If wearing body armor that could effectively stop a 12 Gauge Slug from penetrating, would the ridiculous momentum from the slug Knock the wearer over, if not send them flying back? A 1.25 Oz Slug @ 1551 FPS delivers 2920 Ft/Lbs of kinetic energy and 121 Ft/Lbs of momentum. What would happen?
Would a 12 Gauge Slug Knock You Over While Wearing Armor?
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Jim Watson
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Well, Rich Davis would stand on one foot and shoot himself on his vest with a .44 Magnum without being "knocked down." I would want a humanoid dummy to test a shotgun.
theotherwaldo
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If firing the slug from an eight pound gun wouldn't knock you over, why would taking the impact on an eight pound (or more) piece of armor knock you over?
Dunross
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Maybe. If the person hit wasn't prepared for the impact it might knock him over, but I wouldn't bet on it.
There's as much force coming from the backend of the shotgun into the shooter as is delivered to the target the slug impacts. The shooter however is expecting the impact and is braced for it.
There's as much force coming from the backend of the shotgun into the shooter as is delivered to the target the slug impacts. The shooter however is expecting the impact and is braced for it.
edwardware
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Easy way to tell. . . did the guy holding the gun fall over?
Equal and opposite reactions.
Equal and opposite reactions.
Not if you know anything about physics and aren't seeing shotgunners being knocked over by their own guns.
Not enough momentum or energy to knock over a cinder block with soft armor much less a 200lb prepared adult.
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glockgod
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Won't knock you over but I'll bet you won't want to do it again!!
troy fairweather
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It would hurt that's for sure, and no it won't knock someone over.
DocRock
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Not because of physics.
So what happens? Do ribs shatter, bruising,etc?
Stopping that kind of kinetic energy isn't pretty. You'd have broken ribs, lots of blunt force trauma and it could stop your heart if hit in the right/wrong place
BreechFace
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No.
BreechFace
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Providing the vest did it's job an stopped penetration then: hematoma, broken ribs, bone contusion, etc.
daniel craig
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For every action there is an opposite and EQUAL reaction.
Sir Isaac Newton, third law of motion.
Sir Isaac Newton, third law of motion.
jag1954
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Being 5' 8" and 130lbs soaking wet it would probably vaporize me.
Sundance1908
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one of my biggest movie pet peeves...
Rembrandt
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Of all the deer we've taken in the last 45 years, never been able to lift one off its legs and roll it backwards.....of course we only used puny little (12 ga) 2.75" slugs with 1 oz loads 
. In Jollywood think they use 3" Magnums that will lift a deer 20'.
. In Jollywood think they use 3" Magnums that will lift a deer 20'.
Depends.
There are tons of bad movie myths around shooting, shotguns, and body armor. One of them is the question you asked. It defies common sense and physics because the shooter isn't flung backwards, but movies and TV have shown that the target is hurled across the room over and over again that people don't make the obvious leap to "shooter not flung...why shootee flung".
Whether someone suffers any damage from taking a slug hit on a vest depends upon whether the vest is soft or hard. And if hard, what the back-face deformation is for the hard armor. If you don't have any back-face deformation (the side against the wearer doesn't deform) then there's no broken bones and probably no bruising from a slug. If there is very little back-face deformation you would expect bruising and perhaps a slightly cracked rib. I was involved in research on a vest that withstood multiple hits from 30.06 AP with no more than a 1/4 inch back-face deformation. It showed no more than 1/16th of an inch deformation with a 12 gauge slug. IOW, you might get bruised with slug and you may or may not get bruised or get a cracked rib with 30.06AP. Not all vests are created alike so you have to test penetration AND BFD to know what sort of injury the wearer would take.
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Why is there thousands of foot pounds of muzzle energy but only dozens foot pounds of free recoil energy?
theotherwaldo
Member
If it hits soft armor then you're in a world of hurt.
If you're in rigid armor or it hits a large 'chicken plate' toward the center then you may not even get a bruise.
If you're in rigid armor or it hits a large 'chicken plate' toward the center then you may not even get a bruise.
I have not done the math but 121 ft lbs momentum seems a couple or 3 times too high to me. I thought momentum for a 1 1/4 load around 1200 fps load is about 30 foot lbs or less. If 121 is correct that is a large amout of push.
Maybe I am wrong but it seems you could do a sorta test by holding the butt of the gun against your chest and firing it? That is if momentum is actually conserved.
I would expect that absorbing all that energy from the bullet strike would be absolutely devastating to the body but maybe not in the sense of being pushed over. I would be worried about hydraulic shock damaging organs and stopping the heart. All in all I do not imagine a pleasant experience, Probably bruising beyond belief.
Maybe I am wrong but it seems you could do a sorta test by holding the butt of the gun against your chest and firing it? That is if momentum is actually conserved.
I would expect that absorbing all that energy from the bullet strike would be absolutely devastating to the body but maybe not in the sense of being pushed over. I would be worried about hydraulic shock damaging organs and stopping the heart. All in all I do not imagine a pleasant experience, Probably bruising beyond belief.
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What are the mass difference?
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