Originally Posted by
okie
I've not been able to find any evidence supporting the hydrostatic shock hypothesis. Take .22 WMR or .17 HMR for example. Well in excess of 2k fps. Or 5.7mm, which can reach velocities upwards of 2,500 fps. And despite those velocities, we of course know that there's nothing special about them in terms of bringing people down.
By the same token, there are numerous examples of people being shot by centerfire rifles, where the bullet passed within fractions of an inch of super important neurons, like in the heart, and had zero outward effect on the person's ability to aim and return fire.
Obviously the effect is real, and be observed scientifically, it's just not going to bring somebody down at the energy levels we're able to harness in a man portable gun.
You could also make the argument that anything big enough to incapacitate someone via hydrostatic shock is by definition also big enough to just kill them outright from actual direct tissue damage. Like a 20mm or something like that.