range of approximately 150 meters.”

Based on Internet research and data from the Applied Ballistics solver, at 150 meters under “standard” atmospheric conditions the velocity of the 62 grain M855 bullet would be about 2440 feet per second, a loss of almost 500 fps as compared to the muzzle velocity from the M4 carbine. Although velocity is critical to the wounding effects of the 5.56mm cartridge, it doesn’t require shooting at bad breath distances.

A lot of the data I've read points towards 160 meters being generally accepted as the maximum fragmentation threshold for the M4 carbine. I did run across two negligent discharge cases where an individual was hit at bad breath distance, and neither wound was as severe as the one in this thread. One soldier was shot in the temple, with the bullet passing through his skull and exiting out the other side. He lost his vision, but survived. The other was a troop who shot himself in the upper thigh, with the bullet exiting near, but missing the knee. He walked to the medic station and had light duty for a little while until the puncture wounds healed.

Edited for speling.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SgtGold,

Thanks for mentioning the above incidents. They, plus the one described at the beginning of this thread, demonstrate the importance of adequate statistical data. A sample of one or two shows what can happen—but not what will always happen, or even what is likely to happen. This is especially true of complex phenomena like gunshot wounds. They involve many highly variable elements that will almost never be exactly the same among incidents.

Even when all the variables seem to have been minimized, things don’t always turn out the same. I once observed a factory-sponsored demonstration of the Hornady 9mm 115 grain Critical Duty load. Everything was as identical as possible: the same block of properly-calibrated “ordnance” gelatin, the same gun, the same shooting distance, the same box of ammunition. The first bullet failed to expand, perforated 16 inches of the test medium, and bounced off the backstop. The second shot expanded to a picture perfect mushroom with the so-called ideal penetration depth. Which one will get featured in the company’s advertising? Hmm …?

Wow, never thought it would do that damage. But I've always mentioned in conversations about the AR 15 weapon, that you don't want to get hit with one of those 5.56 rounds. This proves it.

I saw a video some years ago of a shooting in Brazil that had security cam footage of, I believe a policeman, who got shot in the thigh with an M16A1. One round. No idea what ammo.

There were followup pics that look a lot like the ones in the article linked in the OP. It blew a football-sized exit wound out of the back of his thigh after hitting the femur and most of what was visible didn't look like viable muscle tissue anymore. There was no followup on whether he survived or not. I'd be amazed if he kept the leg, or even survived.

The 5.56 kills with velocity and fragmentation. As the internet has come to prominence and sharing information is easy, I've pretty much stopped hearing about it being "poodle caliber" in gunshops and casual conversation, and for good reason. Small calibers pushed to high velocities do ridiculous, catastrophic damage to living tissue when paired with the proper projectile.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

...The 5.56 kills with velocity and fragmentation...

The M193 does, what about the M855 (and variants) with the steel rod? It seems to me they would not fragment as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

...The 5.56 kills with velocity and fragmentation...

The M193 does, what about the M855 (and variants) with the steel rod? It seems to me they would not fragment as well.

Those kill with velocity after punching through your soviet issued helmet.

The M855 loads I have inspected do not have a steel rod, but rather a small steel conical insert near the nose.

Work with the Coroner's Office daily. Have seen the 5.56 at work, and it does that....work.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
The M855 loads I have inspected do not have a steel rod, but rather a small steel conical insert near the nose.

The steel in the M855 round is more of a thin dart than a rod. It has the unintended effect if delaying fragmentation to the point that the round tends to pass through thinner targets, and once you are below the fragmentation threshold you tend to get ice pick type wounds.

Not a very good picture, but it shows the conical steel penetrator in the nose of the U.S. M855 bullets I am familiar with.



Similar bullets made by other countries have different penetrator designs.

That is a hell of an exit wound. I am curious of what the wound damage would be if shot in the same location with a Barnes Tac-tx 110gr 300 Blackout bullet. I haven’t seen any human wounds from a supersonic 300BLK bullet.

I got confused with the different rounds, but my question is still: Do the ones with a steel penetrator fragment as well as the M193? I don't see how they can.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Not a very good picture, but it shows the conical steel penetrator in the nose of the U.S. M855 bullets I am familiar with.



Similar bullets made by other countries have different penetrator designs.

I have one of the little buggers I pulled out of a piece of wood after playing around with some one day. I’ll try and find and take a pic of it.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:
Do the ones with a steel penetrator fragment as well as the M193? I don't see how they can.

Probably not as well, but they commonly fragment.

One of the things that is commonly reported about FMJ 5.56 bullets is that they tend to break at the cannelure—which the 62 grain M855 type bullet usually has. There are numerous references to that bullet’s fragmenting in gelatin, e.g.:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1tAtW2JKRE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRbAfdoU9vY

Discussion about half way down:

http://www.razoreye.net/mirror...e_Mirror.htm#fbispec

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:
I got confused with the different rounds, but my question is still: Do the ones with a steel penetrator fragment as well as the M193? I don't see how they can.

Here's an article with good info on barrel length and velocity. Minimum fragmentation velocity is lot dependant, but is usually in the 2,700 FPS range. Out of an M4 M855 is barely at it's minimum fragmentation threshold. It was designed for the 20" barrel, and performs much better in the M16 than the M4.

http://www.sadefensejournal.co...5-56mm-nato-weapons/