(Continued from Part 1.)
The Killing Power of Firearms: More is Better
The 20 gauge or 12 gauge shotgun and semi-auto handgun is a good combination for close-quarters combat or with home defense distances of 35 yards or less. If using Federal Flight Control buckshot, the maximum effective distance can be 50 yards. A modified to full choke can also extend the range of the shotgun. A shotgun loaded with buckshot shells can stop the fight instantaneously. If you hit somewhere in the torso, it would be lights out and they will drop like a sack of potatoes, dead before they hit the ground. Inside of 25 yards, the massive hydrostatic shock wave destroys central nervous system tissue and the hydrostatic shock (a water hammer effect) instantly increases pressures in the arteries and veins to the point that blood vessels burst doing as much or more damage than the physical wound channel does.
The more powerful the firearm the more likely that hydrostatic shock will be imparted. Small caliber rifles must rely upon high velocity at closer ranges to impart adequately high enough hydrostatic shock to immobilize or otherwise kill on impact by destroying nervous tissue and blood vessels. 7.62 NATO M80 ball ammunition might have the same effect at 150 yards as 5.56 NATO M193 does at 50 yards. The M193 loses its ability to stop an opponent at long range because of its small, light projectile.
In order for any projectile to create the lowest level of hydro-tatic shock, the impact velocity should be no less than 2,200 fps. 12 ga buckshot is lower than one third to half the velocity of rifle rounds, yet at 1,200 fps it can hit with as much as 3,000 foot-pounds of force inside of 25 yards, and the combined surface area of many expanding pellets of buckshot are effectively equal to a single and massive projectile. Essentially, it is overwhelming trauma created by the massive hydrostatic shock that kills more so than the wound channel. Of course, if the hit is on an extremity, the extensive damage to the flesh would likely cause the recipient to quickly bleed out and/or cause a rapid decrease in blood pressure, rather than kill them with hydrostatic shock. Aim at the center of mass at the torso for best results. And if they are wearing body armor, the blunt force trauma will still hit them hard enough to do damage, breaking ribs or worse. Because of the ammunition management problem with a standard shotgun with a tubular magazine, take careful aim, and go slow, because “slow is smooth, and smooth is fast”, and because you only need to hit them once.
A handgun will not be nearly as effective and your opponent could shoot back even after being hit many times. A handgun is the weapon of last resort. Do not bring a handgun to a rifle fight, or you will likely lose. In war, pistols are seldom used. A handgun simply lacks killing power. A bullet that imparts enough hydrostatic shock that can instantly shut down an attacker is the best way to stop a gunfight. If you can bring a high-powered rifle to the fight, then you’ll have all the bases covered no matter what kind of fight it becomes — long or short range. The ability to penetrate cover is king because people will not stand out in the open to be shot, but often run and take cover. Or at least they should. Taking cover should be a part of your training.
Whether or not I’m armed with a rifle, I will do everything I can to prevent a situation where close-quarters combat occurs. The odds of surviving it are too low to consider it for anything but a last resort. I figure that the further out that I can prevent or stop a fight, the better. Hopefully, I am older and wiser, so winning a gunfight before it happens is the best approach to staying alive. To accomplish this requires using appropriate tactics that include long-range rifle fire as a deterrent. The odds that we will lose in close combat are too high. There are other ways to fight without direct engagement, but I must limit myself in this discussion.
Understanding Your Rifle and Ammunition Choice
My purpose with these articles is to educate and encourage folks. If you examined the chart in my previous article Ballistics, Rifle Marksmanship and Why They Matter – Part 1 and Part 2, you will have gained some valuable information. Your high-power centerfire rifle is competitive with the common caliber cartridges we are most likely to encounter. The other takeaway is that at 250+ yards, the typical AR-15 or AK shooter can be outclassed by a capable shooter armed with a scoped high-powered rifle.
300 yards in nothing for .308 Winchester, but it is on the ragged edge for an AR-15 shooting M193 ammunition with a red dot or other similar optics that are designed for combat inside of 200 yards. Most shooters will not do well past 200 yards with iron sights. This is why I am advocating 20-inch barrels and the use of 69-grain bullets in 1:9 twist barrels and better yet, 75/77OTM bullets in barrel with a 1:7 twist rate. A 77-grain OTM (Open Tipped Match) out of a 20-inch barrel approaches the ballistics of a 150-grain .308 bullet with a MV (Muzzle Velocity) of 2,750 fps. It only delivers about one-third the energy, but it is enough to kill out to 600 yards.
If you have an AR-15, then you’ll probably wear out your 16-inch barrel after 5,000 rounds anyway, so buy an upper with a 20 inch barrel and the 55-grain ball ammunition that is the equivalent of M193 ball will be much more effective as well — even in a barrel with a 1:7 twist rate. The 5.56 NATO M193 was designed for very high velocities that impart significant hydrostatic shock when shot out of a 20-inch barrel with a twist rate of 1:12. It was designed to tumble on impact and eviscerate tissue while creating hydrostatic shock in the process. It works well and this effect was demonstrated by Paul Harrell using his high-tech testing methods. M193 out of 16-inch barrels will often not tumble terminally and travel through tissue doing little damage. That is why the U.S. Army training doctrine advises to double tap. And it advises that on average it will require up to 5 rounds of 5.56NATO M193 to kill. There are plenty of battlefield accounts that will support this conclusion. That is why I would prefer 77 gain OTM’s or better yet 7.62×39 with expanding ammunition or even 7.62 NATO M80 ball.
The Army found that double tapping was necessary as odds are, one round will tumble, but one round will not. If you can not afford the more expensive 75/77 grain ammunition that will be far more effective out of 16-inch or 20-inch barrels, it is still worth it to get a 20-inch barrel in either 1:7 or 1;12 twist. This is becasue a projectile of lower mass requires higher velocities to do their job. If you can not afford to buy a high power centerfire rifle for the purpose fending off marauding gangs of invaders, then an AR-15 with a free-floated 20-inch barrel with a 1:7 twist rate and 75/77 OTM bullets repfresents the least expensive way to acquire a mid- to-long range capability. It can be effective as far as 600 yards. You’ll need a good trigger and a bullet drop compensating scope to complete a long-range package.
I can recommend Arken brand scopes are they are very low-cost yet durable and accurate enough for the job that you can buy two or three to outfit other rifles or to use as spares. Arken scopes are made in China, but were engineered in America. They have their place and several well-respected long-range shooters endorse the scope and one has performed extensive tests. We need not spend more on a scope than we did for a rifle. Yes, avoid the cheap Chinese scopes, and even the quality hunting scopes that are ultra lightweight as these can easily be damaged in the field. Arken scopes are heavily constructed and tough enough to take plenty of abuse in the field. I only make this recommendation as I have spent a great deal of time studying the work of experts. Be sure to read some of the many testimonies of satisfied customers in the comments section of this video: The truth about Arken Optics. EP-5 and SH-4J GII.
Of course, if you can afford to buy better, then get the best and forget the rest and you’ll have confidence in your equipment. I am poor like most senior citizens and have to spend time instead of money and vet my equipment very carefully. Of the more reputable brands are that are well-proven to be reliable and provide a bigger eye box or eye relief are Nightforce and the Sightron. Just because I have a ‘beer budget’ doesn’t mean that I do not have champagne tastes. I once played in an orchestra and ate and drank the finest while living in Europe. Yet now I must be sensible and pragmatic. Tragically, our world has radically changed, forever.
(To be continued tomorrow, in Part 3.)