Do you take bullet drop into account?

[686-380]

Every environment is different

Mas Ayoob does a column in American Handgunner.
Some time back he covered a police shooting that took place at
100 yards. The perp had a .303 Brit rifle, if I recall correctly.

One of the officers took him on with a .45 ACP. Because he had
never shot it that far out he held too high. When it was all over
there was a group of .45 holes in the porch boards, or siding,
five or six inches above where the offender had been standing.

The event probably would have ended sooner had the officer with the
.45 had known where his gun shot at that range.

I try a lot of handguns at 25, 50 and, sometimes, even 100 yards.
Even those that are only supposed to work from here to the end of
my living room. :>)

For me, this is primarily an exercise to identify best/worst vantage points to shoot. Our home is kind of large, with about 50 feet between my bedroom and the entrance I expect to be breached. There's an additional 50 feet beyond that to my neighbors home. The first room is their laundry room - beyond that, I'm not certain. If I missed the round(s) would penetrate a hollow door and either a window or drywall, before entering the neighbors abode...

 

[cyphertext]

Mas Ayoob does a column in American Handgunner.
Some time back he covered a police shooting that took place at
100 yards. The perp had a .303 Brit rifle, if I recall correctly.

One of the officers took him on with a .45 ACP. Because he had
never shot it that far out he held too high. When it was all over
there was a group of .45 holes in the porch boards, or siding,
five or six inches above where the offender had been standing.

The event probably would have ended sooner had the officer with the
.45 had known where his gun shot at that range.

I try a lot of handguns at 25, 50 and, sometimes, even 100 yards.
Even those that are only supposed to work from here to the end of
my living room. :>)

Shooting at 100 yards on the range for fun is one thing, but engaging a person armed with a rifle at 100 yards with a pistol is foolish.

The police officer did it because it is his duty and he used what he had on hand. Very different from a civilian self defense shooting. If I am out with my family and someone starts shooting with a rifle from 100 yards away, I am going to try to get my family out of the area, not be a hero and engage them with my pocket pistol.

 

[Alpha Sierra]

OP, rather than worrying about exterior ballistics you need to worry about terminal ballistics. IOW, not how much your handgun bullets willd drop but how will they react when they impact the typical materials that make up your house.

Why? Because at those distances your bullets will end up hitting stuff that will either stop them or deflect them before they have had the chance to go far enough for drop to be an issue.

There are several internet resources that show the effects of bullet penetration through common building materials/structures. The Box o'Truth being among the best.

 

[cyphertext]

For me, this is primarily an exercise to identify best/worst vantage points to shoot. Our home is kind of large, with about 50 feet between my bedroom and the entrance I expect to be breached. There's an additional 50 feet beyond that to my neighbors home. The first room is their laundry room - beyond that, I'm not certain. If I missed the round(s) would penetrate a hollow door and either a window or drywall, before entering the neighbors abode...

Your round is going to hit something before leaving your home... that changes the bullet shape and flight path and bullet drop would no longer be predictable.

 

[Neumann]

A .45ACP drops about 6" at 100 yards, about 90 yards beyond a reasonable claim of self-defense.

In a handgun, the distance the muzzle rises due to recoil is the greatest factor affecting point of impact. For that reason, heavy, slow bullets tend to shoot higher than lighter, high velocity bullets from the same weapon. This results from a combination of greater recoil impulse and longer time in the barrel.

 

[shouldazagged]

My SD and HD handguns are both S&W fixed-sight revolvers, with sights regulated for 158 grain bullets. That's what I load them with. But as has been said several times here, if I'm forced to use one of them to defend myself (so far so good, I haven't had to), range is likely to be from 21 feet to mild halitosis distance. Bullet drop will not be a worry.

 

[gregintenn]

Not as it relates to a conceal carry handgun.

 

[686-380]

Not as it relates to a conceal carry handgun.

...as long as you hit your target. If you miss, regardless of caliber, that bullet will hit something.

 

[Harkrader]

Bullet drop?

Long ago and far away I was with a group when one member took his FN Hi-Power with S&W adjustable rear sight and hit a small target at about 40 meters. He was resting his hand against the front pillar of a Land Rover. It looked to me as though he had the muzzle pointed skyward like a mortar, but it wasn't, of course. He later demo'd hitting squashes consistently offhand at that distance. He did, in fact, account for bullet drop, equating the squashes with approximately the vital area of a face.

I sight my M1A for about 180 meters/200 yards and hold to the top of a 25cm/10inch gong at 275 meters/ 300 yards with military ball ammo.

One of our sons is professional military and has an AR chambered in 300AAC Blackout. With subsonic rounds he looks as though he is aiming a mortar, and it sounds as though I could almost run downrange and catch the bullet. "PFOOT (he uses a silencer) - - - - -DING!" He has a mil reticle in the scope and has it adjusted for 100, 200 and 300 yards. Heavy bullet, low velocity, long range, lotsa drop.

For any self-defense scenario I can imagine with a handgun, I don't consider bullet drop though I do determine point-blank range for my chosen gun and ammo. It's one reason I like the .357Sig. Very flat shooter.

 

[Doug M.]

With regard to using a pistol for self-defense at any likely distance: one is about a zillion times more likely to get a low strike from mashing the living heck out of the trigger than anything to do with bullet drop. Bullet drop is a non-issue in this context, about as relevant as the color of one's socks. (Or the lack thereof, if one is wearing sandals.)

If one sights an AR to be POA/POI at 50/200 as is the general rule, from 25 - 225 or so, the trajectory is not a big deal. Sight offset at closer ranges has to be considered, of course. Unless one has the good fortune to be engaging a hostile target at >200-ish yards, where they will have a lot less chance of hitting you, bullet drop will not be much of an issue in LE use, either. A precision marksman's use is out of my lane, but as I recall, the average LE precision shot is actually a lot closer than one might expect.

 

[RussellD]

Self defense statically will be less than 21 feet. I cant imagine a real life where an "average" person would be using a rifle and concerned about bullet drop.

 

[Alpha Sierra]

Self defense statically will be less than 21 feet. I cant imagine a real life where an "average" person would be using a rifle and concerned about bullet drop.

I can, but will keep it to myself.

 

[gregintenn]

...as long as you hit your target. If you miss, regardless of caliber, that bullet will hit something.

Yes....and I can think of very few instances where bullet drop would make a hill of beans worth of difference.

I'll not be firing my self defense handgun unless I'm mortally threatened, in which case the last thing on my mind will be a ballistics chart.

 

[SMSgt]

I never even thought about it, until I took a practical physics class. The instructor brought up the subject one day, I don't remember why. He explained that a bullet drops at the same rate, as it would if you dropped it from your fingers. Of course, if you aim it upward, it will climb..

It doesn't "climb," it drops less because gravity is not acting perpendicular to the bullets path.

 

[686-380]

Maybe now would be a good time...

Yes....and I can think of very few instances where bullet drop would make a hill of beans worth of difference.

I'll not be firing my self defense handgun unless I'm mortally threatened, in which case the last thing on my mind will be a ballistics chart.

Why not take a few minutes now, to assess vulnerabilities?

 

[Alpha Sierra]

Why not take a few minutes now, to assess vulnerabilities?

What does that ever mean, in the context of this thread (bullet drop)?

 

[gregintenn]

Why not take a few minutes now, to assess vulnerabilities?

Because you are picking fly feces out of pepper. If you have a fraction of a second to decide "shoot or don't shoot" with your life on the line, does a quarter inch worth of difference in bullet drop at 100 yards really enter into your thought process?

 

[Hobie1]

This is an interesting topic to me because it adds another relevant dimension, regarding over-penetration.

I never even thought about it, until I took a practical physics class. The instructor brought up the subject one day, I don't remember why. He explained that a bullet drops at the same rate, as it would if you dropped it from your fingers. Of course, if you aim it upward, it will climb. That's a whole different equation.

My point? I try to take bullet speed into account when making SD ammo purchases...

Look up terminal ballistics. If you're buying SD rounds, the manufacturer will have data on all things related to SD and the use of their rounds in such a situation.

BTW, if you can time the release of the bullet from your hand and the time the round leaves the barrel, shooting perfectly level, both rounds will hit the ground at the same time.

Regards,

Hobie

 

[The Big D]

Spot on!

YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT...and I anticipate replies from those who deny the law of gravity. BTW, a bowling ball would hit the ground at the same time as that bullet. As would a bb.

Be safe.

...
BTW, if you can time the release of the bullet from your hand and the time the round leaves the barrel, shooting perfectly level, both rounds will hit the ground at the same time.

Regards,

Hobie

 

[elm_creek_smith]

I endeavor not to drop my bullets.

That said, I occasionally shoot my handguns out to 100 yards to know how much front sight to hold over the rear sight. (Not much with .357 Magnums; quite a bit for .38 Specials.)