7 minute read
Ammunition - Do Ballistics Matter?
Ammunition
Do Ballistics Matter?
By: Justin L. Johnson
Clint Smith
Here we are with part 3 of the series, which means you’ve made it to the meat and potatoes! In earlier installments of the series, we talked about the differences in ammunition and dug deeper into why the jacketed hollow point (JHP) is the go-to for defensive purposes. Now we are going to put the rubber to the road.
To begin with, it is important to lay some groundwork because ballistics can mean different things to different people. The three most common ballistic applications are:
1) Internal ballistics
The study of what happens when the firing pin hits the primer, and the bullet exits the barrel.
2) External ballistics
Deals with the flight of the bullet through the air and how outside forces could interfere with it.
3) Terminal ballistics
The damage a projectile does on the other end when it hits an object.
For the sake of this article, we are going to focus on the terminal side of things. At the end of the day, if we have to use our firearm in a defensive situation, we want to make sure we do all we can to stop the threat. Now, buckle up, keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times, and remember to tip your waiters and waitresses!
Terminal Ballistics - The End All, Be all
Terminal ballistics is a subset of the ballistics field. It is defined as the study of the behavior and effects of a projectile when it hits and transfers energy to a target. So, what happens when a bullet hits its intended target? In short, the projectile begins to slow down, dumping energy (hopefully all of it); the bullet starts to expand, all the while penetrating deep enough to reach multiple vital tissues, thus ending the confrontation.
Sounds simple enough, right? There are hundreds, if not thousands, of manhours that go into the science and engineering behind how this works. I want to remind readers, I am not one of those engineers. I am an individual who has spent the better part of twenty years applying ballistics in various ways, including spending the last five working for some of the largest ammunition manufactures in the world.
As I mentioned before, there are three phases of a projectile's flight path once it is initiated. The first phase is the slowing down and energy dump process, followed by bullet expansion in the second phase, and finally, the third and last phase is depth penetration.
Phase 1: Dumping Energy
With that said, the first thing I want to do is unpack what I mean by “dumping energy.” Energy is a direct representation of the mass of the projectile and the speed at which it travels, often expressed in foot-pounds of energy or Joules for those who use the metric system. There is a metric ton of information on the internet and in the library on this subject, so I am going to keep it pretty simple. Suffice it to say that the faster you can push a heavy object, the more energy it will have on the other end. And a corollary to that is that as an object slows down, the energy will decrease.
An example I often use to illustrate this point is that of a Prius car versus a train. If they are both traveling sixty miles an hour (96.5 KPH) on impact, which one is going to do more damage? The train is, right? That is an extreme example, but it puts energy into perspective. Ideally, we want our projectile to dump ALL of its energy inside the target.
Let’s look at the most common calibers out there right now, the 9mm Luger. A standard 124-grain JHP going 1,150 feet per second (351 meters per second) has approximately 364 ft-lb (495 J) of energy at the muzzle and 331 ft-lb (445 J) at 25 yards (22.8 meters). That’s a lot of energy dumping into a threat. There are some good ballistics calculators out there, and manufacturers are getting wise and starting to put this information on their packaging. So do your research and see what's in the marketplace. This is where some folks might expect me to either enter into the stopping power or the 9mm/45ACP debate. Sorry, everyone, I'm not going down that dark and stormy road. With that said, if you stick it out, at the end of this article, I will wrap it all up in a nice neat bow.
Phase 2: Expansion
The second phase of this ballistics thing is expansion. If everything goes right, you want your projectile to expand at a minimum of 1.5 times its original size. With the bigger expansion, we end up with bigger wound channels. The bigger the wound channel, the more damage we are going to do to the threat. This one is a fairly easy concept to grasp. If you can put multiple big holes into something, the likelihood of hitting vital tissues or causing serious fluid leakage is almost guaranteed (if your shot placement was good).
I will keep with the 9mm Luger example, using the same 124-grain JHP above, fired from a Glock 19 with a 15 round magazine (plus 1 in the chamber), giving you 16 rounds to stop the threat. For math purposes, a 9mm projectile is about 0.355 inches in diameter. If that 9mm expands to 1.5 times its original size, you have a projectile that is roughly 0.533 inches (13.5mm) in diameter. That means you have the potential of putting 16, halfinch (12.7mm) holes into the threat. That is a lot of torn tissue and plenty of leakage.
I would strongly suggest that you guys do an internet search for wound ballistics/ballistics gel shoot, and you can see for yourself what the projectile is doing when it hits its intended target. There are a lot of great resources out there on this subject. This would be another opportunity for me to dig into the 9mm/45ACP debate. But you guessed it… not yet. Hang on a bit longer, we’re almost there.
Phase 3: Penetration
The last piece of this puzzle is penetration. There is a fine line between not enough penetration and too much. If the projectile doesn't go deep enough, it won't hit the vital tissues that we need to hit to "turn the lights out.” On the other side of that coin, if the bullet travels too far, we can damage things on the other side of our threat, including other people. You are ultimately responsible for every round you fire. There is no such thing as a magic bullet when it comes to penetration. The famous Murphy and his Law will ultimately show up when you don’t want him to in that anything that can potentially go wrong will go wrong. This is where we can heed a sound approach by going back to look at the type of ballistics and ammunition that the law enforcement and military community are using. If you look at it from an empirical data perspective, those groups have more "hands-on" experience than just about anyone out there. Use what they use, and you are going down the right road.
Now back to the lingering 9mm/45ACP debate… As I was planning this article, I was thinking about this ongoing debate; however, I didn’t want to fill these pages with a bunch of opinions and hearsay. I personally have carried 9mms, 45s, 357s, and a slew of other calibers in my time. And at the end of the day, apply the principles of this 3-part series to your decisionmaking process and carry what you are comfortable and confident with. You will have to balance things like the size/capacity of your firearm, recoil control, engagement speed, and personal preference. If you want to debate or discuss in-depth, hit me up on one of my social platforms, and we can go down that rabbit hole together.
Until next time… stay safe!
Justin started his journey in the military and has grown his passion for firearms and training ever since. He has a resume that covers just about every segment of the security industry from armed and unarmed static security, investigations, close protection, highrisk protection, sports and entertainment venue security management, risk assessment, and consulting. He has spent the last 5 years managing ammunition product portfolios for major ammunition and firearms manufactures in the industry. He is also an avid competitive shooting, crossing multiple disciplines.
