At the range a very wet mist covered us for maybe an hour off and on. Three off us were using stainless varmint rifles so even though it was wet we shot.

The kicker is that we three agreed that the loads we were shooting never ever performed as good as they did in the mist Can anyone add to this phanomina? Is it real or what? Maybe some of you North/Westerners ? roger

Just a guess here but maybe the mist was keep the barrel temps down, and usually in a misty rain there is very little wind.

I've shot in quiet heavy rain at long range and accuracy was as good. Can't figure out how the bullets can plough through with out being affected.

I'd bet it was a combination of things that the cooler, less bright conditions do with mirage and with target/sight distortion. Kudude

quote:

Originally posted by JAL:
I've shot in quiet heavy rain at long range and accuracy was as good. Can't figure out how the bullets can plough through with out being affected.

That,s exactly my quandary roger

Air with a high moisture content is less dense than dry air. Less resistance for a bullet to "plow" thru. That's just my theory. [not the moisture content/density part - that's fact.]

MM

OH, this one is easy. The mist obviously watered down your whiskey as it was sitting there on the shooting bench.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by pdhntr1:
OH, this one is easy. The mist obviously watered down your whiskey as it was sitting there on the shooting bench.

Jim

Yup...exactly.....

In theory, the bullets never do hit the rain or mist. The "shock" wave built up in front of the bullet as it presses its way through the air actually shoves the moisture droplets away from the pointy nose of the bullet, in all directions. It does the same thing to dry air. Don't know how true that really is, having never ridden on the nose of a bullet in a rain storm, but that is what the "ex-spurts" say... ("ex-spurt"= a former drip under pressure...)

Anyway, having shot a LOT of benchrest competitions and high-power matches in PacNW rain, I'd say your experience is a common phenomenon. Best groups and match aggregates are often shot in similar conditions.

I think the fella above who mentioned the lack of wind in a foggy situation put his finger on it. Not only is there often less wind to deal with, but there are often much more steady conditions. And, at least with the benchrest and hi-power competition shooters, many records are set in conditions of a weak but very steady wind from an unchanging direction.

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:
having shot a LOT of benchrest competitions and high-power matches in PacNW rain, I'd say your experience is a common phenomenon. Best groups and match aggregates are often shot in similar conditions..

Thanks for sharing that, AC,.For a time there I thought pdhntr and VD had my number. Back to de ( OK .What happened to de couch?? ).

Someone once calculated a time of flight vs frontal area formula and found that there was a small chance of actually hitting a raindrop in anything short of a frog strangler.

My personal theory is that the denser humid air puts a bullet to sleep quicker than drier thin air. This might be observable at 100 yds.

I had something similar happen here in Phoenix last fall. While I'm normally shooting in 100°+ conditions, I found myself in 65° with a steady drizzle and a 5-10mph crosswind. Shot sub-moa groups at 200yds with my .223 that day, wind and all. I had thought air density was lowest in high-heat conditions, but perhaps barrel cooling has a lot to do with it as well.

quote:

Originally posted by AZ223:
I had something similar happen here in Phoenix last fall. While I'm normally shooting in 100°+ conditions, I found myself in 65° with a steady drizzle and a 5-10mph crosswind. Shot sub-moa groups at 200yds with my .223 that day, wind and all. I had thought air density was lowest in high-heat conditions,IT IS but perhaps barrel cooling has a lot to do with it as well.

Welcome to the forum, post often. roger

It washes all the Global Warming trash out of the air so the Bullets aren't deflected by it. Plus the Acid Rain "cleanses" the Bullet of all the Powder Residue which occurred during the Blow-by portion prior to becoming engraved in the Bore.

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
It washes all the Global Warming trash out of the air so the Bullets aren't deflected by it. Plus the Acid Rain "cleanses" the Bullet of all the Powder Residue which occurred during the Blow-by portion prior to becoming engraved in the Bore.

AZ223!!! Just remember you heard it here and who posted it. roger Been looking for a place to use that graphic.

UPDATE: There is NO Global Warming air to be found in KY today. Just noticed it was 13deg at noon.

On the bright side(?) the Salt Brine sprayed everywhere is forming a fine Salt Coating on all the vehicles to help keep the snow melted off.

Oh yes, it is MUCH BETTER to live here than in the Carolinas - NOT!