Many people may not know this about the AR15.

[Adrahil]

48. Hey, Mr. Expert.....

Did you know.....

That the M193 bullet was NOT designed to "tumble?"

The bullet's lethality varies with velocity and medium. At the right velocity, the bullet becomes unstable in flesh and the bullet "tumbles" and is ripped apart under its own internal forces, causing massive damage.

The travel distance it takes to do this varies a lot. That why some people survive hits with very little damage (the bullet passes through without tumbling) and some suffer devastating wounds from a single hit.

It wasn't until the early 2000's that ballsitics experts working for the Navy really figures this out. They were seeking a bullet design for use by the SEALS until that was more consistently lethal. They came up with one.

.223/5.56 ammo can be designed for hunting. It is softpoint ammo (usually designed for use in a bolt action rifle, and it is more consistently lethal than M195 or M885 ammo because the military is limited to Full Metal Jack ammo by the Hague conventions.

There is also "ballistic tip" hollow point ammo designed for hunting using a Semi-auto rifle. It, too, is more consistently lethal than standard M193 or M855 ammo.

This is the AMMUNITION, not the design of the gun which we are talking about here.

The lethality of the AR-15 has to do with how much ammo it can put down range in a very short period of time. Any centerfire rifle cartridge is going to do horrible things to the human body, but especially ammo designed for hunting, since the purpose of hunting ammo is to kill animals.

I'm for limiting access to these dangerous machines. But let's not talk mess-tent nonsense.