Tempus

Last night, I watched a Mythbusters episode where they were testing whether swimming under water would protect someone from being shot, as we usually see in the movies.

If you ever get a chance to see the episode, I highly recommend it.

In any event, I was amazed to see that high-powered rifles actually had little effect when fired into water. For example, a person just a few feet under the water would not be harmed by a .50 caliber rifle shot into the water! The bullet just disintegrates when it enters the water. Meanwhile, lower powered pistols and such would actually penetrate up to 8 feet of water.

Anyway, it was interesting to see. I'm still shaking my head about the high-powered rifles being essentially useless when fired into water.

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leejo

To a high powered bullet, hitting water is just like hitting concrete. Dive off a diving board. Now jump off the Golden Gate bridge. Now compare and contrast.

Seriously that is interesting. I've read that a sandbag will stop most bullets but an arrow will penetrate with ease. Same thing I guess.

Trooper

that was awesome!...i watched that episode also and it was just nuts to see the 223 and the 30cal and the 50cal just explode into tiny peices when they hit the water...

so the moral of the story is if some one with a pistol is chaseing you dont jump into the water...but if someone with a rifle is...find the nearest pool or lake!

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TEMM

Rounds fired into water from a high powered rifle would disintegrate because they are travelling fast enough that the water behaves more like a solid on impact than a liquid. The lower speed of the pistol rounds would likely be slow enough to allow them to break the surface of the water without shattering the round.

Lagomorph

Yeah, you can rationalize getting a pool out back as self defense from all those heavily armed roving militia in your neighborhood. ;P

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Turbo

Did they test how it is effected if it is shot from under the water? Most handguns can be fired under the water.

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Wyzcrak

Good question!

Green dot.

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TEMM

probably wouldnt matter considering it was the handguns that could penetrate the surface of water.

[edit 1]
Ok so i checked, and the glock is one of only a few pistols that can fire reliably under water without modifications. Even the glock needs factory supplied mods to be safe to use underwater, and even then you need to follow specific firing guidelines. A faq on glocks stated that most pistols will fire once underwater but the water usually prevents subsequent rounds from being loaded into the chamber.

[edit 2]

The marinized Glock 17 is primarily for use by various Special Warfare units operating in aquatic environments. At least one specialized Scuba diving group regularly uses G17's to dispatch sharks where they dive. The Glock 17 using NATO specification ball ammunition will completely penetrate a minimum of one 1/2" pine board at a distance of ten feet from the muzzle when fired underwater.

4est

A projectile trying to push water out of a barrel is a BAD BAD thing.

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TEMM

The glock faq said to make sure the barrel is completely full of water before firing. probably because alternating areas of water and air would be hindered by different behaviours. They also said you cant use hollow point or high velocity rounds because they can fragment or just plane cause the gun to explode upon firing.

DudeMan

yes, i guess its the speed of the projectile and the density of the water.... if you jumped off the golden gate bridge it would be like hitting concrete... that has always been dificult to fathom... but even at home put your hand in water palm side down, then slap your hand in the water... apart from making a mess your hand will sting.

strange....

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Wintermute

It's not strange it's physics. Liquids have surface tension. This is what makes them form droplets rather than spreading out evenly and thinly (i.e. finding the lowest level). You can break the surface tension e.g. when you burst a soap bubble. The surface tension does not occur below the surface (obviously).

If you apply a force to a wall, it will apply an equal and opposite force to you. Newton said this. If you don't believe him, slap a wall and see if it hurts. Slap it harder and it hurts more. Slap it hard enough and the reaction force will break your hand.

Similarly, the surface of water will apply an equal and opposite force to something which hits it. If a bullet hits hard enough, the reaction will damage the bullet.

This is not a complete explanation. I have some questions which I am going to have to answer to satisfy my curiosity. Some research is required....

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CingularDuality

I don't know that surface tension is the reason that some bullets are able to penetrate water more or less than others.

I think it has more to do with ballistics. For the same reason that some calibers are more appropriate for home defense than others, too. Some calibers (.223/5.56) use light bullets that travel fast in order to be accurate at long ranges. Hitting anything will quickly take energy away from such a light bullet. Some calibers (.45ACP) use big fat bullets that travel slow, but due to their weight, are able to keep their energy (momentum) better in some conditions.

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4est

I would think it mainly has to do with the density of the water. The projectile undergoes an extreme change in the density of the media in which it is traveling. This translates into massive deceleration with which the projectile cannot cope. As the water slows the leading edges, the rear mass is attempting to still travel at the same speed. It is much like a car wreck with a body slamming into the steering wheel.

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