What is the secret to seeing bullet traces?

[Bat Rastard]

I have found that others are seeing bullet traces, and I am not.
Besides the target, what am I missing?
TIA, Bat

 

[jds holler]

Now you've got me worried. I aint seeing no traces either. Matter of fact -- what are bullet traces?? Do I need new glasses? jd

 

[rardoin]

Line up directly behind shooter where the bullet trajectory crosses/is in your line of sight. The longer the distance to the target, the easier it is to spot.

 

[Rank Amateur]

Trace will be momentary “shimmering” of the air along the path of the bullet. As @rardoin said, positioning yourself directly behind the shooter is best. Focus the spotting scope a bit in front of the target (target should not be focused, and you are looking for an effect that occurs well in front of the target itself - so focusing about 3/4 of the way to the target may be a good starting point). Remember that the path of the bullet is an arc above the target, so position scope so that the target is in the lower 1/3 of your view. Best when the light is coming from either directly behind or directly in front of the target, and best when the background is a dark color and uncluttered - these things will make the momentary distortion in the air more noticeable. Heavy mirage and other atmospheric conditions that normally cause distortion will make trace harder to spot.

Once you see trace and know what you are looking for, you will then be able to pick it up under less favorable conditions in the future.

 

[Jeff Porter]

Humidity and light angle affect trace too. Way cool to watch once you get it figured out. You can see which loads are laser beams and which ones poke along like bottle rockets.

 

[IAm_Not_Lost]

I think you'll have a much better chance of seeing bullet traces if you're able to stay on target perfectly. Any recoil that takes you off target will prevent you from seeing them in most cases. Honestly that's why the majority of time we're seeing them on recording, recorded spotting scopes, or by watching right over someone's shoulder.

You also have to have your scope set to a wide enough field of view that you can see the bullet in its arc. If you're at 20x and you can only see the target then you won't likely see a trail/trace.

Slow moving bullets at distances around 100 yards and beyond you can see pretty well. Anything closer and I find it's just too fast or the arc is too low to pick it up.

 

[Straightshooter1]

I have found that others are seeing bullet traces, and I am not.
Besides the target, what am I missing?
TIA, Bat

Humidity is a big factor in being able to see tracers and of course, the longer to distance the better too. When humidity is below 20%, it's near impossible to see them even at distance, though magnification helps if your looking in the right spot.

 

[CJ6]

The secret is low recoil.

 

[rardoin]

Ahhh...I may have missed your actual question...spotting your own trace while shooting. As mentioned, low recoil/managing recoil to remain in the sight picture after breaking the shot and a longer distance to give time to acquire the proper sight picture are key.

 

[WSnyder]

Focus the scope closer than the target (like 2/3 the distance) just like you would when wanting to look at mirage.

 

[OmegaRed]

If you are looking to view vapor trail from the scope of the rifle you are shooting, you have to have near zero recoil and the ability to hold your head still. Longer range and less magnification helps this. Focusing the scope to slightly blurry to see the mirage works well.

If you setup a spotting scope behind the shooter, it becomes easier. Aim the spotting scope slightly above target. Remember the bullet arcs - I find it easiest to pickup at the top of the arc.


Start at :40 seconds in. Look at the top of the target frame. This was at 400 yards.

Here's another good one at 200

 

[topclass2017]

In Central Texas, I can see a standard velocity .22LR bullet drop into the target at 100 yards most of the time. Always makes me smile.

 

[jds holler]

Humidity is a big factor in being able to see tracers and of course, the longer to distance the better too. When humidity is below 20%, it's near impossible to see them even at distance, though magnification helps if your looking in the right spot.

I'll bet humidity is my problem -- or the lack thereof. Around here, we've got about as much humidity as a popcorn fart. jd

 

[Rank Amateur]

I'll bet humidity is my problem -- or the lack thereof. Around here, we've got about as much humidity as a popcorn fart. jd

Probably not. Trace is the visual effect of the pressure wave from the bullet as it travels through the air. In a weird way, it is much like mirage as what you are seeing as mirage is distortion of light (caused by heat) traveling through the air. The pressure wave from the bullet is causing the same kind of light distortion. Anywhere you can see mirage, you can see trace. High humidity or lots of mirage can mask trace as the light is already being distorted by multiple factors.

Trace is a momentary effect (it doesn’t last). If you have recoil that takes your view off of the target (or shakes your view significantly) you may not see your own bullet’s trace as it is gone before you get your view back on target (or get your view settled down from recoil). As an example, a 7mm bullet launched at 2800 FPS will take just under 1.4 seconds to reach a target at 1000 yds. If you are unable to get your scope back on target and still within 1 second, you aren’t going to see your trace. So, to learn what you are looking for, either watch someone else’s shots or start with a round/rifle with truly minimal recoil. Hope some of this is helpful.

 

[mikecockcroft]

Low recoil, long distance and scope turned down so you can see above line of sight

 

[JBauer]

I have found that others are seeing bullet traces, and I am not.
Besides the target, what am I missing?
TIA, Bat

It helps if you can get in line with the shooter as much as possible. A slightly out of focus spotting scope, helps with being able to see the swirl. Remember, to focus at the apex of the bullets trajectory. If a crosswind is present, watch for the “bend” of the bullet path. Bigger bullets make a bigger swirl. Best to learn when 20 other shooters aren’t banging away.
With all of this being said, the time to experience “bullet swirl” is a mere blink. Best when humidity is high.
Once you recognize, what you have just seen, it becomes easier to understand.
Hope this helps.

 

[IAm_Not_Lost]

Humidity is a big factor in being able to see tracers and of course, the longer to distance the better too. When humidity is below 20%, it's near impossible to see them even at distance, though magnification helps if your looking in the right spot.

The Sahara deserts humidity is 25%. Lowest humidity in the U.S. is in the 30’s

I only know this because I just looked it up a few days ago for a school project for my daughter.

 

[Straightshooter1]

The Sahara deserts humidity is 25%. Lowest humidity in the U.S. is in the 30’s

I only know this because I just looked it up a few days ago for a school project for my daughter.

That's probably so for an average over a period of time. I can tell you that the humidity outside my house right how it's 22% and just a few days ago is was 12%.

. . . and I live right next to a golf course.

When a monsoon storm rolls through, that humidity easily jumps to over 90%.

Out at my shooting range, I've recorded humidity of 10% quite a few times and it's not unusual for it to be well under 30%. This is something I track and record regularly.

 

[Straightshooter1]

I'll bet humidity is my problem -- or the lack thereof. Around here, we've got about as much humidity as a popcorn fart. jd

LOL

Yeah, there's a lot of people who don't realize just how dry the high desert of Eastern Oregon can be (having been there a lot)

 

[IAm_Not_Lost]

That's probably so for an average over a period of time. I can tell you that the humidity outside my house right how it's 22% and just a few days ago is was 12%.

. . . and I live right next to a golf course.

When a monsoon storm rolls through, that humidity easily jumps to over 90%.

Out at my shooting range, I've recorded humidity of 10% quite a few times and it's not unusual for it to be well under 30%. This is something I track and record regularly.

Yeah that’s taking a general average of the most common relative humidity. Sure, where I am in Arizona if you take a reading when it’s windy and hot the relative humidity will have plummeted, and then will change again as the wind dies off and it cools. Even though the absolute humidity hasn’t drastically changed, the relative humidity is very mercurial in an a sense.

It’s an interesting topic. It’ll be drier than heck in the winter but the relative humidity is higher than the summer, where there is a much higher absolute water content.

Makes you wonder how relative humidity truly affects bullets, or if that isn’t a very helpful measurement at all. Generally any normal household thermometers and hygrometers are only measuring the relative humidity.