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Old 09-27-2006, 10:52 AM   #31
Griefmaker
The Magister
 

Join Date: January 29, 2005
Location: Chico, CA
Age: 44
Posts: 141
Quote:
Originally posted by Sir Krustin:
quote:
Originally posted by Bozos of Bones:
A 10mm pistol more powerful than a 5.56(or even 7.62) bullet? No... How can it be!?
If I play a game in which the assault rifle or SMG is more powerful round for round than the pistol(not counting peashooters), I'll say the game outright sucks.
To echo Sever, is that sarcasm?

Assault rifles, round for round, are more powerful than pistols. Just because the caliber is bigger doesn't mean that the round is more powerful.

Pistol ammo is shorter, and thus contains less powder than rifle rounds. Even .223 (5.56mm) assault rifles have much more power than a 10mm pistol. Compound this with the shorter barrel (the longer the barrel, the longer the projectile is accelerated, and the faster the bullet is), and the pistol has much less muzzle energy than the rifle.

5.56mm rifle rounds



some popular pistol rounds

left to right, 9mm luger, 7.62mm tokarev, .357 sig, 10mm auto, .40 s&w, .45 gap, .50AE (desert eagle)

5.56 mm NATO, 10mm auto
(5.56 × 45 mm)
wt: 3.95–5.18 g, 10-13g
muzzle velocity: 772–930 m/s, 366-408m/s
muzzle energy: 1,700–1,830 J, 861-943 J

The 10mm auto, btw, is one of the most powerful handguns in existence, barring exotics like the .44magnum and .50AE.
[/QUOTE]I am not going to take sides on this argument, but I wanted to point out a difference between rifles and pistols that everyone has made the mistake of omitting.

One of the main features of rifles (small, fast bullets which travel through a body and do not mushroom out inside the body) is to "wound" the enemy--not necessarily kill him. By wounding the enemy, you not only take that person out of the fight, you also take out at least one other person who has to help/retrieve/whatever that person as well. The rifle is also very effective at killing enemies (especially at longer ranges), but then only one person is out of the fight, not two.

Pistols are meant to stop/kill enemies at close range. Unlike the rifle bullets, these larger bullets are meant to mushroom out inside a body and do as much damage as possible to make the person they hit die, or at least stop them in their tracks.

Does this answer the question about which of the two are more powerful? Not at all. Both are meant for two different situations and are more effective in those situations for different reasons.
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