What is the secret to seeing bullet traces?

[Straightshooter1]

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.

Having worked around and flown aircraft, I have some awareness that Density Altitude is what's really the thing that truly affects bullets in much the same way it affects the flight of aircraft. Humidity doesn't do much by itself, but it is one of the three things that goes into calculating density altitude. The other two things being atmospheric pressure and temperature.

I use a Kestrel DROP D3 which measures those three factors and on my phone it gives me a DA number. My shooting range's elevation is at 880 ft and with a RH of 32% I've got various DA's, like . . . 139 ft one day and 414 ft another day. I don't know what that difference really makes. But if I go up to the high country to shoot or hunt (like at 7,000 ft), ballistic app can get you a good firing solution when knowing the DA.

 

[Toms]

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

Best seen when overcast cloudy conditions. I see my trace on 50 yard 22 rimfire. You can see the bullet impact target. If you can't you aren't concentrating enough. That's how I know I'm not paying attention.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

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.

Thanks for that insight! I have never seen trace even at 1100 yards. I don't know if I have ever even been target shooting when the humidity was 20%. My weather station says 10% right now. Last time I went out it was 6%. I get the conditions with my kestrel every time. 20% here is only during the worst monsoon days or its actually raining in the winter. Its usually 10 to 17%.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

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.

Were you looking at night time? Afternoon humidity in las vegas is almost never above 20%.

 

[rlporter507]

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.

I see 22LR bullets drop in the target at 100 as they come into my peripheral vision, im looking at the dot in the scope as you would the front sight. they are a little black dot. As far as seeing the trace in the rifle scope out to 600 yards, its is higher than where I am looking so I dont see it. Now scoring or spotting, even in dry or damp conditions the trace is huge and is cool to watch it going to the adjacent target then hook into the center of the one being shot at. Sometimes you can see a copper blink if the sun hits the back of the bullet just right.
Also in the NTIT match, you can only use 6x bino's, so you only see a faint black blink.

 

[IAm_Not_Lost]

Were you looking at night time? Afternoon humidity in las vegas is almost never above 20%.

I realize. Just talking general averages, and in further discussion, pointing out how pointless relative humidity is for this topic.

Relative humidity fluctuates wildly with temperature, a breeze, etc, as it’s just a percentage showing the moisture content relative to how much total moisture is possible based on the temperature and other factors for that region.

Relative humidity, as you see reported, is just basically telling you how it will “feel”, not actual moisture content. So, when people talk about humidity levels affecting bullet trails, relative humidity isn’t specifically helpful.