Re: Low Tech Scenarios

At 04:18 PM 5/17/98 -0500, you wrote:
>
>On Sat, 16 May 1998 10:38:25 -0500 (CDT) jatkins6@ix.netcom.com (John
>Atkinson) writes:
>
>>>Most bolt action military rifles were .30 cal (7.62mm) and the old 
>>mussel >loaders were even larger calibers (.56cal? 14.22mm?) I would 
>>suggest it >would be more accurate to have a higher Impact d10 or d12 
>>even to reflect >the heavier calibers. 
>>
>>Nao, can't believe that a black-powder weapon has same impact as a 
>>gauss rifle.	Larger caliber, but _much_ lower muzzle velocity.  Leave

>>it d8 or so.	
>
>If you read some American Civil War history you would find out how
>mistaken that statement was. A one ounce Minnie ball was something of a
>A-- kicker. They did so much damage that the idea of "removing the
>bullet" was a rare thing, they just cut off the limb that was hit
>(because the damage was so great).

	The reason they cut off the limb was because they didn't have
any skilled
surgeons and the conditions were filthy.  It was better to cut the limb
off
to avoid infection (i.e. gangrene) than it was to try and keep a
"puncture"
wound clean.
	There is a lot of "mysticism" regarding black powder firearms
and while
they will do a fair amount of damage to an unarmored individual, none of
them has any where near the penetration of a modern military round of
any
caliber.

	I shoot and hunt with black powder firearms and I can tell you
that these
types of firearms have incredibly poor penetration.  To illustrate I
once
shot my .44 Navy model revolver (black powder) at a thin pice of steel,
it
could not penetrate.  I shot it with my 9mm and it went right through. 
The
damage a firearm does is a mix of velocity (greater force applied =
greater
velocity) and mass, as mentioned before, many black powder weapons use
bullets of large mass, but incredibly poor velocity.  Thats why most
modern
military rounds are smaller, but have much larger velocities.  (Plus
they
kick less) 
	A point to remember is that the force applied to your shoulder
when firing
a rifle is approximately equal to the force applied to the object you
shoot, its just applied over a much smaller area and thus penetrates the
object further.  

Ryan aka Shrike
voivode@io.com

-  It is slavery to deny the individual the rights  -
-  and means for self defense, for without them     -
-  freedom can be neither achieved nor maintained.  -