From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Mon, 5 Jan 1998 15:42:28 +0800
To: cypherpunks@Algebra.COM
Subject: Sabots
In-Reply-To: <v03102805b0d606fbe3ca@[207.167.93.63]>
Message-ID: <v03102806b0d638ad90a7@[207.167.93.63]>
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At 8:36 PM -0800 1/4/98, Igor Chudov @ home wrote:
>Tim May wrote:
>> Armor-piercing ammo, the common kind, is just steel-core ammo. This is
>> readily available in most calibers, esp. military calibers. (A less common
>> kind is "KTW" handgun ammo, which is under some recent restrictions. And
>> even less common, and almost certainly unavailable to the proles, are
>> "sabot" rounds, some with tungsten cores.)
>
>By the way, I keep hearing about these sabot rounds but do not know
>what they actually are. Could someone please explain. Thank you.

Typically a dense projectile inside an outer projectile. (Sabot in French
means "shoe," the origin of course of "saboteur.") The outer projectile can
fall away, leaving the inner projectile to continue. The physics of this is
explained in ballistics sources.

This allows smaller projectiles to be launched out of larger bores. Thus,
high density projectiles can be launched out of .50 BMG barrels. Or large
tank barrels (as in the M-1 Abrams tank) can fire sabot projectiles.

(For example, smaller projectiles made of depleted uranium, which punch
through tank armor and then become liquid and incendiary on the inside of
the tank, killing all occupants in milliseconds.)

The term "sabot" is sometimes used interchangeably with "slug," espeically
with respect to shotguns.

It is also possible to use sabots to build a "two-stage" bullet, with a
smaller round firing from inside a sabot. 6000 fps velocities have been
reported. Or so I read.

As always, using the Web is the way to get such answers quickly. A DejaNews
search on "rec.guns  sabot" will turn up many interesting threads.
Especially the older data base.

>> (There is little need for this, for even folks like us. We are not likely
>> to want to disable fleeing vehicles, etc. And even conventional lead-core
>> rifle rounds will cut through body armor easily, which is all I care about.)
>
>Many people underestimate the power of most rifles.

Yep. Every rifle caliber other than .22 LR will penetrate ballistic vests.
Even with a vest rated to stop a .44 Magnum round, from a handgun, the
extra speed from a 16-inch carbine barrel is enough to defeat these vests.

(I have a handy little carbine, the Winchester Trapper, in .44 Magnum. Not
as much punch as an AR-15, but mighty handy.)

More and more "home invaders" (*) are wearing Kevlar body armor, so bear
this in mind.

(* Home invaders are usually gangs of several thieves who enter a home in
force, sometimes by kidnapping the owner and forcing him to let them in,
sometimes just by breaking down the doors. They tend to terrorize the
occupants, tie them up, rape the women, and then, increasingly, kill all
the occupants so as to leave no witnesses. And for "kicks." Of course,
liberals and gun grabbers would have us believe that it is not proper for
homeowners to have guns to defend themselves, that it is for the police to
respond to burglaries. People who think this way are delusional. And if
they go beyond their delusions and attempt to disarm homeowners forcibly,
they ought to be taken out and shot.)

--Tim May




--Tim May


The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
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Higher Power: 2^2,976,221   | black markets, collapse of governments.
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