Thought this might help put a few things into perspective for the gun ban crowd if any of them actually wanted to learn something rather than keep spouting off nonsense about "high-powered assault weapons". Keep in mind this is not a comprehensive list, just the rounds I currently have a use for in the single projectile department. I didn't want to include shotguns cause that is a whole different area of lethality when you start delving into multiple projectiles.
Scale runs left to right from least powerful to most powerful. Included notes are for each individual round and the particular round pictured. I divided the rounds pictured into groups from Plated Lead hollow point to Jacketed Soft Point. Also, summary of typical use and/or lineage for common rounds of that caliber, though not necessarily the specific one pictured. All this is simply to show what some people think is so, really isn't. Anyone that has spent as much time around firearms as I have will know most of this on an almost instinctual level. This is more for debunking the ones that keep crying for regulations on that which they have absolutely no clue about beyond what CNN told them to believe. Once again, from left to right, are least to most powerful, and this is just a few of the rounds used by my collection.
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Data below here will reflect the max effective range of different rounds. All this is from my own knowledge and having been around and using firearms nearly my entire life. If you want exacting data you can look it up. This is to show the maximum range that a typical shooter could hit before round becomes unpredictable due to external influences. And, aiming for "center of mass" meaning high probability of hit in vital area (upper torso/vital organs) rather than a certain Minute Of Angle point of aim to point of impact measurement. Using common weapon types in common usage by civilians not military. Using that particular type of firearm under ideal circumstances, (under no stress and bench rest firing rather than prone/standing). None of this is to show what truly exceptional marksmen are capable of (unless noted), so I don't want to hear about how your Uncle once killed a 20 point buck with a .22 short at ZOMG!!! yds. Hopefully we can do away with the common myth that so called "high-powered assault weapons" are neither particularly high powered nor particularly more lethal by comparison to other common rounds. These should be fairly accurate as most are commonly used and known in the firearms community (if any actual experts wish to comment on inaccuracies then please by all means do so because I love learning). The majority of the rounds are used heavily across a broad range of instances. With the probable exception of the 7.65mm ARG. That data is based off what I've learned over the last 15 odd years studying the history of, and using that particular rifle with modern ammunition. (Rifle noted in picture above). Either way max range is still a good indicator of exactly how much power is behind a given projectile without getting into the archaic formula of bullet weights/shapes/tissue reaction to projectiles at different speeds/whether or not your personal goblin is hopped up on PCP, so on and so forth. This is just a rough guideline for showing the base power of one typical cartridge to another. I may expand on this later when I have more time though.
Maximum ranges: estimates for simplicity's sake.
.22LR
Handgun: 35-50yds (depends on barrel length)
Rifle: 150yds (the .22 LR looses power dramatically after this point unless using high end high-velocity rounds which can extend the range to 200 or even 250 yds on a good day.)
9mm/.45ACP
Handgun: 45-50yds (depends on barrel length)
.223 Remington/5.56mm NATO
Semi-Auto rifle: 500yds
Bolt-Action rifle: 700yds
.30-30 Winchester/7.62x51mm Rimmed
Lever action rifle: 500yds
7.65mm Argentine
Bolt-Action rifle: 1000yds
.30-06 Springfield
Semi-Auto rifle: 800yds (M1 Garand, with a well trained rifleman can be up to 1000yds.)
Bolt-Action rifle: 1000yds (Remington 700 and other common hunting rifles. With a typical hunting load, 1000yds is stretching the ability of the rifle itself without getting into exotic and truly varied specialty loads. However, the younger brother of this cartridge and rifle platform, the .308WIN/7.62x51mm NATO and a well practiced shooter, range can go as high as 1500yds.)
That covers about all that I can at this point without delving truly deep into the internet in search of the finer parts. Just trying to get a small point across, not give a lecture of why, when, where, and/or how long a certain bullet will do what. The internet is your friend if you want to know the particulars of: wound ballistics, the effects of different bullet shapes on aerodynamics, bullet types, powders, primers, case wall thickness, the ream that sized the chamber of the rifle...yada, yada, yada. There are thousands of different variables to this stuff. I've spent years accumulating what I've spread before you over the four or so hours it's taken me to write this and I'm a rank amateur compared to many others. Like I said, if you want to learn the internet is your friend, spend enough time doing research and bouncing back and forth from one data set to another and you'll learn it just takes time. Refusal to do anything and just spouting off the latest talking points because it is so much easier, well, that just makes you an asshat. But, then again, if everyone bothered to get educated on the matter we'd all be gunnies and I wouldn't have needed to spend my time writing this, when I should have been sleeping so I can get up and go do my job tonight.
