Noticed a lag for the first time

H

Henry Baker

New member
I wanted to see how accurate I could be at a long range with my dad's S&W 38spl. Our ranch is covered with trees so shooting up stream on the creek that runs through gave me the longest lane to shoot in. Also, seeing the bullets splash in the water is much more exact than seeing branches move or dust come up. But here's the point, When I shot at about 75yds and up I could notice a lag. I fired then pointed the gun down and watched the bullet hit the water. :cool: Parhaps this is common but I had never notice it and was astounded by it. I was using the cheapest Winchester 38spl FMJ ammo they had at Wal-Mart :barf: , and the revolver has a 4inch barrel.

Henry Baker
 
The bullet that you shot at the stream might have glanced off the surface of the water and gone another half mile, possibly wounding or killing someone, unseen by you. NEVER shoot at water.
 
We have a state wild life preserve on 3 sides and there's no one for 5 miles. But I guess you're right. (we've been doing this for 50 years and will continue as long as we own the property)
 
We used to shoot at water all the time. The mountain behind the target stand was the same one behind the pond.

JT
 
Well I suppose there should be a lag.... but not much. To use round numbers, if the round is a slow handgun round moving at 900 feet/second and you shoot at something 225 feet away - it should arrive 1/4 second later. That is slower than reflex time, but not slow enough to get a cup of coffee while the bullet flies. ;)
 
Caleb, you hit the proverbial "nail on the head." Although I didn't try getting coffie... I'll have to look into that next time.

By the way has any one els noticed this or am I just special? :rolleyes:

Thanks,
Henry Baker
 
By the way has any one els noticed this or am I just special?
Click to expand...

I was shooting a .44 Mag Contender at a steel plate from 100 yards out. It went like this:

Boom!
lower gun, pop barrel open...
Ding! echos out.
load gun and repeat. On one shot, I got the gun down quick enough to see the bullet make the plate move, THEN I heard the Ding. That was pretty neat.
 
"225 feet away - it should arrive 1/4 second later"

Does that calculation account for the looping trajectory of, say, a .45acp round? I know when I shoot .45 or .38sp. at 100 yards it seems to take a long time for the bullet to get to the target.

John
 
I've noticed it with a .22 at ~100 yds. *bang* <a second later> *tink* Kinda fun, actually... not sure why.
 
My dad says he can actually see a .22 bullet flying at 25 yards but I think his eyes might be playing tricks on him.
 
Actually, you can see the bullets flying if you're behind them (aka: holding the gun). If you think about it, it makes sense. If you're behind the bullet, it's not moving much laterally in your field of vision, and it can usually be seen as a bright gray or orange (depending on jacket/nonjacket) streaky dot thing.
 
Seeing the bullet and hearing the bullet strike something are quite different. There is no sense talking about the speed of light. But sound is much slower. When shooting a bullet near the speed of sound you have the time pass until the target is hit and then the same amount of time for the sound to return. That makes me think it is entirely possible to see a bullet traveling near the speed of sound. A fmj 38 special would be a perfect round for that.

Snipers (I'm told per Discovery Channel) put their scope out of "alignment" a quarter turn and can actually see the vapor trail of a bullet.
 
Try shooting around sunset with the sun at your back. Shoot something big, slow and shiny, like .45 ball. If you don't flinch (good test) you will see the bullets lumber their way to the target. I've seen it many times. (Or, go get you some tracer rounds just for fun)
 
Does that calculation account for the looping trajectory of, say, a .45acp round?
Click to expand...
Well it's true that due to the bullet drop, the bullet will be traveling in a arc, not a straight line, and the distance covered will actually a bit longer than 225 feet. For that matter, the velocity will not be constant either - another deviation. But, the vertical extent of the arc is miniscule as a fractional deviation from the straight line distance though (< 1%), and even the velocity reduction is not that great (most ammo sites are down right now, but off the top of my head I'd guess around 20%)... so 1/4 second is a reasonable if not precise figure.
 
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