what measures the power of a gun?

Question

yeah i know nothing about the techinical side of pistols, but when comparing what stats show the power of the gun. (impact wise)

Answer 1

You might find a ballistics chart like the one in the Guns & Ammo annuals helpful...

F=M*1/2V Force=Mass x 1/2Velocity

There is a measure called the RSP(relative stopping power),RSP works well for handgun rounds, but I can't recall the exact formula, it involved the "weight" of the bullet the BSC or "diameter" of the bullet and its "velocity", bullet shape has an effect also...If you're really interested you can find that formula in the book "Survival Guns" by Mel Tappan

Answer 2

There are a few ways to determine how powerful a firearm may be. The most common is energy at the muzzle. The kinetic energy of the bullet is determined by multipling half its mass by the square of its speed. If using english units, the mass is in slugs (pounds/32.17) and speed in fps to get ft-lbs. Bullet weights are usually in grains which is 7000 grains to the pound.

A good formula is grains times speed squared divided by 450380. So a 230 grain 45 caliber bullet moving at 850 feet per second would have 369 ft-lbs of energy.

Energy is not the whole picture though. Momentum which is proportional to speed times weight will give a good idea how much recoil to expect.

A heavy bullet usually penetrates its target deeper than a lighter bullet even if the lighter bullet is a bit more powerful. A wider bullet makes a larger hole than a smaller one, unless tumbling is involved.

Ranb

Answer 3

There are different theories about this. I don't think simple muzzle energy is an accurate measure of it, and many experts agree. General Julian Hatcher theorized that momentum modified by bullet diameter and type was the key in his Relative Stopping Power. John "Pondoro" Taylor concocted a less elaborate theory for his KO Values. He didn't use any index for bullet type, but his theory is otherwise the same as Hatcher's. There have been several more recent theories, but I doubt that they add anything to Hatcher's work with pistols and Taylor's work with rifles. Actually, no one knows for certain.

Answer 4

(Mass of the bullet) X (the velocity on impact)

= foot pounds of force hitting the target.

Simple Physics

Answer 5

are you talking about fire power or knock down power? Fire power is a term used to describe the amount of ammunition the firearm will hold in its magazine. Stopping power or knock down power describes the ballistic performance of the bullet and the amount of damage that bullet will inflict on the target.

Answer 6

The pressure in feet per square inch of muzzle velocity/foot per square pound, size of the round and how much gun powder in behind the bullet.

Answer 7

It's measured in foot-pounds.

Answer 8

muzzle velocity, fps, impact