Capt. JG wrote:



My understanding was that in some respects getting hit by a 22 is worse...
tends to rattle around, bouncing off things and doing a lot of damage, where
a larger caliber goes right through (and doesn't hit something vital of
course). I think I'd prefer to get hit with a bb.


Certainly true enough for the rattling around business. As for the
round penetrating cleanly, well there are a few variables here.

The Geneva Conventions specifically require metal jacketed ammunition
for rifles, just so that non-fatal shots do not tend to mutilate, i.e.,
take an arm or leg off. This does not however apply to smaller weapons,
pistols, and sub-machine guns.

The big pistol rounds tend to be slow moving and dissipate most, if not
all their energy in the target. This is one of the reasons for the US
Army adoption of the .45CAP, look up Moro Natives..... On the other
the German luger of WWII vintage fired a small caliber high velocity
round that made it very ineffective, (stories abound of Nazis lining
Jews up and seeing how many bodies they could shoot through,, on the
whole they are probably just that, stories; probably some truth there
though.

If you must get shot, try a nerf gun.

Cheers
Martin