Settings

Theme

The BLAST EFFECT This is how bullets from an AR-15 blow the body apart

washingtonpost.com

9 points by Neekerer 3 years ago · 9 comments

Reader

roarcher 3 years ago

Firearms are designed to kill, lethality is kind of the point. A 9mm does literally every single thing they describe as being part of this "blast effect" (which is not a term in ballistics), and so does pretty much every other cartridge.

Well, except for the things that no bullet does:

> News accounts rely on antiseptic descriptions from law enforcement officials and medical examiners who, in some cases, have said remains were so unrecognizable that they could be identified only through DNA samples.

Color me skeptical. I've been up close and personal with bodies shot multiple times by 5.56mm, .50 BMG, and some things in between. In no case were the remains identifiable "only through DNA samples" or remotely close to that state. Nobody is disputing that an AR-15 kills. What's the point (other than propaganda) of pretending that it also turns a person into beef stew?

Yes, guns are for killing. Do you want your government to be the only entity that has them? Yes? Now imagine it's a terrible authoritarian government, because someday it will be.

red-iron-pine 3 years ago

Man that title is hyperbole -- BLAST EFFECT implies that its doing something that every other gun doesn't. Like, this is the same thing any rifle round, e.g. .243, 9mm, 30-06.

Using AR-15 by name is also a sign: they're using that name specifically as part of the recent, renewed call for assault rifle bans.

I'm not going to argue that's bad thing -- I'll leave that to the inevitable commenters below -- but that headline is deliberately biased and is clearly propaganda, even if they have a point.

  • BoGoToTo 3 years ago

    There is also a massive consideration on the type of ammo being used. Hollow point vs steel core is gonna have very different effects.

    • pixl97 3 years ago

      The hollow point is going to be far more devastating.

      Back in the 90s around the times of the assault weapon ban, some gun group baited some people in the media by getting the media people to hype up how much more dangerous guns like the AK/AR were than 'safe' hunting rifles. They then got the media to go out to a range where they shot watermelons with assault rifles first, and the media bought in and was like "wow, look at that massive damage"

      Then they shot a watermelon with a 300 winchester magnum hunting rifle... Pink mist.

rolph 3 years ago

this is a very yellowed stance.

"The records and interviews show in stark detail the unique mechanics that propel these bullets — and why they unleash such devastation in the body."

THERE ARE NO UNIQUE MECHANICS !

velocity, causes the "blast effect", and that is not just the charge on the round relative to calibre, its also barrel length that combine to this end.

any object propelled to supersonic speed will have this "blast effect" which is actually named cavitation.

lockhouse 3 years ago

Thanks Washington Post, we wouldn’t want this tragedy to go to waste.

What a great opportunity to push for disarming lawful citizens, right?

EricE 3 years ago

Be sure to not let any dead children go to waist! So predictable as well as disgusting. Even the killer understood the value of having armed people on site - skipped one location because it would be too risky. Boom! But no - it's more important to take away guns from law abiding citizens. Freaking fascists.

exabrial 3 years ago

Even this headline is intentionally designed so people that are ignorant of science come to the desired political conclusion. Propaganda in every single way.

DoItToMe81 3 years ago

Unique mechanics? Excuse me?

Keyboard Shortcuts

j
Next item
k
Previous item
o / Enter
Open selected item
?
Show this help
Esc
Close modal / clear selection