DBTrek wrote:Tragedy.
Probably because we don't teach our citizens anything about firearms:
County Attorney James Brue described the book as a hardcover encyclopaedia, and said the weapon used was a .50-calibre Desert Eagle handgun.
Anyone who understands what a .50 cal round is, knows damn well you're not going to stop it with a book.
Jeez.
We'd wrap out M113's in books if that worked.
As is, a .50 cal can tear right through on of them.
Desert Eagle .50 loads the .50 Action Express, that's only 12.7x33mm, .50 BMG is 12.7x99mm, just sayun, not the same cartridge, to say the least, .50 AE is half the bullet moving at half the velocity. Basically a boutique caliber, but aerodyamics and penetration is prolly not its strong suit, more of a massive wound channel inflictor, could a thick hardcover book stop it? Could certainly dissipate a lot of it, my buddy used to shoot .45 ACP indoors in his basement, using a wet phone book as a backstop, and that pretty much stopped them cold. Was the greater Toronto phone book mind you, I wouldn't try that with a small town phone book of course.
The step up from .45 ACP (11.4x23mm) to .50 AE (12.7x33mm), it's not insignificant, but it's nothing like the step up to .50 BMG (12.7x99mm), that's apples to oranges, pistol rounds to heavy machine gun rounds.
Now, a .50 BMG could prolly shoot through about 30 phone books, but after the first couple it would be considerably dissipated already, and would also cause the round to divert from axis and begin to tumble, so if you did wrap your M113 in phone books, it would make a difference when the round struck the base armour, could be the difference between penetration or not, or at least even if penetrating, could significantly reduce ricochet and make it a spall liner and stopped situation instead.
