shoot molly out of my 220 swift for first time yesterday and you could watch the path of the bullet by a spiralling trail behind it. is this normal with molly? thanks jason

I don't know about the moly, but my 17 Rem does it quite a lot.

Kind of cool looking.

I was shooting a 300 yard highpower prone match a couple of weeks ago in the rain with Moly's and my spotter could see the vapor trail all the way to the target. So I agree, it happens.

I have witnessed vapor trails from a 25-35 and 22-250. I have also watched the bullets flight from a 44-40 with the sun reflecting off the base of the bullet.

What type of dope you guys smokin'? This is news to me. Interesting. Sun reflecting off the base of the bullet??? Man I wish I had eyes like that. I wouldn't even know where to look.

Is the vapor phenomenon just the lighter, faster rounds? I've shot the 300 WSM, Winchester 150 gr. moly round and never noticed anything, but never knew there was anything to notice either.

I'd like to know what the Hell causes it.

We have been able to watch .38 Specials in flight a bunch of times if the sun was out, but they are only tooling along at about 750 fps.

I have shot my .222 in misty/rainy conditions and have seen vapor trails. First time I saw it I thought I was seeing things.

It is not unusual to watch the projectile all the way to the 150 & 200 yard targets when shooting handgun silhouette from Creedmore position. Gives an interesting look at the trajectory of the .44 Mag compared with rifle calibres from single shot pistols.

Where are you guys standing in relation to the shooter to see this?

Kensco, the best place for seeing this is right beside or right over the shooter or in some cases, AS the shooter!

No one's pulling your leg here - it's very common to see "trace" or the bullet itself under certain conditions. In NRA Highpower team matches, it's how the coach adjusts the shooter's fire during some stages.

Each bullet's flight is plainly visible thru almost any spotting scope by watching it's trace (looks something like a tiny ship's bow wave) through the atmosphere. The trace is also subject to wind deflection like mirage, further aiding the coach in deciphering range conditions.

Cheers!

Redial

Well I am glad others have experienced this phenomenon as well as have I. I have been watching bullets fly for many years now. I think the first bullet I saw fly was a 45 ACP round that a friend was trying to sight in at 100 yards for some reason. I was manning the spotting scope trying to help him onto a large paper target at 100 yards. The bullet was clearly visible for most all of its curving flight towards the target. No vapor trail this! The black ass of the bullet was clearly visible to its destination. Very interesting to watch this and it got me started looking for other bullets flying.
While being the vigilant spotter on a Rock Chuck Hunt in the high mountains I had occassion to see my first Varmint bullet fly! Now that was impressive! In short the trick to watching a Varmint bullet fly is to be behind the shooter with a very clear spotting scope. I have a Unertl 27 power spotter that does very well spotting flying bullets! And by behind I mean right behind the shooter well away from any muzzle blast and shock wave! I like to be lying prone about 5 feet behind the shooter (who is also prone) and make your self prepared not to flinch OR blink when the shot is fired! This is sometimes hard to do. The other trick is to know where the bullet is going! This takes communication with the shooter to know where in the scopes image to concentrate on. The time of flight of a Varmint speed bullet to a target 100 yards+ away is very fast! Indeed the bullet appears to instantly get there. I have observed bullets fly to about 150 - 180 yards distant. Bullets appear better when there is sunshine more than clouds.
I know folks will say you are just seeing vapor trails or sun glinting off the bullet but if you take care and follow my instructions, know where the bullet is going and do not blink you can see them for your self.
Also none of my Mollied bullets leave a trace behind them. I have seen several Rifles leave blue smoke streaks out to the target! I am not sure what causes this. I remember a 243 AI that left a blue trace for 300 yards! Yet the bullets always got there and were accurate and lethal on Varmints!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I think it has to due with humidity, on days when it's really high and when shooting at long range you can see the trail plain as day. Best example I saw was at the end of the day and a slight low fog was rolling in, we couldn't see the target very well but we kept shooting since it just looked so cool.
As for seeing pistol bullets, go watch some Cowboy action shooting, the black powder loads they use are pretty low velocity and the 38s and 45 Colts are easy to see.

Look at the first shot in video 3, and check out the stills.
http://www.dogbegone.com/video.htm

O.K. I'm convinced after seeing the Danes photos. You'all can take off the cuffs and go on your way.

It seems to me to be more obvious if you are closer to the ground and the humitity is pretty high. First time I saw it I thought it was just the dust on the ground being stirred up by the high speed of the bullet passing over the ground. Didn't seem to matter whether the bullet was moly or not.

Kensco, it's easier to see when you're not in the jungle.

Sun reflections off the bullet is called glimmer. It helps if you are shooting with the sun low behind you, and the target is a looong way off in a dark bacground.

The trails/traces can have multiple causes, one being atmospheric conditions that render a brief condensation of moisture across the pressure gradient of the sonic shockwave. It typically appears as a vortex.
Bullet velocity can be high enough to generate friction induced temperatures that ablate the bullet jacket for short distances. Mach 2 speeds in aircraft create significant airframe heat(near thermal limits for Aluminum at low altitude) which is why few aircraft fly much faster that mach2.2, exception being the SR71 which is skinned with titanium. Soooo, when you torch off your 4000 fps varment load.....

The biggest offender that I ever shot was a ruger carbine in 44 mag when the sun is behind you.

You could watch just about every other shot lob off towards the target.

The vapor trail is water vapor condensed into tiny fog droplets by the supersonic shock wave. The coolest one I ever saw was from an F-16 over the Egin range popping the sound barrier a 500 feet...I though he was going in. Yes, it was VERY loud with muffs on (146 dB according to my sound level meter).

The glint off a bullet in flight is usually from the base as it is moving away from you. You pick it up because the relative exposure time from that position is long enough to register on your retina...helps if you are in the shade shooting into a dark background through bright sunlight. Don't put the cuffs on, but your BRAIN plays a role as well...once you pick one up you will see 'em all. I really think your brain needs to know what it is looking for before it can interpret it.

On one of my Muly Madness videos they have footage of the sun reflecting of a 7mm bullet that takes down a nice muly.



Never seen a vapor trail or any glint while I've been shooting.