<XMP><BODY></xmp> Duplex Police ammo




        Was chatting with a friend about the idea of a .410 SMG and the discussion took a few interesting branches.
         While I considered a few of the things that had come up I remembered that old adage -"don't improve the gun, improve the round!"
        I also remembered another CQB weapon I'd sketched years ago -a short barreled assault rifle in 7.62mm Apache chambering (7.62x45mm) that used a duplex round -the front bullet being like a THV and the rear like a reversed HBWC.
        A while back a member of the Weapons list sent me a paper comparing SMG fired pistol rounds with 223s for police use. The author concluded that 223 bullets were far more effective than pistol rounds. A more surprising finding was that two types of 223 rifle rounds were less likely to penetrate interior walls than pistol or shotgun loadings. He recommended that 223s were preferable to shotguns and pistol calibre SMGs for police use if using these loadings. One factor that was not so convincing was his argument that the much greater range of the 223 wasn't a problem -a stray shot is going to travel at least 5 times further than a pistol round.

        All the above ideas gelled together and made me suddenly realize that I'd never seen any discussion of 223 duplex rounds for police use.
        Duplex rounds were used in Viet Nam and one of the ACR contenders (Colt's, I think) was offered with duplex rounds for close combat.
        Firstly, the bullets of the duplex are lighter than a standard 223 and of a less optimal diameter to length ratio -so can be expected to lose energy faster and have less range. Being police rounds these can also be broad hollow points rather than aerodynamic spitzers, so this will also contribute to down range safety.
        I'm guessing that being hit simultaneously by two relatively light bullets at close range will have greater stopping power than being hit by a single heavier one. There are duplex 38spl loads that supposably hit like a 45.
        Dumping energy into the target is only a secondary stopping power factor, however -the main ones are penetration to reach the vital organs (ie the CNS) and tissue destruction while doing this. Any police duplex 223 will need to be tested to establish that it meets these requirements at likely ranges of engagement.

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