How far will a 9mm bullet travel?

[CB3]

Harper-. post 3 is going to win the prize unless you shot off of the Empire State Building. I like the 500 yard joke in post 2.

Ballistic chart shows a six foot drop for a 124gr 1000 fps bullet at 200 yards.

This is what bullet trajectory calculators are for guys. This is easy.
Plug in the numbers, push create chart, relatively good results. You don't have to guesstimate or change the OP's conditions. Bullets with known characteristics predictably fall to earth at certain distances. KISS.

 

[Bill Raby]

Let's say a bullet that fell off your level firearm takes 2 seconds to hit the ground.
And let's say a 9mm travels at 1300 feet per second.

Would we be correct in saying the bullet would travel 2600 feet before it hit the ground?

Not correct. Bullet dropped from shoulder height will only take 1 second or less to hit the ground. It leaves the muzzle at 1300 fps and slows down as soon as it leaves the gun.

 

[rwsmith]

Well, I tried the .38 WC

I was by myself at the range once. (Yes that used to happen) so I tried shooting a 148 gr HBWC out of my snub with 2.8 gr BE.

It barely made it 100 yards and I had to kind of 'rainbow' it down there. Then I got an idea. How about mortar shots?

I didn't want to send it on over the berm, so I shot at a steep angle and it dropped at about 40 yards. I walked them down the range by changing the angle until I was dropping a few of them them within 5 feet of the target.

 

[Funflyer]

Did Mythbusters use a 9mm handgun?

No, they used a .45 Auto.

Here's the abridged version of their experiment.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF_zv3TCT1U"]Mythbusters[/ame]

 

[Jingles]

All the way to the point of impact.

 

[kramden]

Did some more research. Held level at roughly eye level (5-6 feet) it will hit the ground at approx. 200 yards at the outside. After 100 yards it really starts to drop.

 

[SupportTheSecond]

Just for the correct question in the handgun safety test, I understand they want an answer of 2500 yds. So that falls in line with the NRA answer as well. But that question is a basic "How far is a handgun considered lethal" etc.

 

[smoothshooter]

Not much more than 140-150 yds for your run-of-the-mill 124gr FMJ (if that!)

THAT IS BAD INFORMATION!

 

[Birdgun]

I wonder how tall of a ladder I would need to put the bullet in perfect orbit so it never hit the ground?

 

[reddog81]

THAT IS BAD INFORMATION!

It all depends on how high the gun is to start. If held around 4 feet high it would be pretty close to the right answer.

 

[dave1918a2]

I once fired a 9MM at a 100 yard target and lo and behold the bullet actually went through the cardboard and hit the dirt berm.

 

[CSB]

Watch a hickok45 video or two. When he tries to hit the gong at the maximum range, which must be less than a football field, you can see the bullet in the final trajectory. They're just about arcing straight down to the ground, and only by virtue of his expert aim, hit the target before hitting dirt. (Yes, you can see the bullet by then. Must be something about the framerate of the camera, and the fact the bullet has slowed radically.)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

A point of reference: a really flat shooting round like 6.5 Creedmoor will hit the ground at about 450 yards, when sighted in a 100 yards! And that's out of a 24" barrel!

 

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

THAT IS BAD INFORMATION!

Actually, yours is BAD INFORMATION!

 

[Harper]

So your bullets only travel about 450fps? If that?

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

No, the bullet drops 4 feet within 150 yards, even if "zeroed" at 25 yds. Even to hit the 25 yd bullseye requires that the barrel be slightly inclined, as the bullet starts to drop the instant it leaves the barrel. If you fire the pistol held absolutely parallel to the ground, that bullet ain't going very far at all. As I said, 150 yds max! And probably not even that far.
Have a look at this.. 9mm Ballistics Chart & Coefficient (Luger) GunData.org

If YOUR bullet only travels 450fps, it's gonna hit the ground within your front yard.

 

[Harper]

THAT IS BAD INFORMATION!

Think so, huh? So what's YOUR answer?

 

[ronnor63]

Here is a chart that might help.

9mm Trajectory Chart vs .40 S&W Trajectory Chart

 

[Rastoff]

If held at 1.75m high (about average for a male) and fired parallel to the ground, it would take .6 seconds to hit the ground. If the muzzle velocity was 1,300 FPS, it would travel 780ft (260 yards) before it hit.

This is using a 124gr bullet (the mass is not really relevant though), fired perfectly parallel to the surface (ground), a perfectly flat surface and being fired in a vacuum. Add air and the fact that nowhere is that flat, it will hit the ground much sooner.

This chart includes things like ballistic coefficient, air density and constantly slowing projectile:

This chart shows it hitting the ground at about 230 yards if fired from 5.7'.

It travels far enough, but not really that far. It does show that even a handgun is dangerous out to a fair distance.

 

[Rastoff]

This is a really nifty video dealing with exactly this subject:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43-CfukEgs[/ame]

 

[Deadeye Dick]

Cool video! Wild to watch feathers drop like a bowling ball.