Joe Woosman
Member
Not long ago there were some great threads on the cause and effects of wind drift on a bullet, (or maybe it was projectiles). Anyway, I spent many hours reading those threads and other technical resources. Sometimes having to wait a day or two for my brain to stop hurting and accept the science so I'm not certain I've got all this correct.
Perceived fact #1: The greater the rate of deceleration of a bullet, the larger the amount of drift in a given condition, all other things equal.
Perceived fact #2: The higher the velocity of a particular bullet, the greater the rate of deceleration, (in Earths lower atmosphere).
Perceived fact #3: Wind drift being the main cause of a miss, large group, etc.
Now it's my observation that most benchrest shooters run their velocities and pressures right up at the max of what their components can stand. No doubt there must be an observed improvement at the target, or is there? I have heard of experimenters doing some crazy, (and dangerous), things to increase velocity. I even heard a story of a BR shooter that precisely topped his load off with pistol powder to act as an afterburner. (The practice WAS abandoned so I hear).
I'd appreciate it if some of you could shoot some holes in my following logic. I believe the accuracy doesn't lie in the velocity of a load, but the consistency of burn created under higher pressures, combined with greater force exerted on the bullet very early in the the travel up the bore, resulting in more energy to overcome the inconsistencies caused by friction, resulting in better barrel harmonic/bullet exit timing.
If this is true, it seems we may be causing a problem to fix a problem. What do you think?
Perceived fact #1: The greater the rate of deceleration of a bullet, the larger the amount of drift in a given condition, all other things equal.
Perceived fact #2: The higher the velocity of a particular bullet, the greater the rate of deceleration, (in Earths lower atmosphere).
Perceived fact #3: Wind drift being the main cause of a miss, large group, etc.
Now it's my observation that most benchrest shooters run their velocities and pressures right up at the max of what their components can stand. No doubt there must be an observed improvement at the target, or is there? I have heard of experimenters doing some crazy, (and dangerous), things to increase velocity. I even heard a story of a BR shooter that precisely topped his load off with pistol powder to act as an afterburner. (The practice WAS abandoned so I hear).
I'd appreciate it if some of you could shoot some holes in my following logic. I believe the accuracy doesn't lie in the velocity of a load, but the consistency of burn created under higher pressures, combined with greater force exerted on the bullet very early in the the travel up the bore, resulting in more energy to overcome the inconsistencies caused by friction, resulting in better barrel harmonic/bullet exit timing.
If this is true, it seems we may be causing a problem to fix a problem. What do you think?