'See' .22LR bullet when fired?

J.R.

When firing my .22LR with moderator on I can sometimes 'see' the bullet as it travels through the air!

This may sound weird as none of my friends have witnessed this.

I can only see it through the scope when I'm firing.....can clearly see the bullet travel & hit the target....the tradjectory is amazing as it rises through the air and drops as it nears the target.

Is this some sort of a vapour trail or something....don't see it with every shot but with quite a few.

Anybody else have same or similar experience?

Jonty

I can see it too

paddy2008

are you using sub sonics?

Jonty

Yeah I was

paddy2008

Yea subs are very slow bullet to travel,its a good job they are quiet!

It wasn't me!

Funnily enough, it's easiest to see it through less expensive, clear scopes. At a match in the Isle of Man this year, I was watching through a rifle scope behind a teammate and you could see the bullet travel, but you couldn't through the more powerful optics of a spotting scope. If there's a lot of mirage about it's obviously easier, as you'll see the big bloody trail. Have seen it with fullbore rifles at longer ranges, which is excellent.Saw a video of a .308 and a .300 Win Mag being shot at 500 yards and you could tell which was shooting by the difference in trajectory. Win Mag is a frickin' laser beam! :eek:

4gun

sometimes at night in misty conditions i can see the bullets form my 22mag. as they travel along ,reflected in the torchlight
who need tracer bullets ...:D

Sparks

I think you're more seeing the trail of the bullet in partially condensed water vapour, rather than the bullet itself. The only projectile I know of that you can watch go downrange (and I mean literally the projectile) is an air pellet from a low-velocity air pistol.

It wasn't me!

Sparks wrote: »

I think you're more seeing the trail of the bullet in partially condensed water vapour, rather than the bullet itself. The only projectile I know of that you can watch go downrange (and I mean literally the projectile) is an air pellet from a low-velocity air pistol.

.22 subs from a pistol are visible too.

Half-cocked

In the right lighting, I can see .22 subs travelling if I'm set up with a low magnification spotting scope directly behind and slightly above shooter. At 100 metres, I can see the bullets 'dropping' onto the target. If anyone has a very fast high res FPS video camera, it would be really cool if they could set up in the same position and film the bullets in flight!

You can train yourself to see shot stream from a shotgun too - very useful for coaching.

4gun

Sparks wrote: »

I think you're more seeing the trail of the bullet in partially condensed water vapour, rather than the bullet itself. The only projectile I know of that you can watch go downrange (and I mean literally the projectile) is an air pellet from a low-velocity air pistol.

more or less what i meant, it's not like saying that we can see the bullet frozen in mid air (like high speed photography):D you just explained it better

foxshooter243

It wasn't me! wrote: »

Funnily enough, it's easiest to see it through less expensive, clear scopes. At a match in the Isle of Man this year, I was watching through a rifle scope behind a teammate and you could see the bullet travel, but you couldn't through the more powerful optics of a spotting scope. If there's a lot of mirage about it's obviously easier, as you'll see the big bloody trail. Have seen it with fullbore rifles at longer ranges, which is excellent.Saw a video of a .308 and a .300 Win Mag being shot at 500 yards and you could tell which was shooting by the difference in trajectory. Win Mag is a frickin' laser beam! :eek:

if you turn the spotting scope slightly out of focus youll pick up the vapour trail;)

clivej

I was on the 600m range last week looking down range through a Nightforce @22 power. The man beside me fired is 308 and I saw not only the bullet travel down range but also the vortex of the air behind the round spiraling.


I can see the 22lr rounds traveling downrange @50 a lot, Someone told it depends on the scope your using.


I can also see the barmaid get better looking as the night goes on

https://secure.bighospitality.

maglite

clivej wrote: »

I can also see the barmaid get better looking as the night goes on

I can work that out for you

sfakiaman

clivej wrote: »

I can also see the barmaid get better looking as the night goes on

[IMG]http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:F1cXtE56EDRfrM:<a href=https://secure.bighospitality target=_blank>https://secure.bighospitality</a>.[/IMG]

Was that your 3 to 9 variable you used on the barmaid

bunny shooter

clivej wrote: »

.................

I can also see the barmaid get better looking as the night goes on

https://secure.bighospitality.

If my local boozer had her behind the bar I'd spend more time there than Midlands

deerhunter1

Sparks wrote: »

I think you're more seeing the trail of the bullet in partially condensed water vapour, rather than the bullet itself. The only projectile I know of that you can watch go downrange (and I mean literally the projectile) is an air pellet from a low-velocity air pistol.

Ya its the vapour trail you see I have seen it using the 17HMR with suppressor

It wasn't me!

clivej wrote: »

I can also see the barmaid get better looking as the night goes on

https://secure.bighospitality.

Fook, I dunno Clive, she looks grand to me as is.

terminator2

whats the name of the boozer i could do with a good stiff one

Grizzly 45

Known also a s Bullet "wash" or" wake".It can be seen in the right athmospheric conditions with big cal stuff as well.
Freaky.

meathstevie

If you keep in mind that a subsonic .22 bullet travels a little bit faster than a fast airliner it should not at all be impossible to observe it in flight.

Kryten

Could also see .38 wadcutter dropping into the target at 50meters using 10X50 binoculars. Pretty cool.

Dusty87

I seen it once from a handgun. In the matrix though:):)

meathstevie

meathstevie wrote: »

If you keep in mind that a subsonic .22 bullet travels a little bit faster than a fast airliner it should not at all be impossible to observe it in flight.

There is a bit of a difference, a sub .22 will be going around 320/330 metres per second. A 747 goes at about 240 metres per second.

A 747 is also 700 times longer then a .22lr which also might have an impact on why its easier to see!

Mr Flibble

If you fired a .22 bullet lengthwise inside the fuselage of an airborne 747 would you be able to see it?

clivej

Mr Flibble wrote: »

If you fired a .22 bullet lengthwise inside the fuselage of an airborne 747 would you be able to see it?

Yes if it was shot at your head or any other thick lump.

meathstevie

Deleted User wrote: »

There is a bit of a difference, a sub .22 will be going around 320/330 metres per second. A 747 goes at about 240 metres per second.

A 747 is also 700 times longer then a .22lr which also might have an impact on why its easier to see!

Point taken but it shouldn't be beyond the limits of Eyeball Mark I in the right circumstances.

Traumadoc

From about 1.14 onwards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJKLLRubld4&NR=1