Defence Weapons Lethal non-gun

[Timelord]

Black powder in rifle and pistol calibre was still being used up to and even in WW1 - so that is not that long ago and yes it was effective enough at boring holes through soft tissue. Wind it back another hundred years and it was effective doing the same job but with slightly less reliable ignition systems and using much larger calibre soft lead balls. Please take note of this info - It is not necessary to have a massive fps or muzzle velocity to achieve the objective. Large calibre slow moving projectiles can be even more devastating with horrific results. They don't just bore through or do the hydro static shock effect (which they don't being subsonic, nor do they need to as they are not small projectiles) but the sheer mass impact and resultant unstable shearing/shrapnel effect of the soft lead projectile can remove whole parts of the target and the shearing lead pieces do horrific damage. that is another reason why battlefield surgeons of the day became adept at removing limbs (yes there are other reasons too) but it is a significant reason due to the level of injuries sustained. The military is experimenting with large calibre slower moving projectiles once more, as they have some interesting impact characteristics.
Often there is talk about Black powder (or one of the many equivalent modern substitutes) being ineffective or too bulky to fit in cases or that the guns are horribly inaccurate. This not particularly correct and is missing the point slightly. Obviously BP stuff is not going to be as efficient or utilitarian as modern nitro cellular propellants etc and the hardware has decades and centuries of development - but do not write off the old stuff as it was pretty useful back then. Looking at it with modern eyes and little knowledge of the subject does lead to biased conclusions. I suggest that old BP type weapons (or equivalent) might actually have a resurgence if we end up in a state where our modern capabilities to run the modern gear is diminished. Firstly, it would have to be pretty bad for humankind to forget or to not strive to produce effective nitro weapons at the earliest possible opportunity. If it was a scenario bad enough to rule this level of tech out, then maybe BP tech weapons would be the next back up tech level that humankind would strive for. Across a broad spectrum of possibilities, I find it hard to believe that we would not pursue these tried and tested old tech weapon systems. Even some of the modern gear can be retro-engineered to use old tech propellants. A steel tube, blocked at one end and with a hole in it to ignite a propellant is an ancient idea and not one likely to be forgotten easily. The knowledge of this subject is cast far and wide throughout humanity and is not any longer the preserve of the powerful few. To put it succinctly, "the genie is out of the bottle" & it aint going back in....cause the bottle has been lost in time. This may have some bearing on prep like considerations. :-)