The magazine: a major cause of bullet fragmentation.

The fragmentation impact of high-velocity bullets penetrating the body after piercing through the magazines carried by soldiers was investigated experimentally. In this study, 16 pigs and 7.62x51-mm full metal jacket bullets were used. Pigs were assigned into two groups, and within 5 minutes of their being sacrificed with overdose anesthesia, bullets were fired into the first group on which magazines were placed and into the second group on which magazines were not placed, targeting abdominal left lower quadrant. It was found that in pigs not carrying magazines, all bullets pierced through the pig; bullets were not fragmented. However, in pigs with magazines, common fragmentation in bullets and multiple organ perforations occurred. It was concluded that magazines caused the bullets to be fragmented, increasing tissue and organ damage.