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<blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 3650813" data-attributes="member: 1645">This piece on <a href="http://www.strategypage.com/cic/reader.asp?target=CIC02" target="_blank">Infantry Missile Weapons in the Renaissance</a> is instructive -- even though it has a significant error in it.An early matchlock firearm, an arquebus, shot a 45-gram projectile at 300 meters per second.&nbsp; (The article drops a zero and says 30 m/s, which is just 60 mph.)A crossbow might shoot a 125-gram bolt at 45 m/s.Thus the arquebus round has almost two-and-a-half times the momentum of the crossbow bolt -- which sounds impressive untile you realize that a modern <a href="http://willscommonplacebook.blogspot.com/2006/09/swords-and-thrown-spears.html" target="_blank">800-gram javelin can be thrown at 70 mph</a> (about 35 m/s), for about twice the momentum of that lead ball.So a gunshot should be able to knock someone over about as well as a javelin, if we're generous.&nbsp; The real difference is that the small, fast bullet has much more kinetic energy than slower weapons, so it has more destructive power.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="mmadsen, post: 3650813, member: 1645"] This piece on [url=http://www.strategypage.com/cic/reader.asp?target=CIC02]Infantry Missile Weapons in the Renaissance[/url] is instructive -- even though it has a significant error in it. An early matchlock firearm, an [i]arquebus[/i], shot a 45-gram projectile at 300 meters per second. (The article drops a zero and says 30 m/s, which is just 60 mph.) A crossbow might shoot a 125-gram bolt at 45 m/s. Thus the arquebus round has almost two-and-a-half times the momentum of the crossbow bolt -- which sounds impressive untile you realize that a modern [url=http://willscommonplacebook.blogspot.com/2006/09/swords-and-thrown-spears.html]800-gram javelin can be thrown at 70 mph[/url] (about 35 m/s), for about twice the momentum of that lead ball. So a gunshot should be able to knock someone over about as well as a javelin, if we're generous. The real difference is that the small, fast bullet has much more [i]kinetic energy[/i] than slower weapons, so it has more destructive power. [/QUOTE]

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