A Weighty Matter

One of the Newtonian principles is that of the mass : velocity equilibrium (if I may call it that).  Simply explained in gun terms, it’s that compromise that one has to make between bullet weight and velocity (and eventually, terminal velocity and impact).

The simplest example is a comparison between a .22 bullet and .45-70 Government:  the first zips along with a muzzle velocity in excess of 3,000 feet per second, while (relatively speaking) the huge .45-70 struggles to leave the barrel altogether.  Yet as fast as the .22 may be, its diminutive 40gr weight arrives without much authority, so to speak, at (say) 100 yards distance, while the .45-70’s 300gr lump of lead will crush everything in its path when it eventually gets there.

Which is all very well and good, because the difference between the two bullets is vast.

But what if there’s little difference in bullet weight between two (or three) bullets, the only difference being the amount of powder driving them?

Here’s a fun video of just such a test, made by shooting the .22 LR, .22 Mag (WMR), and the .17 Hornady Magnum.  (By the way, I love the fact that Our Hero eschews the appallingly-expensive ballistic gelatin, using instead large cubes of pottery clay to make his point.  It’s as valid a medium as any other, I think, when making comparisons of this sort.)  Go ahead and watch the thing (it’s just over 10 minutes long), and then come back here for my thoughts.

I know that a lot of people love shooting the little .17 Hornady Mag, but for some reason I’ve never been attracted to it:  for one thing, it would require buying yet another gun [sigh], and for another, I’ve never thought that the .17’s (much) higher cost justifies me dropping my .22 WMR rifle, when the effective difference (in my estimation) is probably marginal.  The .17 is a zipper, no doubt about it, and it’s probably a lot more accurate than a .22 WMR — but I’m not that accurate a shooter anyway.  Likewise, I’m sure that the zippy .17 is an absolute death-dealer on varminty-type targets… but only 20-grain boolets?  Something in me rebels, and says, “That’s just too teeny, no matter how fast it is.”

And Who_Tee_Who’s video seems to prove my suspicions are correct.  (Who_Tee_Who?  Belgian?)

I should point out that in all fairness, I tend to prefer lighter bullets in my self-defense handguns as a rule:  175/185gr vs. 230gr in my carry .45 ACP 1911, and 110gr vs. 158gr in my bedside .357 Mag S&W 65.   For me, it’s a question of reduced recoil that the smaller bullets provide — whether it’s for quicker target reacquisition or for reduced wrist pain at the range, both are valid arguments — and the terminal effect, so to speak, on the targets in both scenarios will be pretty much the same with the lighter bullets as with the heavier ones.

I think.

But on rimfires?  I think I’m okay with the .22 LR and .22 WMR, thankee.