Seeing the path of a bullet?!

I recently heard an anecdote about someone getting shot at in a heavy fog. The person claimed that "when a warm projectile is sent out through the fog, it leaves a tracer round effect. Meaning if you are quick, you will be able to see the trail of where the bullet came from".

Can some of the gun experts here tell me if that's nonsense? I've never seen an effect like that, but have never shot in the fog.

Thanks.

Not true.

Even if you could see the bullet's path, it's traveling at you SOOOO fast that you wouldn't be able to act, even if it was instinctively.

I shoot an Air Pistol at about 530 ft/sec, about half the speed of a 22.

I *have* seen the pellet in flight when the lighting is *just* right. Of course this is not good since I am supposed to be focused on the front sight.

Jerry

when I took my CCW shooting class with my dad years ago, I was shooting first, he was sitting beside me. The lights were behind me and he told me that he could see my .45's rounds go downrange. "Whatever".

When he shot, sure as hell, I could see the rounds. You only saw a quick flash toward the target, but you could see them.

Way Weird.

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paulr said:
I recently heard an anecdote about someone getting shot at in a heavy fog. The person claimed that "when a warm projectile is sent out through the fog, it leaves a tracer round effect. Meaning if you are quick, you will be able to see the trail of where the bullet came from".

Can some of the gun experts here tell me if that's nonsense? I've never seen an effect like that, but have never shot in the fog.

Thanks.

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I believe you'll be much too preoccupied with seeking cover, to be able at all see much of anything travelling at modern centerfire bullet speeds. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

But, supposing you could "rig" up at observer-protected study of such a phenomenon, I believe there are simply too many variables to give you a concrete answer. Much would depend on the fog density, lighting factors--both direct and indirect, and distance from the shot's origin (which has an effect on the speed at which the slug is travelling).

Additionally, a big variable would be the type of firearm fired. Observability, I'm sure, woudl vary a great deal between say a relatively "slow" moving .45ACP slug moving at roughly 900 fps vs. a "speedy" 5.56x45mm (.223 Rem) bullet moving at 3200 fps.

That's my guess.

If you could see anything, it would be the condensation created in the low pressure area at the base of the bullet. If the bullet was a boat-tail, you probably would not be able to see anything. The condensation trail is the fog you see produced on the low pressure surfaces of high performance airplanes.

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FC. said:
Not true.

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FC I know you get a lot of fog in Pittsburg, but,do you get shot at that much? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

When I was out shooting my .357, I could see the bullet as it flew downrange. It was simply due to the lighting being just right to reflect off the back of the bullet. But you COULD see the bullet go downrange.

I should have been more clear, this person did not claim to see the bullet in flight. He says he heard the shot, then looked around and saw where it had come from because of a line that it had made through the fog, that must have (in the anecdote) persisted for at least a second or two.

maybe the shockwave made a disturbance in the air, displacing the fog...?

-Jason

Will the "slow motion" effect often described in the fight-or-flight scenario by fighter pilots and such help?

paulr, I just have to believe your friend, unless you tell me he fibs a lot. Did he say how close he was to the bullet path?

Bill

While I understand the concept, fog , even at its thickest, would be neither dense enough nor stable enough for something so visual. Could be material for the "Myth Busters"?

GC, thats a nice looking rig..........

Bill, I think he was not very close, and he's not my friend, he's a guy whose stories I'm skeptical of, so I thought I'd check here before telling other people that he's full of it. Thanks.

Uh, all you guys MUST have seen a contrail, eh?

I've seen the tremendous pressure differentials on airframe parts often leave a trail. Also, a lot of odd effects from high-performance aircraft passing through air (and especially breaking the sound barrier or even having parts of the airflow around some body elements going supersonic).

Hmmmmmm ... Come to think of it I've even seen odd effects in light fog on the freeway where a vehicle ripping along at only freeway speeds can leave a discernable "trail" in the air.

Is it that inconceivable that a bullet's high speed passage through fog could leave some sort of path mark?

I'll buy a potential for a visible bullet path in high-humidity air.

I shot a 270 in broad day light and noticed the projectile cutting the air for lack of better terminology. It kind of looked like some sort of special effects from the movies.
I believe it is completely possible especialy with mag rounds.

It's called the "trace".Reading the trace is one of the duties of the spotter in a sniper team.Corrections in elevation/windage can then be put on the gun useing mechanical adjustments or hold off.What you are seeing is I believe a condensation/turbulance trail.

Low velocity projectiles such as .45acp can be seen very easily with the correct lighting. I fouled a shot one afternoon with the sun over my left shoulder and saw the bullet leaving and coming back which hit me in the sternum with enough force to make a "thunk".This all happened so fast that no response was possible as the distance to target was about 30 feet.

I have a video me and my buddies did.
The camera is setup behind the shooter, shooting over a pond.
You can see the bullets wizzing toward the rock on the other side of the pond.

You can see the bullet becuase of the camers position, you could NEVER see a bullet from the side.

I will try to remember to host the vid tonight for you guys to see.

Yes, you can watch an imaginary spot about 30 feet out from the muzzle of a 1911 with 230g hardball and see the projectile and it's trajectory in the right daytime conditions. Not sure about the fog thing, but it sounds plausible.