Posted: 4/27/2005 12:51:05 PM EDT
|
So how many people here believe in something called knockdown power? For those of you that do, how much would an arrow out of a bow have compared to a .45 auto? Just curious since I've read some posts recently where people refer to this or that being superior because it has more "knockdown power". |
|
When I hear someone say "knockdown power", I asume they are referring to the likelihood that the round will cause a disabling injury that will put someone out of a fight. There is no "knockdown" in the sense of someone getting knocked back off their feet by the force of the impact. Even a 12-gauge slug isn't going to send you flying backwards. If it had that much power, it'd send the shooter flying too. |
This brand new M4 has more knockdown power than both of them. ![]()
|
|
Knockdown power isn't. It's more like "first shot stopping power". And a broadhead from a bow-compound, recurve or longbow-kills by hemmoraging , not by "force". That' bleeding to death for the uninitiated. So, IMO, not a fair comparison. I've NEVER seen or heard of an animal hit properly in the kill zone by an arrow that dropped in it's tracks. An accidental spine shot, yes. An accidental liver shot where the elk went less than 20 yards, yes. |
I'd really like to hear that story....liver shot usually means a long blood trail. |
| The liver shot on the elk was really a fluke. The guy was in a tree stand, took the shot and the bull elk-not a real big one-went no more than 20 yards. The area around the elk looked like something out of a horror movie. That thing bled out in no time flat. It was amazing. It ran/fell into a ravine and the guy came to our camp for help to get it out, since we were only about 200 yards away. He hadn't even field dressed it yet (I don't know why, maybe excitement) and there was blood ALL OVER. |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
| There's no such thing as "knock down power". Nothing short of some type of HE round will literally knock you down. Someone goes down if you hit their CNS and obviously there is a greater chance in hitting it with a larger caliber bullet as long as it has good penetration. |
Okay, let's talk about "first shot stopping power": Broadhead vs handgun bullet Are you saying the bullet has more stopping power? |
There's no such thing... what you're asking is impossible due to such vagaries as the person's determination, whether the person's on some kind of dope, etc, shot placement... Knockdown power is a myth. |
|
as a cop told me there is no such thing as a handgun round actually throwing something back, although .45 gained a reputation for knockdown power cause people fall over when they die... By the way there have been quite a few shootings where the .45 round has knocked people around. Im no expert but it can't feel good |
Broadhead vs. S&W .500 Mag , which would you rather be shot by? |
![]() Reading is fundamental. A .22 on up to the spine will drop just about anything in it's tracks. It wasn't "knocked down" it was paralyzed . Same goes for the broadhead to the spine. The elk didn't drop in it's tracks. It went a short distance and IT BLED TO DEATH So, again, broadheads are designed TO CAUSE MAXIMUM HEMMORAGING, which as far as I can tell means BLEEDING TO DEATH . It generally takes a while for most animals to BLEED TO DEATH. And, generally, they RUN while this is happening-which, as far as I can tell, means they will not be standing in the same place as where they were hit with a broadhead. They weren't KNOCKED DOWN. Comparing broadheads to bullets is like comparing a platypus to a Rolls Royce. Not even in the same parking lot. The only common ground a bullet and a broadhead share is that they're designed to kill. |
There's no such thing... what you're asking is impossible due to such vagaries as the person's determination, whether the person's on some kind of dope, etc, shot placement... Knockdown power is a myth.[/quote] Personally, I agree. I brought it up to see what other people think. |
| This idea that something is going to be knocked out of its sneakers is a myth perpetuated by hollywood. When one increases the frontal area of the projectile what you are really doing is increasing the probability of stopping the subject. This is twofold. Either through increases transfer of energy, or increasing the odds of hitting something important. Nothing however is as vital as hitting the Central nervous system as this is what will immediatly end the fight. If this is with a .22 its every bit as good as with a .45 |
|
Some reading.... www.chuckhawks.com/handguns_index_stopping_power.htm |
My favorite article on the subject: www.rathcoombe.net/sci-tech/ballistics/wounding.html |



