Trajectory of a 22 rimfire at 230 yards.

[Topstrap]

I've had these pictures for awhile and thought it was cool we were able to get consistent hits on it at that distance while changing holds based on the wind flags.

I never paid attention to it but it shows the angle the bullet is coming in at. We've all heard that shooting a 22 at farther distances is like lobbing rounds out of a motar which those of us that have been doing it know it isn't true.

Pretty cool to actually see it on a target, think it will surprise the non-believers.

 

[BillOH]

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/50-rounds-at-350-yards.6949113/

I went back to my 50 rounds at 350 yards thread. The pictures don't seem to show any mortar shots.

 

[sea2summit]

500 and even 600 yard hits are not horribly uncommon with .22.

Not that I have the equipment/patience/capabilities to do it

 

[Near miss]

This is what I got at 380yds.
Target was in a snowhide with 3" showing of it to keep it from wind and I tried to go through the snow.

None of ~15 got through. Found several bullets on snow. I could walk on that snow though.

I dug up few bullets but I am not 100% sure all of them were noses straigth but that is how I remember it.

Also the bullets recovered from 250yds, shot into a snowmanish pile of snow were in straight.

 

[Wrencoforge]

if you want to know the angle the bullet is coming in at check a ballistics table, and plot it on a graph. I believe some even give a 3D representation.
My calculators are showing around 60” drop at 200yds (just in general, I haven’t chronographed anything). That’s quite a bit of drop, but make no mistake the bullet isn’t coming in like a mortar..

 

[justin amateur]

I ran some numbers for 40 grain Lapua CenterX when I was testing.
With a 200 yard zero, scope 1.5 inches over the bore, mv 1073 fps
the peak of the trajectory arc was only 19 inches above the line of sight.
So the actual rise above the muzzle was only 19 inches
and the fall back to where the crosshairs were aimed was 19 inches.
No big rainbow, just a nice smooth 200 yard parabola.

 

[AirCapitalOutdoors]

200 is becoming a very very common distance at most clubs. We typically reach out to 500 at our local club and it's fairly common for people to make impacts. It's a pretty interesting trajectory but it's far from mortar style.

 

[BillOH]

@Near miss has the heel of that bullet expanded to fill the bore? Anybody else recovered fired 22 LR bullets to look at the base?

 

[Near miss]

@Near miss has the heel of that bullet expanded to fill the bore? Anybody else recovered fired 22 LR bullets to look at the base?

Nope. They did not look like they fit the bore 100%. At the time and still I wonder about it.

It was probably SK or Lapua Biathlon ammo.

I too would like to see specimens from other barrels

 

[justin amateur]

Thanks for that close up NM.
Looking at that heel explains why those cartridges with bullet material compressed down past the crimp
produce such nasty strays compared to those with only nose damage.
If the skirt is uneven, uneven pressure release will occur on exit.
That will cause projectile tipping and unpredictable trajectories.

I think...

 

[Near miss]

Thanks for that close up NM.
Looking at that heel explains why those cartridges with bullet material compressed down past the crimp
produce such nasty strays compared to those with only nose damage.
If the skirt is uneven, uneven pressure release will occur on exit.
That will cause projectile tipping and unpredictable trajectories.

I think...

Yep. Damaged heel is 10x worse than damaged nose.

I took quite many of those with me from the snow but I cannot find better pictures of them. I might be able to track them from my led scrap. I did look each of them and ensured they looked the same.

 

[justin amateur]

Okay, it's weird thought Saturday.
Saw the image of the 22lr recovered from the snow bank.
No mushrooming or impact damage.
I wonder if I can reproduce a similar result using a large box
filled with bulk polyester cushion filling to stop and catch the bullets
in order to see what happens after firing and the trip through the rifling?
Set the box out at 200 yards, bullet slowed way down, might be doable.

Just thinking...

 

[OldHistorian]

Okay, it's weird thought Saturday.
Saw the image of the 22lr recovered from the snow bank.
No mushrooming or impact damage.
I wonder if I can reproduce a similar result using a large box
filled with bulk polyester cushion filling to stop and catch the bullets
in order to see what happens after firing and the trip through the rifling?
Set the box out at 200 yards, bullet slowed way down, might be doable.

Just thinking...

oiled sawdust is an old-time bullet catcher. for .22, dry sawdust might work too.

 

[justin amateur]

Thanks OH, tidbit of knowledge/history I didn't know.
Useful also, wonder if I can recover pellets from my air rifle for evaluation?

 

[Near miss]

Fine sand is good also given enough distance.

Go check your range's backstop sands, you might find some bullets there.

 

[OldHistorian]

if you want to know the angle the bullet is coming in at check a ballistics table, and plot it on a graph. I believe some even give a 3D representation.
My calculators are showing around 60” drop at 200yds (just in general, I haven’t chronographed anything). That’s quite a bit of drop, but make no mistake the bullet isn’t coming in like a mortar..

At 500 yards, the CCI SV projectile is dropping an inch in a foot or a bit more.