From:	"Fakereszt (Endreffy Janos)" <ayes@****.SCH.BME.HU>
Subject:	Re: Knock Back
Date:	Sun, 9 Apr 1995 05:57:22 +0200

On Sat, 8 Apr 1995, Damion Milliken wrote:

> would have knocked over the firer because of the action-reaction thing. Not
> being a gun nut myself, I can't really argue with you about it, but I'd say
> there was more to it than just that, since it seems to me that people who
> get shot tend to fall over/go flying, while those who fired the weapon
> usually do not.
>

Well, you're quite right about that. Newton's 3. law works, of course, but
when firing a weapon, the counter-impulse (or RECOIL) is dissipated over
many places:
Every form of recoil compensation you outfit on that gun:
-gas-vent (this is a strange thing, though: if you let the gases
away, the bullet will gain less impulse...lower muzzle velocity...
lower effective range...)
-a bipod or tripod, which gives the impulse to Mother Earth (to see
if She can cope with that...)
-your body, of course, mainly your hand/shoulder/hip (depends on
what type of gun you use)
- etc etc

This means YOU don't take all the counter-impulse, when firing a gun. So
you remain standing (maybe not, buy very likely) - let's see what the target
does right now...


The bullet has only one concern before hitting its target(assuming the
shooter's aim was precise): air resistance. After rocketing thru the air,
it hits with every remaining bit of impulse.
So the target is knocked back a bit/a lot, it depends [on a whole lot of
things]. BANG BANG you're not only dead, but knocked to the ground...:(

Wooden Cross

Ad: "Don't shoot - killing people is not nice."