Maximum range

T

TXAZ

New member
I noticed on the box of .22 LR's it stated "Maximum Range 1 Mile".
Did I find that elusive round the U.S. military was looking for that was lightweight and long range?

Don't think so. I expect that range is when the round is fires at a 45 degree elevation, and there is no consideration when the round goes subsonic or tumbles.

If a .22 LR will actually travel 1 round, any idea how to calculate how far would larger rounds, 30.06, .50 BMG or others actually travel?
 
any idea how to calculate how far would larger rounds, 30.06, .50 BMG or others actually travel?
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I'm sure you can find the max range for various loads with an internet search, but those are "absolute" distances, and not "effective" distances.

Generally they are for projectiles fired at a 30 to 40 degree angle

The load you looked at must be a lower velocity load, because some say
" 1.5 miles"

This site explains some of what you want to know:
http://www.exteriorballistics.com/ebexplained/5th/36.cfm
 
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.30-06 1906 and M2 150 gr flatbase spitzers absolute maximum falling out of the sky range is about 3500 yards. Two miles.
.30-06 M1 173 gr boattail utter maximum about 5400 yards.
Machine gun and company barrage rifle fire up to 2500 yards was Army doctrine for a while.
 
According to Sierra Bullets' software, their 30 caliber 175-gr. HPMK leaving a .30-06 at 2700 fps with the bore angled up about 34 degrees at sea level and temperature at 80 deg. F, it'll go 5,828 yards maximum range.

At 100 yards, it's over 164 feet above the line of sight.

It's high point is at about 3770 yards when it's 4,313 feet above the line of sight.

At about 5,495 yards, it's at the slowest to 520 fps then speeds up to 522 fps at maximum range.

Time of flight's about 32 seconds, drift for a 1 mph crosswind's 448 inches.

Angle of fall's about 65 degrees.

The oft times though that 45 degrees is the angle for maximum range, I think that only applies on the moon in a vacuum. On earth at sea level, most projectiles and bullets get maximum range launched at angles in the 30 to 40 degree range.
 
I read it happened long ago in China, a man was shot and seriously wounded by a .22 bullet when he was lining up at a ferry pier. The bullet seemed coming from nowhere. It turned out a high school's rifle club was doing target practice in an empty lot on a hill top several kilometers away. Hill was several hundreds of meters tall.

Literally without vertical limit, the bullet can travel insane distance, and still be able to wound or kill. That's why a positive backdrop is mandatory for safety.

-TL
 
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As has been stated they can travel several miles. It is not at all unusual to hear of people being injured or killed by celebratory gunfire in holidays such as last night. A girl was hit in the leg by a stray bullet fired in Atlanta several years ago at midnight new years eve while sitting inside the Georgia Dome watching the Peach Bowl. The bullet could have come from quite a ways off.

Another Ohio girl was killed a couple of years ago by a guy who chose to unload his muzzle loader by firing it into the air. Was well over a mile away.

http://content.usatoday.com/communi...-death-ruled-a-homcide-in-ohio/1#.VKVKzXtKV_g

Google "celebratory gunfire" for dozens of examples.
 
Bart eloquently stated:
According to Sierra Bullets' software, their 30 caliber 175-gr. HPMK leaving a .30-06 at 2700 fps with the bore angled up about 34 degrees at sea level and temperature at 80 deg. F, it'll go 5,828 yards maximum range.

At 100 yards, it's over 164 feet above the line of sight.

It's high point is at about 3770 yards when it's 4,313 feet above the line of sight.

At about 5,495 yards, it's at the slowest to 520 fps then speeds up to 522 fps at maximum range.

Time of flight's about 32 seconds, drift for a 1 mph crosswind's 448 inches.

Angle of fall's about 65 degrees.

The oft times though that 45 degrees is the angle for maximum range, I think that only applies on the moon in a vacuum. On earth at sea level, most projectiles and bullets get maximum range launched at angles in the 30 to 40 degree range.
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Wow Bart, that's exactly (plus a bunch) of what I was looking for.
Thanks. Where can I get / try that software?
 
Sierra's software can be ordered direct from them:

https://www.sierrabullets.com/products/infinity-software/index.cfm

You'll need to enter a sight height of zero to get the best results. When you enter maximum range for calculations, if it's greater than the maximum range the bullet can travel, the bullet's maximum range will be listed to the exact yard, then enter that distance for the software to calculate data for. Then you can calculate the angle the muzzle's at by using trig with the bullet's height above the line of sight (it's the same as the bore axis with a sight height above the bore set to zero). The angle of fall can also be calculated with trig for the last ten yards of travel.

Sierra software only calculates ballistics for their own bullets.
 
Nothing to sneeze at.

That 175 grain projectile at 522 f/s generates 106 foot-pounds of energy, just obeying the law of gravity. That's in .32 S&W Long territory (77 gr. @ 786 f/s), which won't fell any grizzly bears, but I'M not willing to try and catch it. Delivered to someone's cranium, it's likely fatal.
 
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