I can see bullets in the air

[BiGB808]

wow..so i was lobbing .45s at soem steel plates..sun is begining to set...


I can see the back of my 45 ball rounds about 20 feet out..

Its crazy as hell..ive never seen a bullet flying in air before

I guess the sun behind me and those slow and fat ,45s gave a reflection back to me


any one else see there bullets before?

[Kyrottimus]

Yes..

Bird City, Kansas; Northwestern farmlands.

It was late May, about 1995. About 4:30pm. I was on a friend of the family's farmland, eradicating some Prairie dogs with extreme prejudice (using a Ruger Mark 1 .22-250, I think... it wasn't mine, it was my father's).

I spotted my foe, approximately 750 yards across a valley. I took aim, fired. to my amazement, through the scope, I saw the vapor-trial of the bullet. What I could swear I also saw, was a "dot" in the center of the barometrically (and thermally) disturbed air. I cannot confirm it was the bullet, but it was definately badass to see.

Needless to say I watched the path of this high-velocity round scream into that curious looking critter. I saw it vaporize into a cloud of red shammies, and heard the "clap" of its destruction a few seconds later. I love ballistic tipped rounds.

[jon coppenbarger]

I see 223 bullets in flight with my binos all the time. It is easier to see them.
Gives me a clue on what to make for the wind call.

Jon

[Windustsearch]

Yep, if the light is right, especially .22LR.

[Survey Punk]

Common practice in hipower competition. A trained person can plot a shot from the "break" of the bullet through their spotting scope before it goes down and comes up scored.
Trick is to back the focus back from the target a tad, so the target is slightly blurry but you can still make out the numbers.

JB

[gordo63]

Typically with rifles what you're seeing is the bullets path through the mirage and is cool as heck to watch. For handguns, it isn't uncommon at all to see the bullet. If you take your trusted .38 snubby to the range under the right conditions and start watching the bullet lumber down range, you'll question why you even carry it. It looks like someone could be waiting for it with a baseball bat to knock it back at you. :)

[deltaheavy]

I've seen 9mm in flight at an indoor range.

[BSchroeder]

.308 through a good spotting scope for me. I see it as a 'shock wave' in the air, much lake the wake a boat makes on smooth water.

[rcnpthfndr]

we call it "reading the trace". if you get a chance try it in a good rain. looks like something off the Matrix.

[alphadog58]

I used to be able to get an occasional ride in the AC130's I worked on in the early '70's. Aft of the 105mm there was a small opening in the fuselage you could look out of. You could see that 105 round heading for earth when it fired.
Larry

[hedp]

My usual shooting spot runs west to east. Shooting late in the day, with the sun low and at your back it's pretty common to see most any handgun round when shooting out at seventy five yards or so. Seems like anything advertised over about 1100-1200 fps muzzle velocity I can't see, such as 10mm, .357, and .44 Mags. I suppose thats around the velocity limit to see under those conditions.
At least for my eyes.

Done the .308 at 600 with a spotting scope as well, that's pretty cool.

Remember back when I went to Benning for OSUT, the range they use for moving targets with the M16s was built in a way, the firing point I was at was quite a bit higher than the range itself. With the early morning hour, sun at just the right position to my back, and the downward angle you could just barely notice the 5.56 rounds on the targets in the 100-250ish range. Pretty cool I thought.

[Hellion Productions]

You can see Mk. 19 rounds arcing at their targets when you're behind the gun. M-203 is real easy to see.

60mm and 81mm mortar rounds, too, if you look at the right time, just as they come out of the tube.

Best,
John Bear Ross

[Lee Carpentieri]

Yep, When I shoot My Colt 9mm SMG in the semi mode and the Bushmaster M203 you can see the rounds going down range. Especially at night with the Colt 9mm,Looks like a white streak flying down range.

[dk8019]

Indoor pistol ranges are the best for spotting the rounds out of handguns. It's hard to see your own rounds, but someone standing behind you can call your shots all day long.

[familyman357]

Originally posted by Hellion Productions
You can see Mk. 19 rounds arcing at their targets when you're behind the gun.

I was just going to mention that! It's VERY satisfying! :)

There was a show about snipers on the Discovery Channel (I think) and there was some footage of the shock wave created by a .338 Win Mag that some Army snipers were firing at long range. It was pretty neat.

[Lon Moer]

Originally posted by familyman357


I was just going to mention that! It's VERY satisfying! :)

There was a show about snipers on the Discovery Channel (I think) and there was some footage of the shock wave created by a .338 Win Mag that some Army snipers were firing at long range. It was pretty neat.
I shot a couple rounds from a Serbu .50, and you could watch the shock wave go down range. It was very curious.:biggrin:

[owlcreekok]

It took me a while to learn what to watch for, but when I shot IHMSA matches (or practice) we always watched the bullet's flight. Only in the worst of light conditions or lack of attentiveness would you NOT be able to see it. A good spotter will be one who has learned this. No missed targets go without the path being reported accurately to the shooter. Invaluable information in competition.

A .44 mag heading for the rams at 200m looks like a softball being lobbed out to center field.

[Hebrew Battle Rifle]

I see the projectiles from my rubber band gun every time.

[rouge6golf]

watch the rounds from an m1a1 abrams sometime..now thats fun!

[Mason]

Marine Corps Scout Snipers spotters are taught to watch the projectile to the target through the spotting scope.

But, yeah, if you look carefully, you can see it all the time.

[James]

Check out the 12ga slugs being shot down range 3-4 hundred yards. They drop in like artillery rounds from 10 miles.

James

[Mebsuta]

I see bullets in the air,
I have things living in my hair.
In the dark, I see lights
My brain is working overtime.
On clear windowpane, yeah!


Thank you St. Vitus. What a great song that was.