From:	Tarek Okail Tarek_Okail@**********.com
Subject:	Minimum strength requirements for firearms
Date:	Fri, 20 Aug 1999 04:55:06 -0400

Dennis--

>I was under the impression that everything short of a bazooka
>would fire like the .22,...boy was I wrong.

Well, technically, even the main gun of a tank shoots like
a .22... but I know what you mean. <g>
Still, there should not be minimum strength requirements for
a handgun or rifle of any kind. None of these guns will "knock you on
your keister" for any reason, unless you happen to have really weak
knees and a really bad sense of balance.
"Knockdown" occurs at the other end when someone gets hit, and
is entirely a muscular reaction to getting shot, and not due to the
energy of the bullet. I've seen someone wearing a bullet-resistant vest
stand ten feet away from a PSG-1 and get shot several times; he stood
upright the whole time and never even staggered. He wasn't a big guy;
he stood about 5'8" and he wasn't particularily muscular, either. If
getting hit at point-blank range by a rifle bullet didn't knock this
guy over, then I doubt shooting a handgun would do the trick.
Now, if someone has weak hands and wrists and no experience in
shooting pistols, I could see him losing control of the firearm and
letting the recoil flip the firearm out of his hands. But if I can
hold onto a snub-nose .44 Magnum while shooting, I see no reason why
anyone else in moderatly good health wouldn't be able to do the same.

Shadowmage