See the bullets complete path!

C

candlejackstraw

New member
So I loaded some 44 magnum to 44 special specs. 200 grn copper plated over 5.1 grain titegroup. Me and my buddy shot some today, and I swear we saw the complete path of every single projectile, from muzzle to target. Anyone else experience this? What velocity must a round be traveling at to observe this beautiful scenario?
 
What you saw would probebly be the Vapor trail. I doubt you could see the bullet. I see it often when I am at the matches and shooting 600 yards. It is at that point I see very easy how much of an arch is in the bullet path. It is real neat to watch.
 
I cant say if there is a velocity factor to this or not.

But I have experienced the same thing when the sun was just right.

I have seen it with .22lr, .357 mag, 40s&w, 9mm and a few other pistol rounds.

The sun was coming down in the evening and shining through the trees just so.
 
When we use Xtreme plated 230gr round nose in .45 Auto and when I am observing my buddy shoot them on our favorite indoor range -- where down range is fairly dark and dingy, but there is a high-intensity light immediately above the bench in each shooting bay (like the light they use in jewelry stores to make the stones sparkle), I can absolutely and easily see every single shot he sends down range.

That light bulb, at that angle, on the otherwise indoor range and the extremely flat and shiny base of those fat .452" slugs... it is extremely easy to see. And they are going a very typical 820 fps or so.

Much more difficult to see them yourself when you are shooting. Between blast, your eyes blinking, the pistol popping upward, etc... it's definitely a lot easier to see when you observe the other guy shooting.

But for sure, 100% for sure, I can see them. And yep, it is pretty neat. ;)
 
If you're pretty close to the dew point, it's pretty common. Same reason that jets leave contrails, a little pressure, humidity or temperature change near the dew point and you get a mini-cloud. With bullets, their persistent is pretty short.
 
"What you saw would probebly be the Vapor trail."
Not likely at 44 Sp velocities.
I posted on another forum about seeing 22 long rifle bullets in flight and had numerous responses of similar occurrences. What I saw was the actual bullet as a silver streak leading to the target. Sunlight and angle happened to be perfect.
 
Yep.

It's always fun when the conditions are just right, so that you can see the bullet from your favorite load flying downrange.

...Or when you intentionally work up ridiculously light loads that almost always allow you to see the bullet on longer shots. --Such as a .32 S&W Long load that I have, that launches the bullets at a sizzling 480 fps. ...And that's after I bumped the load by 10%, because I had a few bullets barely leave the barrel.


From what I have experienced, I'd say it's easiest to pick up with bullets running 900 fps or less. Beyond that (still just my experience), you need to be sub-sonic and have a very shiny bullet base - preferably slightly concave.
 
I saw 9mm today running 1100fps on the chrono. The sun was low right and it was quite easy to see the glint of metal heading downrange. I've also watched 22lr out of my lever action and moreso the LRN from my 45. It looks like a football with that big flat base.:eek:
 
It is much easier to see when tracers are used. Then there was the 105 MM Howitzer, we would stand behind the 105 MM self propelled Howitzer and watch the projectiles disappear.

F. Guffey
 
Try setting a very powerful spotlight that has a very tight beam on it parallel to the bore. Not sure how far you will see it.
 
It is much easier to see when tracers are used. Then there was the 105 MM Howitzer, we would stand behind the 105 MM self propelled Howitzer and watch the projectiles disappear.
Click to expand...

With lower end charges on our 8" M110a2 howitzers, you could see the outgoing rounds in just about any lighting conditions..... with the higher charges, the muzzle blast obscured the view, and the round was gone before the smoke cleared.......
 
We have a family member that was part of the crew that shot the 11 1/32" gun at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Seems someone thought it would be a good ideal to back the gun up on one side of Fort Sill and hit the other side. The round landed in a school yard in Lawton, Oklahoma.

F. Guffey
 
We often shot from the far west edge or nw corner of the wild life management area northwest of Ft. Sill, into the impact area ON Ft. Sill ...... over the state highway that separated Ft Sill from the WMA ......


There were several "out of impact area" firing incidents in the early-mid 80's both at Ft. Sill and in Grafenoehr training area in Germany, before and right after I enlisted ..... the size of the Artillery nearly doubled in the early 80's ..... I think there was a correlation there .......
 
When I would shoot my 625 .45 at very slow speeds for competitive shooting I could watch the bullet as it went to the target. It's fun to watch. Especially by the spectators that are not aware of it.

Great on Steel loads. This was with lead, not jacketed bullets.
:D
 
If you sit beside a shooter and watch thru a spotting scope, you can see 'em easier. Experienced this phenomenon years ago while helping my son sight in a new .45 Colt revolver. Could watch every shot virtually from the barrel to the target. It works well if you are shooting at reactive targets and want to know where you are missing.
 
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