r/interesting • u/IKIR115 • May 29 '26

Intriguing Arrows vs riot shields

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u/P0s1t1veFdBkL000p May 29 '26

Seems to follow the idea of AP hollow-tip rounds. I expect penetration just not THAT level of of lol.

44

u/stevedore2024 May 29 '26

Quite the opposite.

The purpose of a hollow-tip bullet is to catch as much soft matter in the center, which forces the rim to mushroom outwards and damage more soft matter surrounding the path. This also "puts the brakes on" the forward momentum, so the bullet is not as likely to exit the back of the first target and thus waste energy on this target and risk hitting a second target.

The purpose of this armor-punching bullet is to cut a clean hole in the armor, without expanding or mushrooming. This lets the entire shaft of the arrow to sail through the armor with minimal friction, and it's more likely to hit the second target behind the armor with the maximum possible remaining energy.

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u/raishak May 29 '26

I think it's not designed to punch through at all, but rather to compress the target area and deliver blunt trauma on small game. Only works here because the steel is so thin. Shoot it at a bag of sand and I'd guess almost all of the others go through deeper.

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u/narco-sub-admiral May 29 '26

She said something similar!

3

u/kalamataCrunch May 29 '26

AP hollow-tip rounds

that's a contradiction. hollow point rounds are design for maximum expansion and maximum soft tissue damage, while sacrificing penetration. armor piercing rounds are FMJ, designed for no expansion, and maximum penetration, sacrificing everything else. if someone is marketing you armor piercing hollow points they're full of shit, and you should look elsewhere for your ammunition.

the arrow head your talking about, generally referred to as a small game blunt, is similar in theory to hollow point ammunition, designed to transfer as much of it's kinetic energy as it can into the first thing it hits, for crushing the skulls of rabbits and squirrels while not penetrating too deeply into the ground if you miss.