![]() In 1964, the M16 entered US military service and the following year was deployed for jungle warfare operations during the Vietnam War. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-round magazine. The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The same type of injuries described above with full metal jacket rounds occur with the use of soft point or hollow point 5.56/.223 rounds, but they happen almost immediately upon impact with the body.See List of Colt AR-15 and M16 rifle variantsĨ.81 lb (4.00 kg) (loaded with 30 rounds and sling) This is augmented by shredding of the lead core.” He states, “a large temporary cavity is formed almost immediately on entering the body. ![]() ![]() He refers to these rounds as “hunting bullets” and reports that they begin to expand or mushroom shortly after entering the body. DiMaio states that “rojectile fragmentation can amplify the effects of the temporary cavity increasing the severity of a wound.”ĭiMaio points out that there are some differences between full metal jacket 5.56/.223 rounds and 5.56/.223 rounds with soft tips or hollow points. Temporary cavity damage from handgun wounds is a non-factor in handgun wound damage.ĭiMaio also comments on another factor not present with handgun rounds, which involves the likelihood of high-velocity rifle rounds breaking up or fragmenting while passing through human tissue. Handgun rounds do little or no damage to the tissue, blood vessels, arteries, organs or bones located outside the permanent cavity. Injuries to blood vessels, nerves, or organs not struck by the bullet, and at a distance from the path can occur.”Įven bones not directly struck by the bullet itself, although rare, can be fractured by the kinetic energy emanating from the bullet’s contact with body tissue. This surrounding tissue is called the temporary wound cavity.ĭiMaio reports that this temporary cavity will have a diameter from 11 to 12.5 times the diameter of the bullet itself.ĭamage to the tissue in the temporary cavity will include “severe…compression, stretching, and shearing of the displaced tissue. Not only is the permanent cavity larger due to the sideways path of the bullet, thereby destroying more tissue through direct bullet contact, but the surrounding tissue, i.e., tissue not directly touched by the bullet, is severely impacted as well. This turning or yaw effect releases tremendous kinetic energy into the tissue surrounding the permanent cavity created by direct bullet contact with human tissue. ![]() Handgun rounds do not yaw while traveling through human tissue. If the bullet remains intact, it will yaw to 180 degrees and continue to travel base first until it comes to rest. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)Īt the point of maximum yaw, the bullet will be turned at a 90-degree angle as it moves forward in the body. James MacGillis fires an M4 rifle at the range Wednesday, Aug. ![]()
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