Muzzle Energy Chart: .30-06 Against 9mm
What This Image Shows
A muzzle-energy comparison chart, pinned on IPFS and credited to @HolonCitizen. It sets the .30-06 against the 9mm: a 180-grain .30-06 at 2,700 feet per second yielding roughly 2,914 foot-pounds, about 3,950 joules, against a 115-grain 9mm at 1,180 feet per second yielding roughly 356 foot-pounds, about 482 joules.
That is roughly an eightfold gap, and it is the quantitative core of the whole energy argument. The claim made from it on .30-06 Energy Mismatch is that a round carrying that much energy does not stop until it has dissipated through tissue and bone, and that a cervical-spine strike would be expected to produce catastrophic channel damage and pronounced exit disruption rather than a restrained neck injury.
The underlying figures are standard published ballistics and are not in dispute. What is disputed is the inference — whether the observed injury is in fact inconsistent with them, which depends on bullet construction, what the round struck, and an autopsy record that has not been released. See .30-06 Energy Mismatch, ATF Fragment Inconclusive, and Autopsy Report Not Public.
Where This Image Appears
This image is used on the following investigation page:
Related Areas
- Cluster: .30-06 Energy Mismatch
- All photo evidence: Photos