seeing bullet in flight

[jaystuw]

This is only a fraction of a second thrill , but I always get a kick out of it. It's when I shoot across an open, snow covered field with bright sun light to my back . Just as the gun goes off, I glance to the side to avoid the smoke and recoil and if conditions are right, get to see the bullet arcing down range. I use big slow moving bullets out of a .44 special (a s&w 624 with a 6.5 in. barrel-great plinker!) , they stand out clearly against the snow all the way to impact.Seeing the curved trajectory is neat, but Its a very fast show, even with slow bullets. Have any of you guys tried it?

jaystuw

[cbrick]

Yep and snow isn't needed. When qualifing with the M-14 in the Marines in the 60's the range at Camp Pendleton shoots to the east with the pacific directly behind. Shooting late in the day with the sun low over the ocean and shooting prone at 500 meters I'd watch the bullet and score my own hits on the target by watching the bullet right to the target. Coarse I had eyes back then that could see 500 meters.

Pretty common also for a spotter with a decent spotting scope to follow the bullets path from about 100 meters on with decent light.

Rick

[moredes]

When I used to shoot 38's at 25yd, I could see them against the grassy background. I don't think the background really matters so long as the sun's behind the shooter.

Damn. What's the term rifle shooters use to describe the phenomena of seeing bullet trajectory---they don't see the bullet, they see the displacement of air...

[Lloyd Smale]

if the light is just right even without snow ive stood behind shooters and watched slow 45 colt and 44 specials fly. Pretty cool.

[StrawHat]

Back when I could see good enough to be competitive, it was a kick to watch the 38s go downrange. Thinking back, I only saw them during practice, never in a match.

A neat thing, anyway.

[Whitespider]

Back in the day (younger, better eyes) I’d see the bullet fly quite often, not so much now.

I remember a prairie dog shoot in the Dakotas, we were shooting down-hill, sun at our backs and one of the guys broke out a SKS. From my angle I could see every one of those bullets from about 50 yard out to flight termination (he didn’t score many hits). I tried to video tape the phenomena, but they wouldn’t show up on the recording.

[sundog]

This happens pretty regular when shooting .22 RF at 100 yards, especially on a sunny day with the sun behind you.

[tommag]

When I was a teen-ager, I used to watch the bullets from my .380 at night with the headlights on behind me. With a low powered scope, spotting for a bullseye shooter, I can see a 45acp going down-range pretty well, even without back-lighting.

[VTDW]

AND sometimes when the sun is right and the humidy is right you can see con trails which is pretty cool.

Dave

[38 Super Auto]

Just as the gun goes off, I glance to the side to avoid the smoke and recoil and if conditions are right, get to see the bullet arcing down range. I use big slow moving bullets out of a .44 special (a s&w 624 with a 6.5 in. barrel-great plinker!)

When I shoot my powder puff loads in 38 special 105gr SWC over 2.5gr Red dot, the bullets are moving slowly enough where you can see them. I think you're right - it's easier to pick them up if you are off to the side.

[Calamity Jake]

I see this all the time at our CAS matches, we shoot to the west so the morning sun shines on the base of them slow moving boolets real good.
Also like to watch 22rf thru the scope mounted on the rifle im shooting.

[EMC45]

Shooting with MGD45 and we were backlit by his unmarked car at night and we could see the 45 acp bullets flying. Very neat. The light hit the base of the bullets and it was easy to track them.

[DLCTEX]

I noticed that in higher humidity climates it is easier to see the bullet's path, maybe due to water vapor in the air being moved aside. On really humid days there was a funnel shape around the bullet. It is much harder to see bullets in flight in the dryer climate here in Texas panhandle. I think the "fullel" around the bullet draws the eye to see the bullet in the center. These observations were made when vision was 20-20, haven't seen a bullet in flight in years now. DALE

[garandsrus]

Rifle shooters watch the "trace" of the bullet out to 600 yds. It is cool to watch...

Sometimes when I shoot skeet at night on a lighted field, I can see the shot cloud going towards the target which is also pretty cool.

John

[moredes]

Garandsrus,

Thank you, thank you, thank you... I was goin' nuts tryin' to remember what "we" called that... damn, it's been a long time since I've been to the LR rifle line...

[OLPDon]

Sure enough when the eyes were 20/20. I would sure love to have the young eyes back again. As well as the phys. attributes.

Just thought I would add a link: For some of us old timers and something young eyes have to look forward to.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/200...EDIA/283841756
Don
PS Turn up the Vol. Enjoy

[Adam10mm]

I recall taking the spotting scope/ binos a quarter turn out of focus and watching the vapor trail at the rifle matches I watched. Pretty cool.

[beagle]

We were shooting one Sunday in a rain and the targets had gone to crap on account of getting wet. I was shooting a .223 and a 24X Weaver with a heavy NEI bullet and we decided to set some 2 X 4 blocks on the 200 yard frames for plinking targets.

These bullets were slow...maybe 1800 FPS. The recoil was light and you could pick up the bullet in the scope and watch it all the the way to impact and see the water fly off the blocks.

I though that was the neatest thing I'd done in a while./beagle

[calaloo]

Me and a buddy used to hunt bullfrogs at night with pistols that shot .22 shorts. One would stand behind the other holding a bright light to illuminate both the sights and the frog. Both shooter and light holder could easily see the bullet all the way to the target. Anyone ever have fried fresh frog legs for breakfast? yumm.

Bill

[Ricochet]

One day I was shooting some 8mm boolit loads that were rather smoky. I think I'd lubed them with White Lightning bicycle chain lube and was shooting them at about 2200 FPS. I'd noticed only the big puff of white smoke at the muzzle. A nearby shooter said "Wow! Your bullets are leaving a trail!" They were. The trail was visible for somewhere between 25 and 50 yards. I could look around the muzzle cloud and see it. Further, I could clearly see the paths of the boolits were tracing an arched helix. Not a "straight" path, they were revolving around the mean path as they went.