Gun Mythbusters...

[c_yeager]

Vaccuum or not, a .50 BMG will go faster and farther than a .22lr. The .22 will be down before the .50 reaches the limit.

Sort,. If they are both fired at a perfectly level trajectory they will hit the ground at the exact same moment. In fact if you were to fire the 50.bmg at a trajectory perfectly level with the horizon at the exact same moment that you simply dropped a penny from the same height; both objects would land at the exact same moment.

Now the part that you are correct about is the faster and farther part. The faster bullet will cover more distance than the .22 (or the penny) but it's duration of flight will be the same.

Imagine hitting a bumblebee on a bicycle at 10 mph. Now imagine the same only on a motorcycle at 60 mph. That bee could knock an unwary rider off the motorcycle, but not likely off a bicycle.

No.

 

[Wayne D]

Please tell me this is a myth: slamming an open slide into full battery with an empty chamber is harmful to a pistol.

It can damage the sear on a 1911 style pistol. Do it enough and the hammer will start following the slide. Or at least it did on mine, and before ya'll start, it was completely stock, no garage gunsmith trigger jobs.

 

[Medusa]

GarandOwner, since the bullets still "orbit" around the center of Earth, both are affected by centrifugal force, i took the centrifugal acceleration into account, that depends on velocity (it's square, actually) and on orbit's radius (since the bullets are shot at low altitude, comparing to 6 380 000 m radius of Earth) - a[centr] = v^2 / r . The centrifugal acceleration counteracts gravital acceleration, lessening it. Since the .50BMG has considerably larger velocity than .22LR, the actual acceleration towards the center of Earth (a = g - a[centr]) is smaller for .50BMG, thus it falls at lesser rate (which I noted) and hits ground later.
That the bullets have different masses doesn't matter a bit, centrifugal and gravital accelerations are largely independent from masses (as the masses are small enough that they don't create considerable distortions in space-time continum, and since velocities are small, not creating considerable differences in time, mass and length of travel). Everything in the world has to do with velocity (mass, time, length - fundamentals).

 

[1911Tuner]

Slammin' Myth

Quotes:

1...Please tell me this is a myth: slamming an open slide into full battery with an empty chamber is harmful to a pistol.


2...It can damage the sear on a 1911 style pistol. Do it enough and the hammer will start following the slide. Or at least it did on mine, and before ya'll start, it was completely stock, no garage gunsmith trigger jobs.
*************************

That's not the only concern. Damaging hammer and sear interfaces usually occurs with fine-tuned match grade triggers. The hammer follow part is primarily due to the trigger's inertia...Nudging the disconnect when the slide hits battery. (That's the primary reason for lightweight triggers in guns with super-light trigger jobs) The real potential for damage is at the lower lug and slidestop pin...the former being more critical because it's more expensive to replace.

The gun was designed to cycle ammunition from the magazine. The cartridge begins to apply the brakes to the slide as soon as the breechface makes contact with it. Without ammunition present, the slide's forward momentum is only retarded by a little friction at the rails and by the barrel
caming up/linking up (Depending on the specs and fit)on the slidestop crosspin....and wind resistance. In other words...not very much.

Jeff...No. The slide slamming a few times or even occasionally won't do
critical damage. The gun has enough "Over-Engineering" to allow for an occasional occurrence, but any hard impact damage incurred is cumulative.
Steel...once it deforms...doesn't return to shape, and each successive hit deforms it a tiny bit more. Cracking and/or separation of the lower barrel lug is also a possibility, given enough abuse. The linkless designs
are quite a bit more tolerant of the practice, but they're not immune.

 

[Creeping Incrementalism]

MYTH: The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

TRUTH: Self-serving Socialists we call legislators and judges have decided there really is no such right, as evidenced by the frequent laws and decisions which have rendered the 2nd Amendment's full meaning a mere illusion.

Myth: Jeff is using his forebrain when he talks about politics

Fact: He would be better off with some actual knowledge of political science or history rather than the stuff from the John Birch Society and really shouldn't have lowered the tone of this thread.

tellner, the 2nd Amendment stands on its own. It doesn't say anything about only Congress beeing stopped from infringing this right and it doesn't need to be incorporated, if that's what you are getting at.

 

[Working Man]

Amazing

There actually 4 separate yet well followed trains of thought in this thread.

I'm impressed

 

[johnnytang24]

Hi,

I haven't given this much thought, but maybe the Military uses FMJ rounds because it feeds more reliably? That and they want as much penetration as possible (to shoot through cars, tree branches, body armor, etc.)?

Just a suggestion.

 

[Creeping Incrementalism]

I haven't given this much thought, but maybe the Military uses FMJ rounds because it feeds more reliably? That and they want as much penetration as possible (to shoot through cars, tree branches, body armor, etc.)?

I'd say so--probably one reason why green-tip replaced ball for 5.56mm. Though the recent decision to go lead free because of environmental converns (junk science alert) is also significant.

For the past hundred years, militaries have done most of their killing with explosives, so expanding ammo just isn't worth the environmental and "humanitarian" hassle. Though special forces, who often rely on precision rifle and pistol fire, sometime use expanding bullets, since all respectable militaries these days spend most of their time fighting non-uniformed terrorists.

 

[rero360]

I think the whole lead issue comes into play with the contamination of land, and the water table under said land. I've been forced to watch a couple of videos made by the military talking about the transfer to green ammo, and I came away with the feeling that they don't care about the lead exposure to the troops, they only care about bending over backwards for the environmentalists, granted the military has been historically very non environmentally friendly.

while it does cost time, money and resources, there are methods to prevent the build up of lead at ranges and to prevent it from leaching into the water table.

 

[wheelgunslinger]

Yet another Myth to bust:

Occasionally I'm in a Gun Store™ and there's a n00b across the counter from the gun guru/cashier. The GG is more often telling this person about what kind of weapon they should own first as a beginner.

Gun Store Cashier/Guru myth: The small revolver is a training wheels weapon for n00bs (usually females) that is less complicated than an automatic and is much easier and simpler to use. Move on to a pistol when you're ready to take on the extra responsibility (play with the big dogs), or get really serious about a handgun.

Truth: Complicated doesn't equal safe. Simple doesn't equal safe. Women arent, as a gender, incapable of spatial and mechanical reasoning which would render them unable to use a pistol. Revolvers aren't training wheels.
A n00b needs the proper weapon to address their needs as a shooter. This can be a wheelgun or brass- puker. Doesn't matter.

 

[JohnKSa]

The small revolver is a training wheels weapon for n00bs (usually females) that is less complicated than an automatic and is much easier and simpler to use.

I agree with the part about revolvers being easier to use. But small revolvers are quite difficult to shoot due to the short sight radius, often rudimental sights and "enhanced" recoil.

I definitely think that small revolvers are bad choices for beginners regardless of gender.

 

[DF357]

MYTH: A XX-caliber bullet will knock a person off their feet.

TRUTH: Refer to Newtonian physics regarding action and equal reaction. If a bullet would knock a person off their feet, it would also knock YOU off your feet when you fired it.

My 12 ga knocked my old girl friend flat on her back when she fired it. I'd guess if she was shot with it, it would knock her off her feet then too.

 

[rero360]

nope, it'd just go straight thru her, and even if it didn't and just dumped all of its energy inside I still doubt that it would send her flying backwards, I shot a smallish button buck it a 12 guage sabot round at 120 or so yards, rounds went in and smashed against the opposite shoulder, staying inside the animal, and it didn't go flying, just dropped.

 

[R.W.Dale]

I shot a small 6 point with a 12ga at a range of about 8 feet. i gave him a broadside with a full load of buckshot, None of the pellets exited.

Did it knock him down, NOPE he took off like a rocket. Found him about 100yds later.

 

[Ryder]

MYTH:
Lead pollution from firing ranges is a problem.

TRUTH:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041104005801.htm

 

[rero360]

makes sense

 

[pete f]

MYTH that CLIP is wrong in refering to the part that hold ammo inside the weapon. Both Marlin and Savage continue to refer to detachable ammunition holders as CLIPS..... magazines were fixed.

My Ancient Blue Jackets Manual, describes the model 1911a1 as a clip fed, recoil operated semi automatic pistol.

Magazines are fixed storage sites for ammunition acording to the navy, Both used to refer to areas on a ship where ordinance is stored and places on land of similar use.

However the DoD calls them magazines.

SECTION A - SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION ITEM: MAGAZINE, CARTRIDGE NSN: 1005-00-921-5004 P/N: 8448670 1. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MODIFICATION IS TO AWARD A TOTAL QUANTITY OF 254,955 EACH MAGAZINES (CLIN 0001AG), NSN: 1005-00-921-5004, PART NUMBER 8448670. AS A RESULT, THE TOTAL QUANTITY IS INCREASED BY 254,955 EACH FROM 841,210 EACH TO 1,096,165 EACH. 2. THE MAGAZINES WILL BE AWARDED AT A UNIT PRICE OF $7.87 EACH. THIS UNIT PRICE IS EFFECTIVE THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2000 AND WAS APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE FOR THE PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED. 3. AS A RESULT OF THIS MODIFICATION, THE TOTAL DOLLARS ARE INCREASED BY $2,006,495.85 FROM $6,304,104.90 TO $8,310,600.75. 4. DELIVERY WILL BE F.O.B. ORIGIN. 5. THE DELIVERY SCHEDULE FOR CLIN 0001AG IS AS FOLLOWS: 48,790 30 SEP 00 50,000 31 OCT 00 50,000 30 NOV 00 50,000 31 DEC 00 50,000 31 JAN 01 6,165 28 FEB 01 6. ALL OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS REMAIN UNCHANGED. *** END OF NARRATIVE A017 *** CENTER INDUSTRIES CORPORATION
From https://aais.ria.army.mil/aais/ award_web_97/DAAE2097F0027/P00013.pdf