Very-low-drag bullet

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A traditional Hollow Point Boat Tail very-low-drag rifle bullet. The jackets of
these bullets are generally made out of copper alloy (such as gilding metal or c
upronickel)
The very-low-drag bullet (VLD) is primarily a small arms ballistics development
of the 1980s 1990s, driven by shooters' desire for bullets that will give a higher
degree of accuracy and kinetic efficiency, especially at extended ranges. To ac
hieve this, the projectile must minimize air resistance in flight. Demand has be
en greatest from military snipers, long range target shooters, including F-class
and benchrest competitors, but hunters have also benefited. Most very-low-drag
bullets are used in rifles.
Bullets with a lower drag coefficient decelerate less rapidly. A low drag coeffi
cient flattens the projectile's trajectory and also markedly decreases the later
al drift caused by crosswinds. The higher impact velocity of bullets with low dr
ag coefficients means they retain more kinetic energy.
Contents [hide]
1
Development
2
Modern design
3
See also
4
References
5
External links
Development[edit]
The development of very-low-drag bullets has focused on the following main facto
rs:
the production of bullets with concentric and coincident centres of pressure and
centres of mass
bullet nose design incorporating a secant ogive, tangent ogive, Von Krmn ogive or
Sears-Haack profile
the use of tapered bullet heels, also known as boat-tails
a cavity or hollow in the bullet nose (hollow point) to shift the projectile's c
entre of gravity rearwards
To reduce damage to the employed barrel and increase muzzle velocity, some moder
n mono-metal very-low-drag bullets are bore-riding bullets, in which thin drivin
g bands are the only parts that are etched by the barrel's lands. The use of dri
ving bands originates from artillery shells and to use these driving bands corre
ctly requires projectiles and barrels to be precision-fitted to each other.
The resulting projectile should be streamlined for easier passage through the ai
r. Consistency in bullet production, allied to consistency in the assembly of ca
rtridges (quality control) should give excellent shot-to-shot consistency.
The principles of bullet design and flight are classically set out in F.W. Mann'
s The Bullet's Flight From Powder to Target: Ballistics of Small Arms.[1]
Modern design[edit]
The possibility to machine mono-metal bullets (coreless bullets made of one sing
le metal (alloy)) offers bullet designers the freedom to design slender, aerodyn
amically efficient shapes that cannot be produced with more traditional bullet p
roduction methods.
Mono-metal very-low-drag bullets are normally machined from solid bars of highly
-machinable metals or alloys using CNC lathes. Common materials include UNS C360
00 Free-Cutting Brass, lead-free brass,[2] oxygen-free copper and other highly m
achinable alloys of copper, nickel, and tellurium.

Producing accurate bullets this way is not easy. To guarantee the bullets' consi
stency and accuracy, professional quality control during and after production is
needed. Mono-metal solid bullets are more expensive than traditional jacketed H
ollow Point Boat Tail very-low-drag bullets.
See also[edit]
Drag (physics)
Parasitic drag
Boundary layer
Drag coefficient
Ballistic coefficient
Nose cone design
References[edit]
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve th
is article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be ch
allenged and removed. (November 2011)
Jump up ^ * Mann, F.W.: The Bullet's Flight From Powder to Target: Ballistics of
Small Arms (1942 and other reprints)
Jump up ^ Wieland-SW1 lead-free special brass
External links[edit]
VLD bullets on long-range varmint hunting
Categories: BallisticsShooting sports equipmentProjectiles
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