There is a lot of calculating going on.

There is a lot of calculating going on.

Yeah.

But that's what dope cards are for.

The coriolis effect has to be factored in after about thirty-three hundred yards.

And 792mph is getting close to subsonic.

But the toughest part of the shot, imho, was finding a target that would sit still for the ten seconds it took for the bullet to find him.

You think his buddies freak after seeing him explode and 10 seconds later hear the shot! LOL

You think his buddies freak after seeing him explode and 10 seconds later hear the shot!

No doubt about it.

A sniper can put the fear of god into you.

The bullet from the rifle travelled at an eye-watering 792mph - faster than a Boeing 737 - and took ten seconds to reach its target

The muzzle velocity of a .50 BMG from a McMillan Tac-50 is 2641 feet per second (1800 miles per hour). My guess is that it took 5-6 seconds to reach it's target. In that period of time, the bullet would drop 400-500 feet.

Still it's obvious that luck is one of the many factors available. I remember picking off a beer bottle with a heavy caliber handgun from perhaps 100 yards. If you fire enough shots you'll hit your target eventually. All that's required is for the target to be within power range of the weapon used.

I'm sure soon they'll have guided bullets where they can train a laser on the target and the bullet will simply hone in on the reflection. The laser will be controlled by a computer that's watching the target via a zoom camera. The rifle will be similarly operated by a computer. All the operator does is sight the target in with a laptop and click the "Shoot" button. Even if the target moves, the laser will adjust, and the bullet will change trajectory to match.

Bullets might cost $50 each but with an unlimited military budget, who cares?

I notices I used inches instead of feet. It would have dropped 320ft in a 10 sec travel. Thats just crazy! LOL

"I read the muzzle velocity is several times the speed of sound, but that the bullet would have slowed to near subsonic by the time it reached the target."

True. Plus I read that when a bullet slows and passes from supersonic to subsonic, that causes destabilization and accuracy suffers. Why is why there aren't that many long range kills.

"It would have dropped 320ft in a 10 sec travel." <

Distance (d) travelled by an object falling for time (t):

g = 32 feet per second squared. t = 10 seconds.

That works out to (1/2)(32)(100) = 1600 feet.

If the bullet flight was only 5 seconds, that works out to a "reasonable" 400 foot drop.

My guess is that it took 5-6 seconds to reach it's target.

I wouldn't know.

But i've shot an ai 115a3 and iirc, the muzzle velocity is around 950 m/sec or a couple of thousand mph.

You think his buddies freak after seeing him explode and 10 seconds later hear the shot! LOL

Not quite that dramatic.     : )

This bullet at 792mph was flying just a bit faster than the speed of sound (767mph).

So they would have heard the shot less than a half-second after their fellow-terrorist went all squishy. Probably more like a quarter-second.

Hmmmm...interesting.

11,614ft ÷ 1125 feet/second (speed of sound) = 10.3235 seconds (for the sound wave to arrive)

(792mph × 5280ft) ÷ 60minutes ÷ 60seconds = 1161ft/second

11,614ft ÷ 1161 feet/second (speed of bullet) = 10.003 seconds (for the bullet to arrive)

So it took the bullet 10.003 to travel that distance. Yet the article says it took just under 10 seconds. Hmmmm...maybe I missed something, eh?

Anyway, the bullet was traveling at 1161 ft/second and the speed of sound is 1125 feet/second. So over a time span of 10 seconds, the bullet would gain 36 feet/second over its sound wave, making the bullet arrive in 10 seconds and the sound of the gunshot arrive .3 seconds after.

Anyway, I was curious and those are my numbers. Anyone see a mistake? Certainly, I am no expert. Perhaps I am off but not by much (I hope).

"But i've shot an ai 115a3 and iirc, the muzzle velocity is around 950 m/sec or a couple of thousand mph."

My two sons went to a long-range shooting exhibition where they shot about a dozen rifles set up at different stations. They mentioned one that was "larger than a .30 cal but smaller than the .50. Could have been that one.

Anyways, the attendees all got one shot of the Barrett 50. They both said one was enough. Their favorite? The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon.

A sniper can put the fear of god into you.

Not to mention really,REALLY piss you off.

This bullet at 792mph was flying just a bit faster than the speed of sound (767mph).

I have no idea where they got that speed. It comes out of the muzzle at 1800mph. Granted, from that point on it slows down

The muzzle velocity of a .50 BMG from a McMillan Tac-50 is 2641 feet per second (1800 miles per hour). My guess is that it took 5-6 seconds to reach it's target. In that period of time, the bullet would drop 400-500 feet.

Are snipers using issue M-2 ammo,or are they reloading?

I have a hard time believing they are shooting issue loads.

At that distance you don't shoot at moving targets. You wait for them to sit.

Plus I read that when a bullet slows and passes from supersonic to subsonic, that causes destabilization and accuracy suffers. Why is why there aren't that many long range kills.

That's true,but with a spire point bullet as long as a 50 cal BMG bullet,any destabilization would be MUCH less than typical. Especially if they are handloading and using boat tail bullets.

And I can not think of one single reason why they wouldn't be brewing their own loads.

But i've shot an ai 115a3 and iirc, the muzzle velocity is around 950 m/sec or a couple of thousand mph.

What's an ai 115a3?

"making the bullet arrive in 10 seconds and the sound of the gunshot arrive .3 seconds after."

I thought the sound wave travelled with the bullet. Meaning if you're on the receiving end, you hear the crack of the bullet followed by the gunshot.

I thought the sound wave travelled with the bullet. Meaning if you're on the receiving end, you hear the crack of the bullet followed by the gunshot.

I think there is some confusion there,but I may be wrong. Having been on the receiving end of sniper fire,I can tell you that you can hear the bullet "pop" as it passes by your ear,but I never once heard the gunshot. Maybe the sniper was using a silenced weapon,but I THINK they were pretty rare on Soviet weapons in 69.

Could it be the guy that told you that heard the "pop" of a near miss and thought it was the sound of the muzzle blast?

That was one silent goober after he took his shot and missed. He never tried another one. Good thing for him,too. I was plenty pissed because it made me drop my last chocolate bar in the stream I was crossing,and I would have had some fast movers drop some napalm on his ass if he had shot again and I could have located where he was.

Their favorite? The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon.

Gee,I wonder why? (G)

I have no idea where they got that speed. It comes out of the muzzle at 1800mph. Granted, from that point on it slows down

There is something a little wrong with their math, it seems to me. And he shot a guy on a building and ISIS doesn't have any mountain towns it is fighting in (higher altitude might alter a few parameters due to thinner air).

The math is close but not quite on. There is some misreporting here. But then do we expect expert ballistics reporting from DailyMail? Probably not since only about .1% of their readers would care at all about precise ballistics.

I thought the sound wave travelled with the bullet. Meaning if you're on the receiving end, you hear the crack of the bullet followed by the gunshot.

This bullet apparently traveled only a little faster than the sound wave.

But there are other slower bullets as well as much faster bullets where you would have a delay from the time the bullet arrives and when the gunshot sound wave arrives.

Apparently this sniper gun fires a relatively large and heavy bullet at a speed just above the speed of sound and it does it very accurately.

I think this wasn't an especially fast bullet by military standards. I thought it sounded a little slow, to be honest. But I could easily be wrong. A ballistics guru, I am not.

Having been on the receiving end of sniper fire,I can tell you that you can hear the bullet "pop" as it passes by your ear,but I never once heard the gunshot.

I wonder if you would even hear the gunshot at over 2 miles away. You almost assume it had to be dead still (if the shot wasn't total pure luck). So a windless day in the desert, a fairly loud and powerful gun, maybe you would hear the gunshot at 2 miles pretty easily but it wouldn't be very loud.

I'd have to look up some math on how sound dissipates over distances.

I think you'd hear a mild thud in the body, probably with some blood spatter, then a slightly louder popping sound from the gunshot .3 seconds later.

You can see I like imagining the effect of this "shot heard round the world" on the barbarian sand-rat and his buddies. We have no idea how loud the gunshot was when the bullet was fired so we can't do a very good estimate of how loud the gunshot would be when the jihadis heard it, .3 seconds after they see their jihad buddy start oozing a lot of blood.

The sound intensity drops very sharply after only about 30 feet (sound intensity will decrease by the inverse square of the distance). The decibel level drops about 6dB each time the distance from the gun doubles.

73dB would be a pretty sharp pop, an unmistakable gunshot sound.

Aerodynamics state that the drag imposed on an object increases by the square of it's speed.

I thought it had to be something like that. The "just under 10 seconds" and especially the 792mph was looking kinda fishy to me. Thx.

What's an ai 115a3?

I read the muzzle velocity is several times the speed of sound, but that the bullet would have slowed to near subsonic by the time it reached the target.

That's right.

The bullet would have left the barrel at approximately 936m/s (3070fps) and about ten seconds later would have been around 2.1 miles away, traveling at about 972mph (1161fps) as it hit its target, according to the story.

Give or take local variables.

Calibers? If it is a 308/7.62x51 is it virtually useless in the various Shitstainistans. You need the longer belted magnum cases to push the heavy bullets out to maximum distances. The 300,338,and 375 magnums. Long,heavy bullets buck wind better,and retain more energy at long distances.

The bullet would have left the barrel at approximately 936m/s (3070fps) and about ten seconds later would have been around 2.1 miles away, traveling at about 972mph (1161fps) as it hit its target, according to the story.

Don't know about any of you,but *I* sure as hell don't want to get hit by a 750 grain 50 caliber bullet traveling at any speed that keeps gravity from making it fall to the ground.

"and about ten seconds later would have been around 2.1 miles away"

If it took ten seconds, the bullet would have dropped 1,600 feet. Unless it had wings. Then there's windage.

The bullet would have left the barrel at approximately 936m/s (3070fps) and about ten seconds later would have been around 2.1 miles away, traveling at about 972mph (1161fps) as it hit its target, according to the story.

Doing the math, I came to the conclusion that 792mph for the bullet speed is some kind of average speed or estimate. I think it was traveling slower than 792mph when it hit the target.

If the shot really took less than 10 seconds as they reported, 792mph is just a little too fast for the math to work.

Don't know about any of you,but *I* sure as hell don't want to get hit by a 750 grain 50 caliber bullet traveling at any speed that keeps gravity from making it fall to the ground.

I wonder just how big a hole it would make in his torso. I'm dubious on the bullet splattering inside his body much, mostly just a big hole front and back with blood spurting out fast.

He'd be dead in seconds, I think. Probably paralyzed by systemic shock immediately (unless he was full of adrenaline and his blood fully oxygenated which seems unlikely if he held still long enough to get hit from 2 miles away).

What action and barrel does it use?'

Bolt action. Still using their own flat bottomed, flat-sided receiver, afaik.

Calibers are win 308 and .338 lapua, 6.5 creedmore (.260 rem), 300 wsm, etc.

The one i shot had a twenty-six inch bartlein 5r barrel, iirc.

I wonder just how big a hole it would make in his torso. I'm dubious on the bullet splattering inside his body much, mostly just a big hole front and back with blood spurting out fast.

Slightly larger than 50 caliber do to hydraulic expansion of flesh. I guess it could be bigger if it hit the breast plate and shatter it because those sharp shards of bones would expand the hole. Mabye not as much as the hydraulic dynamics,but velocity would probably be the biggest determinate.

Unless of course it grazed something just before striking bone and hit sideways. If that happened the damage would be pretty spectacular. Bones and bullets are never pretty.

Calibers are win 308 and .338 lapua, 6.5 creedmore (.260 rem), 300 wsm, etc.

The one i shot had a twenty-six inch bartlein 5r barrel, iirc.

Thanks.

Unless of course it grazed something just before striking bone and hit sideways. If that happened the damage would be pretty spectacular. Bones and bullets are never pretty.

That was my thinking. I wondered if it hit the arm, it would tear away the flesh but if it hit the bone in the arm, it might tear the arm off entirely. A big bullet with a lot of kinetic power.

Now I wish we had post-shooting photos so we could see how effective it was.