Re: Lethality of the 22LR- Results!
Tango,
I used the English dictionary definition of <span style="font-weight: bold">Lethal </span>as:
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Capable of causing death. </div></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold">CAPABLE: </span>
- Having capacity or ability
- Having the ability required for a specific task or accomplishment
-Permitting an action to be performed
<span style="font-weight: bold">LETHALITY</span> does not mean <span style="font-weight: bold">IT WILL KILL </span> everytime but that it is <span style="font-weight: bold">CAPABLE OF</span> doing so.
A Hammer can be VERY lethal as well. Heck, my cat is too now after I spent a whole afternoon a year ago in emergency for an infected bite.
Just explaining the definition because there was some confusion on another board as to the actual definition and it went into a spin about actual death, self-defense, etc... which isn't what this is all about.
As I said earlier, my interest was mostly a test on penetration, layers of clothing, long distance, etc... I actually didn't know that the 22LR would do that at that distance (penetrate a whole Turkey and 9 layers of clothing at 250 or 300 yards). And, per the comments of several medics on other boards, there is a definite link between penetration and lethality <span style="font-weight: bold">(Definition above)</span> but if you don't think so, well it's completely OK. Personaly, I would tend to agree with them based on their experience. They deal with this stuff quite often and quite a few (Police Officers included) pointed out that they've seen more death occuring with the 22 then most other calibers but I don't have access to actual statistics/facts so I don't know if it's correct.
I think it is very obvious to people on this board that shooting a live thing at that distance would not make a lot of sense, this was not a test about that, or the potential of the 22LR as a self defense round or if lethality is a <span style="font-weight: bold">strong</span> point for the 22LR. Compared to large calibers (like the 308) the 22 DOES NOT have a strong lethality but that wasn't was the test was all about. Factually if you're an LE or Military, from a tactical point of view, a bone, wallet, coins, belt buckle, etc... or as you pointed out, a skull, would stop a bullet at that distance.
I was simply wondering if the 22LR was still lethal (CAPABLE of causing death) at long range and up to where. I just did the test because I could not find the answers so I did my own test and took my OWN opinion/conclusions based on what I did. I think and believe from my own observation that, per the definition above, the 22LR is still very much lethal at that range. Many people were surprised by the results and so was I.
But, hey, if you think it's not the case, it's completely OK with me
- I would not have give a poop if the round did not penetrate 9 layers of clothing at 50 yards. I'm not on a crusade to prove anything to anyone or make any recommendations about the 22LR
Just posted the photos, AAR because I think people would be interested to see what happens (and they were).
It's really not very controversial, mostly factual in a Mythbuster sort of way
Someone else doing the same test in different conditions may get different results.
