External ballistics

Forces acting on the projectile

When in flight, the main or major forces acting on the projectile are gravity, drag, and if present, wind. Gravity imparts a downward acceleration on the projectile, causing it to drop from the line of sight. Drag, or the air resistance, decelerates the projectile with a force proportional to the square of the velocity. Wind makes the projectile deviate from its trajectory. During flight, gravity, drag, and wind have a major impact on the path of the projectile, and must be accounted for when predicting how the projectile will travel.

For medium to longer ranges and flight times, besides gravity, air resistance and wind, several intermediate or meso variables described in the external factors paragraph have to be taken into account. Meso variables can become significant for firearms users that have to deal with angled shot scenarios or extended ranges, but are seldom relevant at common hunting and target shooting distances.

For long to very long ranges and flight times, minor effects and forces such as the ones described in the long range factors paragraph become important and have to be taken into account. The practical effects of these minor variables are generally irrelevant for most firearms users, since normal group scatter at short and medium ranges prevails over the influence these effects exert on firearms projectiles trajectories.

At extremely long ranges, artillery must fire projectiles along trajectories that are not even approximately straight; they are closer to parabolic, although air resistance affects this.

In the case of ballistic missiles, the altitudes involved have a significant effect as well, with part of the flight taking place in a near-vacuum.

Stabilizing non-spherical projectiles during flight

Two methods can be employed to stabilize non-spherical projectiles during flight:

Gyroscopic drift (Spin drift)

Gyroscopic drift is an interaction of the bullet's mass and aerodynamics with the atmosphere that it is flying in. Even in completely calm air, with no sideways air movement at all, a spin-stabilized projectile will experience a spin-induced sideways component. For a right hand (clockwise) direction of rotation this component will always be to the right. For a left hand (counterclockwise) direction of rotation this component will always be to the left. This is because the projectile's longitudinal axis (its axis of rotation) and the direction of the velocity vector of the center of gravity (CG) deviate by a small angle, which is said to be the equilibrium yaw or the yaw of repose. The magnitude of the yaw of repose angle is typically less than 0.5 degree. Since rotating objects react with an angular velocity vector 90 degrees from the applied torque vector the bullet's axis of symmetry moves with a component in the vertical plane and a component in the horizontal plane; for right-handed (clockwise) spinning bullets, the bullet's axis of symmetry deflects to the right and a little bit upward with respect to the direction of the velocity vector as the projectile moves along its ballistic arc. As the result of this small inclination, there is a continuous air stream, which tends to deflect the bullet to the right. Thus the occurrence of the yaw of repose is the reason for the bullet drifting to the right (for right-handed spin) or to the left (for left-handed spin). This means that the bullet is "skidding" sideways at any given moment, and thus experiencing a sideways component.

The following variables affect the magnitude of gyroscopic drift:

Doppler radar measurement results for the gyroscopic drift of several US military and other very-low-drag bullets at 1000 yards (914.4 m) look like this:

The table shows that the gyroscopic drift cannot be predicted on weight and diameter alone. In order to make accurate predictions on gyroscopic drift several details about both the external and internal ballistics must be considered. Factors such as the twist rate of the barrel, the velocity of the projectile as it exits the muzzle, barrel harmonics, and atmospheric conditions, all contribute to the path of a projectile.

Magnus effect

Spin stabilized projectiles are affected by the Magnus effect, whereby the spin of the bullet creates a force acting either up or down, perpendicular to the sideways vector of the wind. In the simple case of horizontal wind, and a right hand (clockwise) direction of rotation, the Magnus effect induced pressure differences around the bullet cause a downward (wind from the right) or upward (wind from the left) force viewed from the point of firing to act on the projectile, affecting its point of impact. The vertical deflection value tends to be small in comparison with the horizontal wind induced deflection component, but it may nevertheless be significant in winds that exceed 4 m/s (14.4 km/h or 9 mph).

Magnus effect and bullet stability

The Magnus effect has a significant role in bullet stability because the Magnus force does not act upon the bullet's center of gravity, but the center of pressure affecting the yaw of the bullet. The Magnus effect will act as a destabilizing force on any bullet with a center of pressure located ahead of the center of gravity, while conversely acting as a stabilizing force on any bullet with the center of pressure located behind the center of gravity. The location of the center of pressure depends on the flow field structure, in other words, depending on whether the bullet is in supersonic, transonic or subsonic flight. What this means in practice depends on the shape and other attributes of the bullet, in any case the Magnus force greatly affects stability because it tries to "twist" the bullet along its flight path.

Paradoxically, very-low-drag bullets due to their length have a tendency to exhibit greater Magnus destabilizing errors because they have a greater surface area to present to the oncoming air they are travelling through, thereby reducing their aerodynamic efficiency. This subtle effect is one of the reasons why a calculated C_d or BC based on shape and sectional density is of limited use.

Poisson effect

Another minor cause of drift, which depends on the nose of the projectile being above the trajectory, is the Poisson Effect. This, if it occurs at all, acts in the same direction as the gyroscopic drift and is even less important than the Magnus effect. It supposes that the uptilted nose of the projectile causes an air cushion to build up underneath it. It further supposes that there is an increase of friction between this cushion and the projectile so that the latter, with its spin, will tend to roll off the cushion and move sideways.

This simple explanation is quite popular. There is, however, no evidence to show that increased pressure means increased friction and unless this is so, there can be no effect. Even if it does exist it must be quite insignificant compared with the gyroscopic and Coriolis drifts.

Both the Poisson and Magnus Effects will reverse their directions of drift if the nose falls below the trajectory. When the nose is off to one side, as in equilibrium yaw, these effects will make minute alterations in range.

Coriolis drift

The Coriolis effect causes Coriolis drift, both horizontally and vertically. The deflection is to the right of the trajectory in the northern hemisphere, to the left in the southern hemisphere, upward for eastward shots, and downward for westward shots. The vertical Coriolis deflection is also known as the Eötvös effect. Coriolis drift is not an aerodynamic effect; it is a consequence of the rotation of the Earth.

The magnitude of the Coriolis effect is small. For small arms, the magnitude of the Coriolis effect is generally insignificant (for high powered rifles in the order of about 10 cm (3.9 in) at 1,000 m (1,094 yd)), but for ballistic projectiles with long flight times, such as extreme long-range rifle projectiles, artillery, and rockets like intercontinental ballistic missiles, it is a significant factor in calculating the trajectory. The magnitude of the drift depends on the firing and target location, azimuth of firing, projectile velocity and time of flight.

Horizontal effect

Viewed from a non-rotating reference frame (i.e. not one rotating with the Earth) and ignoring the forces of gravity and air resistance, a projectile moves in a straight line. When viewed from a reference frame fixed with respect to the Earth, that straight trajectory appears to curve sideways. The direction of this horizontal curvature is to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere, and does not depend on the azimuth of the shot. The curvature is largest at the poles and zero at the equator.

Vertical (Eötvös) effect

The Eötvös effect changes the perceived gravitational pull on a moving object based on the relationship between the direction and velocity of movement and the direction of the Earth's rotation. It causes subtle counterintuitive trajectory variations during flight.

The Eötvös effect is largest at the equator and decreases to zero at the poles. It causes eastward-traveling projectiles to deflect upward, and westward-traveling projectiles to deflect downward. The effect is less pronounced for trajectories in other directions, and is zero for trajectories aimed due north or south. In the case of large changes of momentum, such as a spacecraft being launched into Earth orbit, the effect becomes significant. It contributes to the fastest and most fuel-efficient path to orbit: a launch from the equator that curves to a directly eastward heading.

Equipment factors

Though not forces acting on projectile trajectories there are some equipment related factors that influence trajectories. Since these factors can cause otherwise unexplainable external ballistic flight behavior they have to be briefly mentioned.

Lateral jump

Lateral jump is caused by a slight lateral and rotational movement of a gun barrel at the instant of firing. It has the effect of a small error in bearing. The effect is ignored, since it is small and varies from round to round.

Lateral throw-off

Lateral throw-off is caused by mass imbalance in applied spin stabilized projectiles or pressure imbalances during the transitional flight phase when a projectile leaves a gun barrel off axis leading to static imbalance. If present it causes dispersion. The effect is unpredictable, since it is generally small and varies from projectile to projectile, round to round and/or gun barrel to gun barrel.

Maximum effective small arms range

The maximum practical range of all small arms and especially high-powered sniper rifles depends mainly on the aerodynamic or ballistic efficiency of the spin stabilised projectiles used. Long-range shooters must also collect relevant information to calculate elevation and windage corrections to be able to achieve first shot strikes at point targets. The data to calculate these fire control corrections has a long list of variables including:

The ambient air density is at its maximum at Arctic sea level conditions. Cold gunpowder also produces lower pressures and hence lower muzzle velocities than warm powder. This means that the maximum practical range of rifles will be at it shortest at Arctic sea level conditions.

The ability to hit a point target at great range has a lot to do with the ability to tackle environmental and meteorological factors and a good understanding of exterior ballistics and the limitations of equipment. Without (computer) support and highly accurate laser rangefinders and meteorological measuring equipment as aids to determine ballistic solutions, long-range shooting beyond 1000 m (1100 yd) at unknown ranges becomes guesswork for even the most expert long-range marksmen.

Interesting further reading: Marksmanship Wikibook

Using ballistics data

Here is an example of a ballistic table for a .30 calibre Speer 169 grain (11 g) pointed boat tail match bullet, with a BC of 0.480. It assumes sights 1.5 inches (38 mm) above the bore line, and sights adjusted to result in point of aim and point of impact matching 200 yards (183 m) and 300 yards (274 m) respectively.

This table demonstrates that, even with a fairly aerodynamic bullet fired at high velocity, the "bullet drop" or change in the point of impact is significant. This change in point of impact has two important implications. Firstly, estimating the distance to the target is critical at longer ranges, because the difference in the point of impact between 400 and 500 yd (460 m) is 25–32 in (depending on zero), in other words if the shooter estimates that the target is 400 yd away when it is in fact 500 yd away the shot will impact 25–32 in (635–813 mm) below where it was aimed, possibly missing the target completely. Secondly, the rifle should be zeroed to a distance appropriate to the typical range of targets, because the shooter might have to aim so far above the target to compensate for a large bullet drop that he may lose sight of the target completely (for instance being outside the field of view of a telescopic sight). In the example of the rifle zeroed at 200 yd (180 m), the shooter would have to aim 49 in or more than 4 ft (1.2 m) above the point of impact for a target at 500 yd.