Ballistic terminology
- Thread starter Doug Lee
- Start date
I should add that here in the Twin Cities MN, locked down by Covid mask mandates and cold snowy weather we have had MUCH TOO MUCH time on our hands and have resorted to naming our snow plows. Here's the 2022 list.
Betty Whiteout
Ctrl Salt Delete
The Big Leplowski
Plowasaurus Rex
Scoop Dogg
Blizzard of Oz
No More Mr. Ice Guy
Edward Blizzardhands
P.S. Despite the Covid, despite the weather, despite the ammo shortage, I vow to break out some of my horded ammo and make it to the range next week. I'm starting to realize this isolation might not be the healthiest thing a person could do.
P.S. The perennial favorite 'PlowyMcPlowface' was one of LAST year's picks.
Betty Whiteout
Ctrl Salt Delete
The Big Leplowski
Plowasaurus Rex
Scoop Dogg
Blizzard of Oz
No More Mr. Ice Guy
Edward Blizzardhands
P.S. Despite the Covid, despite the weather, despite the ammo shortage, I vow to break out some of my horded ammo and make it to the range next week. I'm starting to realize this isolation might not be the healthiest thing a person could do.
P.S. The perennial favorite 'PlowyMcPlowface' was one of LAST year's picks.
Never heard of a specific name for it, but if the sun is just right it is possible to see bullets in flight.
The range where I shoot has sunrise directly behind the shooters most of the year. If shooting 22's at just the right time I see them every shot. Not at 50 yards, but if shooting at longer ranges.
The range where I shoot has sunrise directly behind the shooters most of the year. If shooting 22's at just the right time I see them every shot. Not at 50 yards, but if shooting at longer ranges.
stagpanther
New member
One less dragonfly.
Bullet Trace
The Bullet trace is the ripples created in the air as the bullet passes through it. We can see these ripples because the ambient light will reflect differently off the ripples than it will off the air around it.
source:
https://holdrightedge.com/bullet-trace-and-how-to-spot-it/
Having thought about this for two days, I believe I was seeing a trace/streak of contrasting light reflecting from the trace as the air was disturbed around the nose for the projectile as it traveled downrange.
Thanks for the input!
Doug Lee
*
The Bullet trace is the ripples created in the air as the bullet passes through it. We can see these ripples because the ambient light will reflect differently off the ripples than it will off the air around it.
source:
https://holdrightedge.com/bullet-trace-and-how-to-spot-it/
Having thought about this for two days, I believe I was seeing a trace/streak of contrasting light reflecting from the trace as the air was disturbed around the nose for the projectile as it traveled downrange.
Thanks for the input!
Doug Lee
*
Well, there are really three kinds of trace. The ripples look just like a line of heat mirage, but are concentrated around the trajectory. At Camp Perry, standing behind shooters at the 600-yard line on a clear day, with blue sky in the background, the firing trajectory is arcing high enough that you can easily watch these lines from every gun while the bullet is above the target with the blue sky in the background. Some are fairly straight, while others make a clear helix due to the bullet from those having greater initial yaw to recover from. Coaches will look for these in their large coach spotting scopes to see where misses are going. This video shows one pretty clearly at 1:28.
Another type of trace is the brief vapor condensation trail behind the bullet when fired in humid air. This is due to the partial vacuum behind it that exists until air can move in to fill it. In humid air, along with dropping pressure, that partial vacuum drops temperature below the dew point of the water, so you get what looks like a gray streak behind it. It's the same phenomenon that makes vapor cones around aircraft shockwaves or just behind the leading edge of the spherical shockwave of a large explosion.
This poor-quality video appears to show some of both of the above trace types. The mirage trace is visible in all of the shots, but I believe I am picking up the short-lived vapor trace just behind the bullet as well.
The third kind of trace is seen only by the shooter AFAIK. If you are shooting with bright sun at your back and low in the sky (just an hour or so after sunrise shooting westward or later in the afternoon shooting eastward), and you fire a bullet with a solid copper base, the sun can reflect off the back of it and you see a clear almost instantaneous glimpse of a round copper disc as the bullet angle lines up to reflect the solar glint back to your eye. This last one has always been called "bullet glint" to the best of my knowledge, but I don't think it is an officially recognized term.
Another type of trace is the brief vapor condensation trail behind the bullet when fired in humid air. This is due to the partial vacuum behind it that exists until air can move in to fill it. In humid air, along with dropping pressure, that partial vacuum drops temperature below the dew point of the water, so you get what looks like a gray streak behind it. It's the same phenomenon that makes vapor cones around aircraft shockwaves or just behind the leading edge of the spherical shockwave of a large explosion.
This poor-quality video appears to show some of both of the above trace types. The mirage trace is visible in all of the shots, but I believe I am picking up the short-lived vapor trace just behind the bullet as well.
The third kind of trace is seen only by the shooter AFAIK. If you are shooting with bright sun at your back and low in the sky (just an hour or so after sunrise shooting westward or later in the afternoon shooting eastward), and you fire a bullet with a solid copper base, the sun can reflect off the back of it and you see a clear almost instantaneous glimpse of a round copper disc as the bullet angle lines up to reflect the solar glint back to your eye. This last one has always been called "bullet glint" to the best of my knowledge, but I don't think it is an officially recognized term.
In one of the military marksmanship manuals, there were drawings that showed how the bullet trace would appear as seen through a spotting scope behind the rifle for 600 and 1000 yards. As I remember, with the 30 caliber service rifle zeroed for a thousand yards, the trace will peak about 2 target heights above bullseye center. Note virtually all bullet trajectories peak at about 60% of target range.
Jim Watson
New member
I have seen a number of bullet glints from other shooters. If the light is right you can see low velocity cast bullet bases as gray spots.
One of the fun things about watching Hicock45 videos is watching a relatively slow handgun bullet traveling toward the 100-yard gong. He can't tell which way he is missing (when he does), but the viewer can usually see on camera as it approaches the gong and can tell if it misses high, low, left or right.
Mike Irwin
Staff
I've always just called it bullet trace.
Some years ago I was shooting my S&W Model 12 snub under cover. It was REALLY bright and clear out and the sun was directly behind me.
My lead .38 Spl. bullets looked like tracers going down range they were so bright.
Some years ago I was shooting my S&W Model 12 snub under cover. It was REALLY bright and clear out and the sun was directly behind me.
My lead .38 Spl. bullets looked like tracers going down range they were so bright.