Trajectory

[Squirrely Rifle]

I was just wondering for safety reasons, if I were shooting at squirrels in the trees with a .40 cal RB. what would be the maximum trajectory the ball would travel?

Thanks

 

[Snuffy]

Changed my mind here about typing a more lengthy post... too many variables to consider - like the size of the tree -- how far away the shooter is.... powder volume...... etc.

 

[silverfox]

I agree with snuffy to many variables. But not as far as a .22 rifle being used for the same thing.
Fox :thumbsup:

 

[Squirrely Rifle]

OK let me put it this way. What is the maximum distance a .40 cal. RB. can travel shot at a 45 degree angle with a muzzle velocity of 2000 fps.

 

[Java Man]

Try to get an angle where there is a good chance of the ball hitting another tree limb before getting to the sky. Or maybe don't take the shot.

The answer to your question....I guessing several hundred yards at least.

 

OK let me put it this way. What is the maximum distance a .40 cal. RB. can travel shot at a 45 degree angle with a muzzle velocity of 2000 fps.

Depends on how thick the air is!

Honest!

also your altitude, wind speed and direction, weight of ball.

for this reason the distance on paper is often much more than the distance in actual shooting situations. I have fired hundreds of .22 rounds over open land and never have had one go anywhere near the 1 mile advertized or warned.

You might wish to go out and experiment and see what your range is. One should never fire a shot and figure the area behind the target is clear for ??? and a falling round will do no harm.

We are speaking of violating one of the primary safty rules of shooting by not being sure of our backstop or where our shot will land.

Pass the shot up.

 

[Big John]

Your responsible where the ball/bullet goes when ypu pull the trigger! For safety's sake get a background to stop your projectile or don't shoot.

 

[renovato]

I can't tell you how far, but there are ballistic calculators onlike that can. Just google for "ballistic calculator." I know the ballistic cooefficient for a round ball is the worst there is because of the poor sectional density and high air friction.

It's not going to travel anywhere near as far as a bullet of the same weight and velocity, and it will loose velocity quickly. Fired at a shallow angle, it will be dangerous for several hundred yards, at a steeper angle, it'll pretty much come down like a piece if hail.

Be sure of your backstop or downrange area with any gun you fire, BP or modern.

 

[patch knife]

Your responsible where the ball/bullet goes when ypu pull the trigger! For safety's sake get a background to stop your projectile or don't shoot.

I agree ! If you don't know where the ball is going to land , don't take the shot . Shoot the way you want the other guy to shoot . In other words , would you want some one hunting near you to take a shot not knowing were his projectile is going to stop (maybe in or on your head) ? I've watched more than one squirrel scamper away , and gone home empty handed because I could not take a safe shot at it . I squirrel hunt for the challange . I stopped using a shotgun years ago , and usually use a .22 pistol , and sometimes a .22 rifle . Waiting for a safe shot is part of the challange . This year I'm going to use my CVA .32 , now that I've figured out how to make it shoot accurate enough . :thumbsup:

 

[TANSTAAFL]

for this reason the distance on paper is often much more than the distance in actual shooting situations. I have fired hundreds of .22 rounds over open land and never have had one go anywhere near the 1 mile advertized or warned.

.22 HV RF range is 1.5 miles.

 

[Zonie]

My Roundball Trajectory calculator doesn't have the ability to calculate the answer to the question however, the angle of the bore relative to the ground for having the gun zeroed at 380 yards comes out to be only 2 1/2 degrees.

The moral of this is if an angle of only 2 1/2 degrees allows a .40 caliber roundball, shot at 2000 FPS muzzle velocity, to hit the bulls eye at 380 yards an angle of 40 or 45 degrees will put it "way out there"!

By the way, at 380 yards, the ball is still traveling at 321 feet per second which might not be lethal but it would put a severe hurt on whatever it hits.

zonie

 

[Big John]

According to the N.R.A. Handbook for Muzzleloading Pistols a ball fired is capable of going 1,000yds., a rifle would be capable of longer distances. :thumbsup:

 

[Slamfire]

After a tragic accident in PA where a woman died from a shot taken a mile away, the State contemplated makin' the southern tier counties shotgun slugs only. Unlike some other places they ran a study, and concluded there was no safety benefit as slugs can travel danged near as far. Subsequently NY dropped some of their shotgon only counties. I'm not sayin' they read the study, but the timing was suspicious.

 

[Mad Professor]

I was just wondering for safety reasons, if I were shooting at squirrels in the trees with a .40 cal RB. what would be the maximum trajectory the ball would travel?

Thanks

hit or miss on the squirrel? :grin:

 

[paulvallandigham]

The issue is not how much of a safe background you have to have to be shooting RB into the air, but are you going to make sure you have a safe BACKSTOP for that ball when you fire. In Hunter Safety training courses, students are taught to not take " Sky line " shots. We are talking about shooting at an animal that is silhouetted against the SKY. That would include squirrels, with any kind of rifle. Line up your shot so that the ball will strick a solid tree trunk or thick branch after passing through the squirrel, or missing it. Only if you have a safe BACKSTOP to catch the RB should you consider firing the gun. This applies to both rifles and handguns.

If you are shooting a shotgun at squirrel in trees, the drop zone is measured in hundreds of yards, and you are actually less likely to injure someone by shooting at squirrel silhouetted against the sky. We have squirrel hunter shooting other members of their hunting party because they were shooting at squirrels on a low branch, or on the side of a tree, or branch, and forgot that their buddy was only a few yards further down that ravine, or creek bottom when they fired. The Blue Sky Rule applies to shotgun hunters, where the opposite rule has to apply to handgun and rifle shooters. Be Safe, and you don't have to worry how far that .40 cal. RB will travel.

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

By the way, at 380 yards, the ball is still traveling at 321 feet per second which might not be lethal but it would put a severe hurt on whatever it hits.
zonie

That would produce about 22 ft.lbs. of kinetic energy. I believe the old US Military tests state that 30 ft.lbs (or more) is necessary to create a fatal wound. While that point might be arguable, I would NOT want to stand in front of it to find out...

As pointed out, there are too many variables to take chances with firing projectiles without a backstop--or unless knowing fairly certain where they will land should they miss the target.

Regards, and shoot safely.
WV_Hillbilly