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I was just taking photos for my friend and I thought I'd educate anyone (...women other than D ) what some typical rounds of various calibers look like. These are the only ones I have weapons for (I don't have a .223 Rem, I just have a few).


Left to Right: .22LR, .45ACP, .223 Rem, 7.62x54mm

Energies, Muzzle Velocities and Ranges:

.22LR (36 grain)-----------125 ft-lbs----------1260 fps (384 m/s)----------125 yd (115 m)
.45ACP (117 grain)---------475 ft-lbs----------1400 fps (426 m/s)----------100 yd (92 m) (special 117 grain alloy bullet)
5.56mm (55 grain)---------1282 ft-lbs---------3200 fps (975 m/s)----------300-800 yd (280m - 740m) (depends on load)
7.62x54mm (174 grain)-----2700 ft-lbs---------2800 fps (853 m/s)----------1640 yd (1500 m)

All of these are "typical" representations of their rounds except the .45ACP. I have some super high velocity personal defense ammo. Most full metal jacket target ammo is about 850 FPS (260 m/s) and 325-375 ft-lbs. I even converted the mv/range for the Euros .

The grains are bullet weight. I forget how it's defined. Something to do with pounds of lead

Grains

What is shown above are cartridges. Each is assumably an assemblage of a case, gunpowder, a primer and a bullet. This assembly is often called a round or a bullet.

The case is usually, but not always a hollow piece of machined brass that is made to fit a set of specific dimensions that define a chambering. A chamber is what the cartridge goes into. It holds the primer, the powder and the bullet. It usually is tubular with a rim that may be larger or smaller in diameter than the main body of the case used for extraction from the chamber.
Cases are usually straight wall, tapered or bottle (reduced diameter) throat.

Bullet or projectile.
The projectile if the rounded or pointed object at the small end of the carteidge that goes down the barrel and eventually impacts the target. Bullets are measured by weight, grains and/or diameter caliber. Bullets come in many types. Common bullets are made of lead and often covered with guilding metal which gives the brass/copper color to the bullet. Bullets come in various shapes from flat nose to round nose to hollow point, to sire or spitzer. The bases also vary from flat to hollow to boattail. Projectile shape dramaticly affects aerodynamic performance.

Primer;
A small cup found on the bottom of the case that converts kenetic (impact) energy into heat (spark or flame) to ignite the powder inside the case. These used to be constructed by unstable compounds mile mercury fulminate. Modern primers are more stable and consistent.

Powder;
A chemical mixture tht generates a relatively large volume of gas compared to its nominal volums. THis expanding gas forces the projectile down the barrel and out the end and on to the taget. Unsed to be black powder, charcola, sulfer, and saltpeter as invented by the Chinese. Modern powders are single or double base. and based on nitorglycerine compounds.

Grain as unit of measure for gunpowder and bullet weight;

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m ... i_70650314

Caliber;

http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-89466/calibre

Just some basic ref material for those curious few.

HtH

Note that the ranges listed are the supposed effective accuracy range. The actual extreme range of the bullet is far greater. A .22LR for example, has an extreme range of up to half a mile. Half a mile = approx 0.8 kilometers. The reason for the shorter accuracy range is due to the light bullet weight, which causes it to become easily deflected.

Gad, sorry for the typos. Had just taken my meds and was fuzzier than usual. Unfortunately it won't let me edit the text. Hope you can figure it out. If not just ask.

Note that maximum dangerous ranges may be even greater than BnB indicates. If a high velocity .22 LR is fired upward at a 45 degree angle it may travel 2 miles or more according to one of the boxes I just looked at.

Firearms are tools. Like many other tools they may be used to take or save life. Inherently they are neither good nor evil, merely an inanimate object. They do not choose their use. There are rules governing their safe use. It is the obligation of every owner to learn and follow those rules.

HtH

My mistake using just the word "range". I should have said "maximum effective range", and even then, it's defined a variety of ways. You guys may have a different idea of what is meant by 'range' than this, but this is what I've read. In addition to the idea of "maximum range" if you pointed the weapon at a 45 degree angle, there are three main ways of determining 'maximum effective range', and they're used by different sections of the firearms community.

Military - terminal energy of 500 lb-fts or greater at target distance (interestingly, this is about equal to a .44 mag's muzzle energy)

Hunting - maximum range at which one can obtain an "ethical" kill

Competition - range at which the round has a velocity of 1000 fps to ensure controllable supersonic flight (trajectories typically become unstable in the transonic envelope on either side of the speed of sound)

Oh, and I realize it may've been misleading to say "bullet" because I was showing whole cartridges. My bad. It was like 3 am

I really wish I had a .50 BMG or .338 Lapua to show an extreme range and weight example. Man some of those handloaded .50 BMG rounds are 800 grain.

It's amazing to me the way the energy of the .50 BMG jumps so much from the next most commonly used sniper cartridges, like .338 Lapua, .308 Win, etc. From like 4,000 ft-lbs to like 14,000

Here is a page with good comparison photos for you.

http://www.rogueturtle.com/articles/ammo.php

Note, I didn't include Naval rifles.

I was referring to the max range as that where the bullet would still hurt someone. We're all friends so it's all good.

HtH

The .22LR has a longer effective range than a .45? I did not know that.

CX wrote:The .22LR has a longer effective range than a .45? I did not know that.

TBH, I think it depends on what you're shooting at. I've had people claim max effective range of the .22LR anywhere betweey 75 and 125 yards. The .45, beacuse it's such a common personal defense cartridge, has like a HUGE number of different loads. I think the 230 grain JHPs are supposed to be the most effective combination of high muzzle velocity, heavy and stable round, and penetration. I found this out after I bought a bunch of 185's.

It's possible I quoted a "high estimate" for the .22LR and maybe a medium-to-high estimate of .45ACP.

Plus I would imagine that "effective" has different meanings between those two. "Effective" for .45 means it'll take down a person... "effective" for the .22LR probably means it'll take down a squirrel. I don't know... I think Mitchell would know way more about that.

Remember that as speed doubles, impact energy is squared. Unless my memory has gone totally kaput.

Interesting that a kilowatt strobe will give one a sunburn at close range while a 1 kW laser will do nasty things at quite some distance. Amazing what coherance can do.

HtH

blacknblue wrote:Remember that as speed doubles, impact energy is squared. Unless my memory has gone totally kaput.

Yeah, but that wouldn't explain why the .50 BMG has insanely high impact energy, because the .50cal has similar muzzle velocity to the 5.56 or the 7.62. I know one of the advantages is that it doesn't slow down nearly as quickly down the line. But the biggest thing must be the fact that the bullet's so much heavier than everything else.

Mathematically it doesn't make a lot of sense because you're right, KE~mv^2, so mass shouldn't affect impact energy as much as speed. But the .222 Swift and .221 Remington Fireball have muzzle velocities upwards of 3500-4000 fps and only energy between 1000 and 1200 ft-lbs. So something's off with the generic mathematical analysis that energy's more important. Something's going on with drift and drag.

Have you calculated the inertial factors in comparison with the various bullet shapes as a function of aerodynamic friction?

blacknblue wrote:Have you calculated the inertial factors in comparison with the various bullet shapes as a function of aerodynamic friction?

Well in the final analysis for energy, that shouldn't matter, because the aerodynamic profiles of the bullets are going to effect how the speed drops, but with these rounds it is possible to just look up their velocity-drop profiles at range on the internet. You can go and find out that say the 7.62x54 drops to 2500 ftps at 100 yards and 2350 at 400 yards and 2100 at 600 yards, etc. I just made those numbers up btw. But the velocity and mass should be all that determine the energy at impact. The aerodynamic profile should just determine how fast the velocity drops.

I'm guessing that maybe composition and impact geometry affect it as well. Like how a round expands, etc.

Ballistics is a simplistic science. Don't make ti more complicated than it is. Only three factors affect a bullet. Mass, initial velocity, and drag. Nothing else matter. Mass is simple, you have it in front of you. Initial velocity is precalculated based on the amount of powder behind it. Therefore the only variable that would explain the mystery is the variance in drag factors. Since gravity, air density, etc. are presumed to be equivalent, then...

Air friction is the only remaining variable that could possible bias the results. No? And air friction is a function of bullet shape and bullet surface coefficient. What is teh 50 caliber coated with? Is it bare lead or is it jacketed?