Hoping you firearm experts will take a moment to eyeball this description of my MC getting nailed by a rifle bullet and let me know if it is accurate. The shooter is roughly four yards away.
Thanks much!
The bullet hit him center-chest. The ballistic vest redistributed the impact in a gripping pressure that rippled around his torso. Noise from the blast punched out his hearing. It came back in stinging waves.
Wow! Four yards! For sure the blast to the ears from that range would deafen and hurt, though my experience with muzzle blast (from the side) has been an ache when hearing returns several minutes later. Nothing stung, as I recall, and certainly not waves of stinging.
However, I think the ear problem may be the least of the victim's experience. Only very recently has body armor with overlapping ceramic plating been able to withstand even medium rifle fire. Most vests are designed to reduce the effects of pistol (and submachine-gun) bullets.
Even then, most of us who've been struck by such bullets feel as if struck by hard blows with hammers, and many go down, as if they were. I could hardly breathe or feel anything but numb.
A rifle bullet at muzzle velocity and pressure would be difficult to survive, I think, much less allow the victim to appreciate pressure and ripple on one's torso, unless the body armor were super-duper state of the art.
Of course, never having been hit center-chest by rifle fire at close range, I'm only able to guess.
She (baddie) works for the Sheriff's Department, so I can switch her to another weapon, no prob. Be easy enough for her to get her hands on illegal machine guns.
I'll do a rewrite and revisit you. Hope you don't mind!
A SWAT vest should be able to stop 9mm rounds, right? But I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt to give them a little more distance to lessen the impact.
Thank you, Chase! I've rewritten the scene accordingly. I appreciate the help!
Right. Always being aware that videos can be altered to amaze and confound, here is what's purported to be an actual strike from the front by a 9mm on a Kevlar vest (which looks less than SWAT quality).
If this idiot and his attempted-manslaughter-for-fun friend are real, you may get some ideas for your scene.
http://www.break.com/index/bulletproof-vest-test-goes-wrong.html
Holy sheee-eet... Got to say the video looks like it could have been shot around here. Background appears to be pecan trees and farm buildings typical to my neck of the woods. Accents stand up, too (won't even mention the behavior, jeez).
Regardless of whether the video is real, I do have one last thought about the guys who made it: If brains was dynamite, them boys wouldn't have enough to blow their noses, haha.
Sure do appreciate your help!
Holy shit, Williamson!Because people who know guns will read your story and will sneer if you assume something you saw on TV is real.
I'll check in daily.
Well, I do have a question about guns, unfortunately, not about anything listed above.
Do you know anything about the operation of stun guns?
Well, I do have a question about guns, unfortunately, not about anything listed above.
Do you know anything about the operation of stun guns?
Good call, Drachen. I'm merging this with our existing firearms thread. Hang on folks, this may be a bumpy ride....
Here's a mildly weird question: what would a 19th century (circa 1850) muzzle-loader paper cartridge taste like when you used your teeth to tear it open?
As far as I can tell the paper was impregnated with chemicals and they were often sealed shut with fat, so I'm presuming the simple answer is 'pretty bad', but if anyone's used one for real I'd be interested to know a more precise answer.
Thank you for the information, drachen and Michael. I needed that correction for my story.That depends on if you mean a stun gun (held in contact) or a taser (shoots darts).
In either case, the disabling force is high-voltage, very low amperage current designed to inhibit the neurological system, though lower power ones only inflict pain.
Tasers use a low power propellant or sometimes compressed gas to shoot the darts. They are specifically designed so they cannot be made to shoot lethal projectiles.
Thank you for the information, drachen and Michael. I needed that correction for my story.
In the story, the (evil) character uses a Taser (not the stun gun I thought it was) on the good character. She shoots the gun (Taser) and the dart sticks in the other character. After a dramatic pause, she sends the voltage. (That's how it's written. It's probably wrong.)
So, there are two darts? Why two?
How do they stick in?
Does the voltage get sent immediately, or can a dramatic pause occur? In that, I mean, is there a second button on the Taser?
And can they be yanked out to be used again and again?
Will the battery wear down quickly or slowly? In the story, she uses the Taser several times, but the last time, the batteries are dead. Plausible?
Two darts and wires for current flow.
Thank you for the information. It would really help if I could use the Taser three times in about ten minutes. How can I make that possible? Would the character have to reload a new cartridge each time? And would she be unaware the battery was dying? (So it fails on the attempted third or fourth shot?)You don't reuse them, though I'm sure in theory you could. However, the weapon takes a new cartridge for a new shot. I don't recall if they're battery powered or capacitor, but will assume battery.
Thank you for the information. It would really help if I could use the Taser three times in about ten minutes. How can I make that possible? Would the character have to reload a new cartridge each time? And would she be unaware the battery was dying? (So it fails on the attempted third or fourth shot?)
I don't recall if they're battery powered or capacitor, but will assume battery.