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How Much Does Rain Affect Trajectory?
- Thread starter clunker
- Start date
Medic505
Gold $$ Contributor
Medic505
Gold $$ Contributor
There are a couple things I do know about shooting in the rain. 1. I don't like it, and 2. I don't like it at all. The first match of the day of the 2018 F Class Nationals started in a light drizzle. By the time we finished, I would have called it a steady sprinkle. I was clean until about shot #14 and I leaked a 9 out the top at 11 o'clock. I looked around to try and see why, couldn't see anything obvious. Looked at targets next to me, nothing unusual. Went back to a center x shot. Conformation 9 about the same place. Looked at targets next to me, 9's about the same place. I finished that round with 2 more leakers out the top while holding bottom of the 10 ring. Granted, I was shooting on target 20 something at Raton, and the flags were soaked, I still couldn't see a condition that would have caused high shots. Mike Plunkett shot a 200-16X the same relay. He obviously didn't have the same problem. I just don't buy into the "fact" that rain makes a bullets trajectory go down. But, that's just my opinion, I have been wrong before.
Warren Dean
Team Savage F-TR
Spot on, Deano.
Turbulent Turtle
F-TR competitor
Reading a few comments here, I get the impression that some people think that shooting in the rain is almost like shooting underwater. I believe that the number of raindrops that would meet the bullet or its shockwave is actually very low, maybe a couple on the way to 1000 yards, so that their effect on the trajectory would be insignificant. Also, as was stated earlier the humidity in the rain is not necessarily 100%. That only applies to the area where the rain started from, ie a cloud.
So unless you are shooting in torrential rain, like that afternoon at the Worlds in Connaught or some of the Texas gully washers we get in south Texas, the rain will have near zero effect on the trajectory.
So unless you are shooting in torrential rain, like that afternoon at the Worlds in Connaught or some of the Texas gully washers we get in south Texas, the rain will have near zero effect on the trajectory.
When we figure out how the rain does or does not effect trajectory, the question remains: what about coated bullets, and the different coatings ? Is it possible to coat bullets or tweak loads in anticipation of shooting in the rain? Does the paper target tear differently causing a more or less generous hole to score from ?
Medic505
Gold $$ Contributor
I hear great things about Rain-X.
I didn’t like it much either but Norm Harold set a new national F Open record in the rain that match (200-21x). It was a lot easier than holding off the target the next day.
We’ve had several records set in the Rain at Bayou Rifles as well so whatever impact rain has is certainly small.
Well that raises another question: how does Rain-X react to the pressure/velocity/temperature encountered when being fired from the barrel and through its travel to the target ? and is it compatible with the various coatings ?
Medic505
Gold $$ Contributor
I think it depends on if your bullets have windshield wipers or not....
Now you're just being silly.
Oh....I assumed the entire 'Rain-X' discussion implied silliness. Silly me....
Medic505
Gold $$ Contributor
You are correct!!
It seems to me the wake from the bullet breaking the sound Barrier would displace a drop of rain
I know subsonic bullets hit the rain
I know we would of found out if we had shot the match Sunday
I know subsonic bullets hit the rain
I know we would of found out if we had shot the match Sunday
Coaching in the 2016 Canadian F Class National Championships I used the angle of the rain fall as an indicator for my wind calls. My team one the nationals that year.
dcali
Bullet Maker
Thought experiment:
If a bullet it sitting still on the ground for the same amount if time as the time of flight, how many rain drops will hit it? I'm guessing very few unless you're shooting in a hurricane.
I've never shot in a heavy rain, so take that for what its worth - not much. A light rain does nothing in my experience.
If a bullet it sitting still on the ground for the same amount if time as the time of flight, how many rain drops will hit it? I'm guessing very few unless you're shooting in a hurricane.
I've never shot in a heavy rain, so take that for what its worth - not much. A light rain does nothing in my experience.
I was doing some testing on a sniper sighting system using a machine rest when the rain picked up enough that I could not see the target at 100 meters nor could I see people moving around doing target maintenance, understand that does not take a lot of rain. The shots fired during these rain conditions did not have a statistically different impact than those when there was no rain.
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