That is "powder residue" only. You will find in the smaller cals. it gets very pronounced depending on the powder. If you use a slow burning powder like H4895 in a PPC the hole will be very black. Use V-133 and it will be gray.

If it is powder / primer residue then the first bullet fired would leave no or very little traces of a black ring when fired from a clean barrel. This would support some of the theories presented. But if it is not true and the first bullet leaves a black ring then, well I am as baffled as the rest.
Can any one confirm the first bullet theory.

I believe the taste test, primer residue. The primers are the dirtiest part fo the cartridge. Fire a primer in an empty case and look at all the junk in your barrel. The few times I've burned smokeless powder (at atmospheric pressure, on the driveway) It left very little residue.

I can confirm that bullet coatings will rub off on targets. I coat a seated bullet with a red or green Sharpie to check for contact with the lands. At least once, I think with a 44 mag rifle, I had a colored ring around the hole in the target.

Becoming an interesting thread!

Two different tests have been proposed - using copper plated vs. lead shot on a target and Swampfox's great idea of shooting thru several targets at once - how about somebody trying these out and reporting back?

How about using a slingshot to shoot various bullets thru some paper?

Also, what do the holes look like made by high powered pellet guns (no powder)?

quote:

Originally posted by sonofagun:
Exactly what causes the black ring around bullet holes in the target? Does anyone know?

Is it a black ring or is it like a spiral as if the bullet was on fire?

There was a discussion very similar to this one on another board last year.......we did the mathmatical calculations pertaining to the heat available.......there is NO way the bullet gets hot enough to melt lead.....don't care what somebody at the NRA says, it is physically impossible.

I believe the ring is residue from burned powder/primer......

I know, I know......what about the first shot fired from a clean barrel???? Well, the barrel is no longer clean by the time the first bullet exits the muzzle.....is it??

I agree with the above poster that the best test is to fire through several different targets spaced a couple inches apart. If there is no black ring on the last target or if it is significantly reduced it is not a local event, but rather something that is happening inside the gun. If there is the same ring on all targets, then it is most likely a localized event. I would probably use a min of about ten targets, because just like cleaning a gun, the first patch doesn't remove all the carbon.

quote:

Originally posted by Neverflinch:
I agree with the above poster that the best test is to fire through several different targets spaced a couple inches apart. If there is no black ring on the last target or if it is significantly reduced it is not a local event, but rather something that is happening inside the gun. If there is the same ring on all targets, then it is most likely a localized event. I would probably use a min of about ten targets, because just like cleaning a gun, the first patch doesn't remove all the carbon.

I believe I will test this theory and a couple others from this thread very soon. It still amazes me that no one has the "real" answer to this.

Sorry I saw this so late . Super sonic shock wave causes a hole before the bullet passes through target medium only at high velocity !. NO ONE ever asked if it was a Lead bullet or Jacketed bullet ?. Gun powder is comprised of Carbon amoung other things !. Carbon is black !. Different powders have slightly different mixtures also burn rates vary from fast - slow . Worn barrels tend to foul more readily , because of exhaust gases carbon residue leak up the sides of the bullet more so than just through rifling grooves . Such as a tight barrel would have . Do you ever see any rifling on the Base or Nose of a bullet ?. Better not !! This is where the ring comes from , the shank or sides of bullets . Lead marks light grey regardless of barrel Dim. . Shoot a hot load from a lead burner ( Softer is more pronounced )fouling is inevitable. If close enough to a target you;ll have small holes beside the bullet hole , hot fouling !. Hope this defines the reason for " Black Ring " . Moly excluded !.

Life is short ,worry not , enjoy the moment

quote:

Originally posted by Flippy:

quote:

Originally posted by Neverflinch:
I agree with the above poster that the best test is to fire through several different targets spaced a couple inches apart. If there is no black ring on the last target or if it is significantly reduced it is not a local event, but rather something that is happening inside the gun. If there is the same ring on all targets, then it is most likely a localized event. I would probably use a min of about ten targets, because just like cleaning a gun, the first patch doesn't remove all the carbon.

I believe I will test this theory and a couple others from this thread very soon. It still amazes me that no one has the "real" answer to this.

I (at least) anxiously await.

Well I'm afraid the real answer was posted . I shall make it very simple . Carbon is primarily coated on the exiting projectile deposited from hot not totally spent burnt powder gases also known as residue Oxidation .There are several ingredients making up the total component of gun powder residue nitrate to name one .They travel up around the projectile via the rifling just look at a slow motion or still of a picture of a projectile leaving a bore. What is the stuff that pushes it and surrounds it ?.Like wise what fouls the bore !. .It is easy enough to prove either way . Mystery solved !.

Some times the answers lye where you least expect it !... [/QUOTE]

quote:

don't care what somebody at the NRA says, it is physically impossible.

Have you ever seen a bullet disentgrate when fired from a .220 Swift or .22/250?

Not personally, but it isn't uncommon.....it happens when the rotational force on the bullet overcomes the jackets ability to contain the core....not because the core melted! This can be caused by a rough bore damaging the jacket as the bullet travels down the bore or by using a bullet with a jacket that is too thin or weak.....a bullet fired from a 22-250's 1 in 14" twist barrel at 4000 fps is spinning at 205,740 revolutions per minute......that's a LOT of rotational force......

There are lots of bullets with exposed lead bases (for example, partitions and at least some Sierra FMJ bullets)....if the bullet got hot enough to melt the lead core.......well, I think you know what would happen!

/

Thanks ALF - seems you have some specific knowledge concerning this. Can you elucidate more on this, perhaps even giving us some references where we can find out more?

In WWII, folks in training with 50 caliber machine guns had colored grease smeared on the bullets. Each person had their own color so the towed sleeve would shot who hit it. Bullet holes in the cloth of the sleeve would have a different color ring around the edges. This wasn't a wide-spread training method, but I've heard it from two or three reliable sources.