"High Powered Rifles"

[Valjean]

What are these High Powered Rifles?

Every time I hear of another mass shooting it seems to involve one of these infamous "high powered" rifles.
What makes them high powered? How is this power measured? Is it the rifle that's high powered, or the rounds?
At what point does a low or medium powered rifle become high powered?
And what about those even scarier "military grade" arms?

No-one seems interested in anything substantive about these arms unless it involves a scaryness factor. Is anyone else annoyed by this media hype?

Rant over.

 

[Sanzbir]

Vagueness, in all politics, is more valuable in the field of politics than specificity. If you say something specific, someone can show you are wrong. If you say something vague, you can always insist that "that's not what I meant" when challenged.

 

[sun rise]

The media, left and right, hypes everything to drive 'eyeballs' to advertising. Guns are no different.

 

[metis]

There are no specific guidelines as to what would constitute "high powered rifles" since this is a relative term, but there are some rifles that can shoot through some pretty thick walls with enough power to still kill someone on the other side. It's a combination of the muzzle velocity and the type of bullet used, according to what I've read, but I'm really not too knowledgeable on this, so I'll let some others chime in who know more.

 

[David1967]

What are these High Powered Rifles?

Every time I hear of another mass shooting it seems to involve one of these infamous "high powered" rifles.
What makes them high powered? How is this power measured? Is it the rifle that's high powered, or the rounds?
At what point does a low or medium powered rifle become high powered?
And what about those even scarier "military grade" arms?

No-one seems interested in anything substantive about these arms unless it involves a scaryness factor. Is anyone else annoyed by this media hype?

Rant over.

Not so much to do with power. Your typical bolt action hunting rifle is more powerful. This has to do with the number of rounds the magazine holds and the rate of speed a person can discharge the rounds.

 

[Flame]

When I think high powered, I think of my Gewehr 98 in 8mm. A large grain bullet with enough powder to fire it.

 

[Father Heathen]

I'm no enthusiast or expert, but I believe that it's the rounds that make it 'high powered':

AR15's, such as those used in the Vegas shooting, use 5.56x45mm and/or .223, depending on maker and model.

 

[David1967]

I'm no enthusiast or expert, but I believe that it's the rounds that make it 'high powered':

Its quantity verses quality basically.

 

[Stanyon]

The want to create a more powerful, farther reaching projectile has been around since the beginning of missle throwing devices, got a spear, try an atlatl, got a bow try a crossbow or compound. In this case we are talking about firearms and the thinking is no different, one of the more renowned advancements in the black powder era was the Indian torador matchlock which was different in one very distinct way from other firearms of the time and that is that it had an enlarged powder chamber. The powder chamber did not allow the bullet to seat directly on the powder charge allowing oxygen to create more pressure and resulted in increased range and accuracy which is interesting to me because all rules of safe muzzleloading for years have been that the projectile should be firmly seated on the powder charge, the concave bottom of a minie ball may also be a factor in it's power and accuracy besides just the flaring and gripping of the rifling of the barrel.

Of course modern powders are very different but this video specifically from 3:10- 4:25 gives an idea of early successful attempts at creating a more high powered weapon within the limitations of the technology of the time.

 

[Enoch07]

I'm no enthusiast or expert, but I believe that it's the rounds that make it 'high powered':

AR15's, such as those used in the Vegas shooting, use 5.56x45mm and/or .223, depending on maker and model.

That picture is off a good bit.

From left to right it should be.

.22LR, .380, 9mm, 38 special, 40 S&W, 10mm, .357 magnum, .45 acp, 5.7x28, .30 carbine, 5.56/.223. 7.62x39, 30-06, 300 blackout, .308, 7.62x54, 12 gauge slug, .50 bmg.

AR-15 is borderline high powered rifle, as the projectile itself is only .223 which is not much different than the .22LR, just with a different shape and a lot more powder behind it. I would not call it a high powered rifle. Fairly accurate but not a ton of stopping power.

You don't really get into stopping power until you reach the .30 caliber/7.62×39+ range rifle bullets that have a good size projectile and a lot of power. Which is the AR-10's/AK-47's and their variants. After that you get into long range bolt action or semi-auto "sniper" rifles, with the .300 blackout/.308 and up.

 

[Revoltingest]

What are these High Powered Rifles?

Every time I hear of another mass shooting it seems to involve one of these infamous "high powered" rifles.
What makes them high powered? How is this power measured? Is it the rifle that's high powered, or the rounds?
At what point does a low or medium powered rifle become high powered?
And what about those even scarier "military grade" arms?

No-one seems interested in anything substantive about these arms unless it involves a scaryness factor. Is anyone else annoyed by this media hype?

Rant over.

Here is a common view in target competition......
22LR (a rimfire caliber) is called "small bore".
A centerfire rifle caliber (inserted primer) is called "high power", eg, 308 Winchester, 5.56 NATO

Note that there are far more powerful rounds, eg, 460 Weatherby, 50 BMG.

 

[Kemosloby]

High power is any typical deer rifle. It just so happens deer are about the same size as humans, the normal everyday military round is about the same size.

 

[DavidFirth]

Not so much to do with power. Your typical bolt action hunting rifle is more powerful. This has to do with the number of rounds the magazine holds and the rate of speed a person can discharge the rounds.

This is a good post. The accuracy of the weapon is not important unless the shooter is relatively far away from the targets. A simple scope can make anyone who has good vision a very dangerous gunman.

 

[Revoltingest]

Not so much to do with power. Your typical bolt action hunting rifle is more powerful. This has to do with the number of rounds the magazine holds and the rate of speed a person can discharge the rounds.

In "high power" competition, & even hunting, many such rifles are single shot.
I like single shot rifles....there's a different feeling to having no quick follow up shot.
And the actions are elegant, eg, rolling block, falling block, Martini.

 

[Thief]

how about ...supersonic
if it's faster than sound......it's on the high side

 

[Mindmaster]

What are these High Powered Rifles?

Every time I hear of another mass shooting it seems to involve one of these infamous "high powered" rifles.
What makes them high powered? How is this power measured? Is it the rifle that's high powered, or the rounds?
At what point does a low or medium powered rifle become high powered?
And what about those even scarier "military grade" arms?

No-one seems interested in anything substantive about these arms unless it involves a scaryness factor. Is anyone else annoyed by this media hype?

Rant over.

Apparently, all it has to do is have a folding stock or a muzzle brake to be "high powered" despite the fact that AR-15 shoots a pretty damn small bullet. (50-80 grain) Most pistols in common use, for example, would shoot a 90(9mm/.380)-250 (.45) grain bullet... Just for comparison... None of these factors help the weapon "do more damage".

I'd be far more worried about .308+ who have "all that powder" and a heavy round, but they do not typically look like what people call assault rifles. (These are powerful enough to blow the head off big game...) Anyway, the damage a rifle can do is the sum total of the amount of powder the cartridge can hold and the weight of the bullet which is fired from that. The firearm itself nearly influences nothing of this other than via it's barrel length. (Long barrels will typically impart more force, in ft/lbs than shorter weapons...)

To give you some idea what these forces are, and how the sizes affect them you might want to visit BBTI - Ballistics by the Inch :: Home. That site basically will let you see how much muzzle energy certain rounds/barrel combinations yield. How's that for substance? I think numbers are far more important than fear mongering...

 

[Revoltingest]

Apparently, all it has to do is have a folding stock or a muzzle brake to be "high powered" despite the fact that AR-15 shoots a pretty damn small bullet. (50-80 grain) Most pistols in common use, for example, would shoot a 90(9mm/.380)-250 (.45) grain bullet... Just for comparison... None of these factors help the weapon "do more damage".

The AR-15 is used in "high power" competition.
The 5.56 NATO, being center fire & relatively hi velocity, qualifies.
But it's also nicknamed a "mouse gun" by competitors using 308, 30-06 & 300WM.

 

[Daemon Sophic]

The dictionary definition is that it is capable of killing “large game, such as a deer”.
The rate of fire (i.e. shots per minute) is not part of the high-power definition. A fully automatic military rifle, as well as a single shot bolt action weapon can be “high-power”.
While you can kill a deer with a simple .22, it would have to be a really well placed shot. A non-grazing hit from a .223 on any portion of the deer from pelvis to head is likely to stop it in its tracks. So mass or diameter of the bullet is not that important. Remember your physics. F=ma
So muzzle exit velocity is practically all-important to the damage that a round can inflict. This is produced by the powder charge behind the slug, as well as the barrel length, allowing more time to accelerate the slug before exit (which is why so few pistols can achieve even a fraction of the damage a rifle can inflict).
Supersonic is definitely high-powered, but many sub-sonic rounds should also be considered as “high-powered”.

Personally, I would say that if it can create a large cavity in the ballistic gel, or create a good “snowstorm” of fragments from the slug, then it’s “high-powered”.

 

[Twilight Hue]

The media, left and right, hypes everything to drive 'eyeballs' to advertising. Guns are no different.

Yeah the more controversial and sensational the story comes as, the better it is.

 

[Mindmaster]

The AR-15 is used in "high power" competition.
The 5.56 NATO, being center fire & relatively hi velocity, qualifies.
But it's also nicknamed a "mouse gun" by competitors using 308, 30-06 & 300WM.

The .223 round is specifically used because of it's wound-no-kill potential in combat. It's always seen advantageous to force your enemies to nurse wounded personnel to keep their resources trickling away. It's only adequate to destroy small game...

Velocity is high, but power is low - at least compared to other rounds. Which if you have any military friends, they certainly love, being that it won't go through a car door in many cases.