Are Popular Handgun Cartridges Less Effective Against Bodybuilders/Strength Trainers?

[biscuitninja]

Training or no training, I'm sure a .50 BMG would work just as well... ha ha.
But yes, i'm sure a person in better health would last longer than another less healthy person.
good luck
-bix

 

[106rr]

Bodybuilders and Ammo

I think that the chance of someone dropping to the shot are influenced by too many factors to decide the original question. There is an issue of steroid abuse, if the person is in the midst of a "roid rage" he may be MUCH harder to stop. I have observed some very big tough looking guys go into shock at the loss of a few tablespoons of blood. Many people go into shock fast with a facial wound! There have been som every small Viet Cong who took alot of damage without going down. They would weigh less than an American 9th grader. I doubt that the weight lifter is tough at all. I think a street person who has suffered a lot in life would have a higher pain threshold.

 

[Cannonball888]

I'm bulletproof except for Tannerite...er... I mean Kryptonite.

 

[Firepower!]

I am not sure if I understand the question. Arent bodybuilder made of flesh?

 

[BobbyQuickdraw]

I am not sure if I understand the question. Arent bodybuilder made of flesh?

Yes, but they're very dense. Errr... Muscle wise.

And sure, some body builders are sissies. Some will faint at the sight of their own blood. They're just people after all.

But there are a lot of people who work out hard and carve nice bodies that are also resistant to pain and the extra muscle makes it more so.

 

[BikerRN]

And then there are bull riders, the best of which are usually small and seemingly impervious to the destructive habits of 2000-lb. bulls.

Toughest species to kill by far.

 

[kir_kenix]

i could see this one going either way. on one hand, the big tough guy has more dense muscle to penetrate, and since his organs are approx the same size as the average man, shot placement would be slightly more difficult. on the other, i would think that his increased cardiovascular system would help him bleed out faster.

i think it all comes down to the person. u cant just look at a big guy and think that he can take a shot to the chest better then a scrawny one. if however, u took a crazy/fearless/phycho 135 lb madman, and put 65 lbs of muscle on him he would be harder to stop provided he had the same attitude.

 

[Moonclip]

I guess all my eating of fast food and TV dinners will pay off when I get shot Stopping power variables are fun to ponder but they are too variable, mental state, extreme fat, extreme muscle, drug use... the list goes on and on.

A book authored by Jack Lewis, one of the Assult Weapons series tells of an 80lb VC female taking multiple .45acp and 5.56x45 wounds as well as being hit with a rifle buttstock before not being able to press a knife attack.

A book by Massad Ayoob tells of a case where .223 wounds from a mini 14 failed to immediately stop a very obese man. One thing I always wondered and I'm sure will make many people bring up stupid jokes, is the issue of large breasts on a female one might be forced to shoot.

I can only imaging having to get through that in order to reach vital organs would have an effect on bullet performance as well. Anyone ever see anything on this?

 

[Lucky 7]

Like Jeff Bridges' character in "Eight Million Ways to Die" said to a massive bodyguard:
"You're big, but you can still bleed."
Regards and Semper Fi!
-L7

 

[Michael Courtney]

Ken Newgard wrote:


For an average 70 kg (155 lb.) male the cardiac output will be 5.5 liters (~1.4 gallons) per minute. His blood volume will be 60 ml per kg (0.92 fl. oz. per lb.) or 4200 ml (~1.1 gallons). Assuming his cardiac output can double under stress (as his heart beats faster and with greater force), his aortic blood flow can reach 11 liters (~2.8 gallons) per minute. If one assumes a wound that totally severs the thoracic aorta, then it would take 4.6 seconds to lose 20% of his blood volume from one point of injury. This is the minimum time in which a person could lose 20% of his blood volume. (Newgard, Ken, MD: The Physiological Effects of Handgun Bullets: The Mechanisms of Wounding and Incapacitation. Wound Ballistics Review, 1(3): 12-17; 1992.)

In some average sense, incapacitation via blood loss probably requires losing a certain percentage of blood. The more blood a living target has, the longer (on average) it will take to lose 20% of the initial blood volume.

Body builders (and people who are fit) both have a larger volume of blood AND also have more red blood cells. This suggests that they might remain conscious for a few more seconds after beginning to rapidly lose blood.

On the other hand, body builders (and people who are fit) also have higher metabolic demand for oxygen and the heart capacity to deliver blood (and oxygen) to the body. Once the plumbing springs a leak, they probably leak faster due to higher heart capacity, and their body might use what little oxygen is available more quickly.

People who are fit also have the advantage ofhaving their bodies conditioned to shift rapidly into anaerobic cellular respiration. This basically means that (on a cellular level) their bodies function better with reduced levels of oxygen.

The other factor that benefits fit people is that some of the more energetic handgun rounds produce wounds that are wider than the expanded bullet diameter early in the penetration. Bigger targets will tend to sustain these wide wounds in non-vital tissue, which will lead to slightly slower blood loss compared with sustaining the wider wound channel in vital tissue.

So, in an average sense, people who are more fit will probably remain conscious for a few seconds longer after a well-placed hit with a service caliber handgun round.

Michael Courtney

 

[Rexster]

Any of y'all recall the shooting of Officer Lim in the LA area, as written up my Mas Ayoob for public consumption, and in other venues for police reading? She took a 125-grain JHP to the heart, and survived. (Armed robbery in her dirveway) Her superb physical condition, including the good condition of her heart muscle, were believed to have played a major role in her survival. IIRC, she fought back effectively after being hit. Her story was used as a major motivator for police officers to keep fighting if hit, and also to stay in shape. As for the .45 Colt, keep in mind that militaries of that time needed to bring down horses, not just men, which was reflected in their choice of weapons. Men of that time may have been smaller, on average, but today's athletes have yet to achieve the size and mass of 19th-Century horses.