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bullet travels. When a bullet is traveling upward on an elevated trajectory, there is a component of gravity that adds to the drag deceleration of the bullet, but the bullet is traveling into less dense atmosphere that reduces the aerodynamic drag. So, these small effects tend to offset one another. The opposite small effects occur when the bullet is traveling downward along a depressed trajectory. This result is true in general. At practical range distances for small arms fire the change in vertical drop with firing elevation or depression angle is very small, even for very steep angles. However, the bullet path can change dramatically, particularly at steep angles. Figure 3.3-1 shows how this happens. Ordinarily, a shooter will sight his gun in on a target range that is level or nearly level. Figure 3.3-1 (a) shows this situation. When sighting in, the shooter adjusts his sights so that the line of sight intersects the trajectory at the range (Ro in the figure), which is the range where he wants his gun zeroed in. Ro is called the zero range for level fire. The vertical distance between the line of departure (extended bore line) of the bullet and the point where the bullet passes is the drop (do). This symbol is used to denote the drop at the range where the gun is zeroed in. Note that the angle between the bullets line of departure (extended bore line) and the line of sight is very small. This angle is greatly exaggerated in Figure 3.3-1 for purposes of illustration. Even for very long-range target shooting (1000 yards or more), the angle A is much less than 1.0 degree, and it is typically less than 10 minutes of arc for sporting rifles and handguns. Table 3.3-1 Bullet Drop at a Specific Range Distance versus Bore Elevation Angle for a Selection of Cartridges
Cartridge and Load Range Distance
22 Hornet, Sierras 200 yds 45 gr. Hornet bullet, 2700 fps Mzl Vel
Elevation Angle
0 deg (level) 20 45 - 20 - 45 0 deg (level) 20 45 60 - 20 - 45 - 60 0 deg. (level) 45 60 - 45 - 60 0 deg (level) 20 45 - 20 - 45 0 deg (level) 20 45 - 20
Bullet Drop
- 13.39 in - 13.38 - 13.36 - 13.40 - 13.41 - 39.98 in - 39.94 - 39.90 - 39.89 - 40.01 - 40.05 - 40.06 - 109.05 in - 108.66 - 108.57 - 109.44 - 109.53 - 28.34 in - 28.33 - 28.32 - 28.36 - 28.37 - 16.04 in - 16.03 - 16.03 - 16.04
270 Winchester 400 yds Sierras 140 gr. SBT GameKing, 2900 fps Mzl Vel
338 Winchester 600 yds Magnum, Sierras 250 gr. SBT GameKing, 2700 fps Mzl Vel 44 Magnum, Sierras 150 yds 240 gr. JHC bullet, 1300 fps Mzl Vel
38 S&W Special, 100 yds Sierras 125 gr. JSP bullet, 1100 fps Mzl Vel
- 45
- 16.05
Now consider the situation where the shooter fires his gun uphill at a steep angle, as shown in Figure 3.3-1 (b), with no changes in the sights. Since the true bullet drop changes very little, at a slant range distance Ro from the muzzle the bullet has a vertical drop nearly equal to do, as shown in the figure. However, the line of sight at slant range distance Ro still is located a distance do in a perpendicular direction away from the line of departure. Because of the firing elevation angle, the bullet trajectory no longer intersects the line of sight at the slant range Ro. In fact, the bullet passes well above the line of sight at that point, as Figure 3.3-1 (b) shows. In other words, the bullet
shoots high from the shooters viewpoint as he or she aims the gun, and at steep angles it may shoot high by a considerable amount at longer ranges. Figure 3.3-1 (c) depicts the situation when the shooter fires the gun downhill. Again the vertical drop at the slant range distance Ro changes a very small amount from the value do for level fire, but the line of sight and line of departure are still separated by the perpendicular distance do at that range point. Compared to the case of level fire, the bullet again shoots high from the shooters viewpoint as he or she aims the gun. Furthermore, if the gun is fired uphill at some elevation angle, and then fired downhill at an equivalent depression angle, the two bullets will shoot high by nearly the same amount at the same slant range distances. A careful look at Figure 3.3-1 (a) or (b) shows us that the amount by which the bullet shoots high at the slant range distance Ro is equal (approximately) to the perpendicular distance do from the line of sight to the extended bore line minus the projection of the drop do on that same perpendicular line. From plane trigonometry, the distance by which the bullet shoots high at Ro is: Amount by which the bullet shoots high = do [1.0 cosine A] where A is the elevation angle (or depression angle). Now, if you have forgotten or never studied trigonometry in school, dont worry. The Infinity program will make exact calculation s for you, and two examples of these calculations will be shown below. First though, let us point out that this explanation of the physics of uphill or downhill shooting has been given specifically for a slant range distance equal to the zero range distance for level fire, and this has been done just for convenience. The sketches are easier to draw and to understand for that situation. The result, however, applies for all slant range distances. At any range distance from the muzzle, the amount by which the bullet will shoot high at any elevation or depression angle A is very nearly equal to the drop for level fire at that range distance multiplied by the quantity [1.0 cosine A]. Two examples for uphill or downhill shooting have been prepared using Infinity, and they are shown in Tables 3.3-2 and 3.3-3. The first example is for a 7 mm Remington Magnum, a flat-shooting rifle cartridge. The second example is for a 44 Remington Magnum handgun cartridge that has a trajectory with much more arc. It is presumed that both the rifle and the handgun have telescope sights and are sighted in at an altitude of 2500 feet. Then, they are fired uphill or downhill while at the same altitude. The tables show the reference bullet path for level fire together with the changes in bullet path depending on the elevation angle and slant range distance. When reviewing Tables 3.3-2 and 3.3-3, keep in mind that a depression angle is a negative elevation angle. Two conclusions are evident from these examples. First, shooting uphill or downhill can have a strong effect on the trajectory of any bullet, always causing the bullet to shoot high relative to the bullet path for level fire. This effect grows larger as the slant range distance grows longer and the elevation angle grows steeper. The second conclusion is that a bullet always shoots slightly higher when it is fired downhill than when it is fired uphill at the same angle. The reason for this, as explained above, is that when the bullet travels upward, there is a component of gravity acting as drag on the bullet that increases the drop slightly. When the bullet travels downward, on the other hand, there is a component of gravity acting as drag on the bullet that decreases the drop slightly. Table 3.3-2 Example of Bullet Path Changes for a Rifle Bullet Fired Uphill or Downhill
Cartridge: 7 mm Remington Magnum with Sierras 140 grain Spitzer Boat Tail bullet at 3000 fps muzzle velocity Zero range: 300 yds for level fire Shooting environment: 2500 ft altitude with standard atmospheric conditions
Elevation
Angle (deg.) 0 + 15 - 15 + 30 - 30 + 45 - 45 Bullet Path (in) Bullet Path Change (in) Bullet Path Change (in) Bullet Path Change (in) Bullet Path Change (in) Bullet Path Change (in) Bullet Path Change (in)
Parameter
100 3.71 0.07 0.07 0.27 0.27 0.59 0.59
Table 3.3-3 Example of Bullet Path Changes for a Handgun Bullet Fired Uphill or Downhill
Cartridge: 44 Remington Magnum with Sierras 240 grain Jacketed Hollow Cavity bullet at 1300 fps muzzle velocity Zero range: 100 yds for level fire Shooting environment: 2500 ft altitude with standard atmospheric conditions
Elevation Angle (deg.)
0 + 15 - 15 + 30 - 30 + 45 - 45
Parameter
200
- 28.35 1.63 2.01 6.84 7.49 15.28 16.03
Bullet Path (in) Bullet Path Change (in) Bullet Path Change (in) Bullet Path Change (in) Bullet Path Change (in) Bullet Path Change (in) Bullet Path Change (in)