bullet temperatures
- Thread starter DaveTooley
- Start date
GotRDid
Gold $$ Contributor
Very interesting thread! When we were on Pit Duty at Scott Mountain KD Range (Ft. Knox) for both High Power Rifle Team (M14s/M1As) practice and John C. Garand Memorial Matches, the 173 gr M72, and M118/M118 Match bullets were drilling into the red clay of the berm.
On the 600 yd Slow Fire stage we had a few of the bullets strike very low on the targets. These bullets struck the loose soil at the bottom of the “beaten zone” where most of the Hard Holders were hammering the 9-X Rings. Those low impacts would usually wind up skipping the bullet up and back toward the target frames. While they typically went unnoticed as we were preoccupied pulling/scoring/pasting and running the targets back up, they were often found afterwards.
As some shooters pick a condition and wait until it returns to fire, others prefer to shoot quickly through conditions. Our guy was the latter, and fired all 22 shots in under 16 minutes (yes, we gave him excellent Pit Service). As we waited for the remaining relay to complete the stage, the shooter/target to our left was having problems. Impacts were getting lower, as if his elevation was changing shot to shot. His last two shots were a 6 at 6 o’clock then bounced final shot off the top of our protective berm. Both bullets bounced and landed within feet of our stools.
I picked up the last one and as PaperPuncher and Clowdis pointed out, the impulse to “cast it aside” was intense and spasmodic. Never found it again.
I imagine the initial heat from its trip down the barrel was sustained, if not raised, by the friction of such a long trip through the atmosphere. Much like the speed of the SR-71 Blackbird heats up and expands the Titanium skin to seal the fuel tanks, that bullet was HOT!
Yep, you’ll only do that once.
Wkdickinson, I can’t even imagine the pain and contortions one’s body would go through trying to escape it!
On the 600 yd Slow Fire stage we had a few of the bullets strike very low on the targets. These bullets struck the loose soil at the bottom of the “beaten zone” where most of the Hard Holders were hammering the 9-X Rings. Those low impacts would usually wind up skipping the bullet up and back toward the target frames. While they typically went unnoticed as we were preoccupied pulling/scoring/pasting and running the targets back up, they were often found afterwards.
As some shooters pick a condition and wait until it returns to fire, others prefer to shoot quickly through conditions. Our guy was the latter, and fired all 22 shots in under 16 minutes (yes, we gave him excellent Pit Service). As we waited for the remaining relay to complete the stage, the shooter/target to our left was having problems. Impacts were getting lower, as if his elevation was changing shot to shot. His last two shots were a 6 at 6 o’clock then bounced final shot off the top of our protective berm. Both bullets bounced and landed within feet of our stools.
I picked up the last one and as PaperPuncher and Clowdis pointed out, the impulse to “cast it aside” was intense and spasmodic. Never found it again.
I imagine the initial heat from its trip down the barrel was sustained, if not raised, by the friction of such a long trip through the atmosphere. Much like the speed of the SR-71 Blackbird heats up and expands the Titanium skin to seal the fuel tanks, that bullet was HOT!
Yep, you’ll only do that once.
Wkdickinson, I can’t even imagine the pain and contortions one’s body would go through trying to escape it!
Last edited:
GotRDid
Gold $$ Contributor
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