Thursday, February 16, 2006

Ballistics and the Cheney Lies

I'm still looking for ballistics information specific to 28 gauge shotguns and the loads Cheney was using. I don't buy that 30-yard range bullshit, but that's just because we're dealing with a congenital liar. I'd like some hard data on the penetration capability of birdshot from a 28 gauge at 30 yards.

In the meantime, here's a very interesting webpage for your examination.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If Cheney was using 7.5 shot size in his 28 gauge, as I recall hearing: There would be 350 lead pellets per ounce in that shot size, and a Winchester 28 gauge High Brass Game Load holds a full ounce, but other brands may hold only 3/4 ounce. So, Dick is launching lead projectiles, each .095 inches in diameter (2.41 mm) 260 to 350 at a time. They leave the muzzle at 1205 feet per second. Interestingly, effective quail-killing range is considered to be 20-30 yards for this cartridge. I repeat, QUAIL-KILLING RANGE stops just SHY of 30 yards. So,which is a softer target: a bird about the size of a roll of toilet paper, or a Republican lawyer, presumably garbed in manly outdoor gear? To paraphrase, Vice-Presidential results may vary. Apparently.

Olaf said...

Data Dude,
Thanks for the data. Isn't it strange that the doctors won't say whether Whittington got 6 or 200 pellets in him? Wouldn't a simple X-ray reveal that? I'm inclined to believe that the shooting was much closer simply by the tightness of the pattern combined with the depth of his wounds. Piercing the chest wall to the heart is a pretty hefty stab. How fast would a pellet weighing 1/350 of an ounce have to be moving to puncture several inches of ballistics gel?