[Sir Krustin]

That pistols are more powerful than rifles.

The difference between the diameter of an entry wound between a pistol and a rifle is negligible.

Hydrostatic shock, which is a direct result of the energy of the round, is the prime mover in ballistic wounding. Kinetic energy goes up with the square of the velocity, but only linearly with the mass of the projectile (which is far more important than the caliber of the round).

A couple of trivia facts:

1) The 10mm auto pistol round is far more effective than the colt .45 (12.7mm) at man-stopping.

2) The pistols main wounding effect is the bleed-out, not traumatic injury - if you survive the first 30 seconds, you're likely to live out your normal 4-score-and-ten. Rifles, otoh, are more likely to cause fatal injury with bleed-out being secondary.

3) A near miss from high-powered rifle can kill. This just doesn't happen with pistols.

[ 09-25-2006, 11:37 AM: Message edited by: Sir Krustin ]