The other day we were shooting some 8mm Mausers, a Czech and a Turk. 700 some yards/meters out, we were nailing a tire-sized rock and stumps, with iron sights.

As we were spotting our shots, using a scope set at about 40x, we were able to see the bullets flying through the air and onto the target. The sun was directly behind us. I think what we were seeing is the compression of the bullet's shock wave acting as a "lens" that would distort the field being watched. I don't think we were seeing the actual bullets.

Still, amazing to watch the bullet soar out 700 meters and onto a target!

If anyone knows how this was working, I'd be up for an explanation. Don't spare the technical details. I have a dictionary and can do research!

I have watched 45 ACP bullets fly towards the targets with the sun directly behind me. This is most impressive with TMJ bullets, the plating on the base really makes the bullet stand out.

You can often see where the bullet flies when shooting the rams in High Power Silhouette (500 meters). I think that you're right Genghis, you don't see the bullet itself, but rather the air disturbance caused by the bullet. I think it looks more like a "mini mirage" around the bullet path. I've heard that if you focus the spotting scope at about 75% of the target distance it works best.

The handgun example is different, you probably are seeing the base of the bullet. I've heard a friend say that he could see them on occasion, and I do believe they were "backlighted".

Regards, Bill

You can see atmospheric disturbance as the bullet passes. It looks like a little swirl in the sky, and in the Army, we called it "trace."

Once we were shooting sniper rifles at 6-700 yards. A BC scope (a huge spotting scope) was just behind the rifle, and you could see what looked like a copper-colored grain of rice whipping downrange. It was at max ordnate, about 400-450 yards out. A storm was brewing and the sky behind the targets was dark. The sun was coming in from about 5:00 and you could see this little flash as the bullet passed through a sunbeam. We could see it consistently for about ten minutes, then the light changed and it was gone.

It was beautiful. Okie John.

Okie John is exactly right. During team matches, the spotter always watches the trace to aid the shooter. During the rapid fire stages at 200 & 300 yards (10 shots in 60 & 70 seconds, respectively), the spotter barks instructions to the shooter based on where he saw the last shot hit.

I've often seen the bullet itself when backlit. Kinda kewl to see just how much they rise and fall.

Redial

When I used to shoot in DCM matches at the 600 yard prone position an experienced spotter could call your shot before it hit the target by watching the bullet trace.

A while back I was prarrie dogging with some buddies. In the morning, before the day heated things up, we began "seeing" shots. The best I can describe it, it was a white vapor trail that the spotter would pick up in his binocs. It was only there long enought that your mind was sure you had seen it, and no longer. Only the faster rifles, +3600fps seemed to do this. ie. 22-250 and 6-284. We thought it was pretty damn kewl.

Shooting an M1 Thompson you can clearly see the slugs and walk them into a target.

I was watching the History Channel yesterday. They had an episode on Magnums. One part was about the US Army shooting team. They showed video footage taken through the spotting scope of 220gr .308 bullets shot from a .300 Win Mag. sailing out to the 600yd targets. You could indeed see the bullet's flight path. They also mentioned that it had something to do with "atmospheric" disturbance.

When I was a marksmanship instructor, every now and then I would have a shooter who wasn't on paper with his zero. I would stand behind the shooter, looking directly over him with a pair of binoculars at his target. When he would fire, I would see the trace of the bullet as it passed through the air and I would know exactly where he was shooting. What I would see was the air parting around the bullet like the wake of a boat.
It was like the picture on the cover of a reloading manual a few years back. I think it was Speer.

I and my ph's observed the shots from my 9.3x62 with 250gr BTs at 2500fps while zeroing in RSA my last trip. It may have been atmospherics; however, it looked just seeing .45 pistol bullets going to the target which many of us have seen before. Ku-dude

Yep thats the "trace" as we call it in high power competiton. Its the supersonic shock wave the bullet makes. Very easy to see if you set up behind the shooter with a spotting scope. Especially visible if its more humid outside. For those who havent seen a trace, picture the special effects in the movie Matrix, just viewed from the rear.

I've never seen the "trace" of a bullet from a rifle I've shot, but I have seen it from an M-2 machine gun during the right conditions. Now that was fun to watch!

As for pistols, watching the .45 ACP as it travels downrange is part of the fun of shooting one, right?

Regards,

Eric

I have watched 8" howitzer shells in flight.......

The truth #5 video has a guy taking a caribou and you can watch the bullet all the way down range. Very Very Cool!

Turtle

Shooting a grease gun back in the 70's it was easy to see the bullets in flight. Shooting handgun sil. the slower calibers were easy to see on some days. Have seen .22 rimfire in flight for years.

I can usually see the .45 ACP's when firing at the longer targets I prefer. On the buffalo rifle matches, I can gnerally follow the bullet for several hundred yards with the proper backlight, and this with the naked eye. Most of these are sub sonic.

A FEW YRS BACK WHEN MY FRIEND HARLEY AND I WERE GOING TO IHMSA MATCHES I DID A LOT OF SPOTTING AND WHEN THE SUN WAS JUST RIGHT IT WAS A BALL TO SEE BULLETS STREAK IN AND HIT A RAM TARGET. WHAT ALWAYS STUCK ME IS HOW THEY LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE ARCING IN FROM ABOUT 8FT UP WHEN IN REALITY IN WAS ONLY A FEW IN.HARLEY SHOT .44 CALIBER CAST SLUGS AND THE SILVER STREAK AGAINST THE BLACK TARGETS WERE EASY TO SEE LOTS OF TIMES.

A .357 MAGNUM CAN BE YOUR BEST FRIEND.........

First time that I caught the trace was at the 1000 yard open at Williams Port PA. Yes it is the bullets disturbance of the air that you are seeing when you are shooting a high powered rifle at long range.We call it the trace.

The most fun I ever had watching bullets was .45/70 cast bullets in black powder cartridge rifle silhouette. At 500m, they look like a spit ball flying out there; and you can see them bouncing off the rams. As opposed to a match rifle where you see that trace, with these big slow ones you actually see the base of the bullet along that long arching trajectory. Get directly behind the shooter. It does depend on the lighting; and .40 calibers are not as easy to pick up as .45 cal.
Shooting smallbore prone with a scope at 100 yards you can see a flicker of bullet flight in your scope in good light.

one of the most interesting things I have seen on the range are bright shiny recently cast 40 caliber round balls (cast within the hour) coming into view thru the scope and cutting through the paper as I spotted for someone testing on the 100 yard target.
Lighting was right for viewing for about 30 minutes and then one could no longer spot them.

Thought I was crazy when the first one came through, glad there were several more to make it believable.
Amazing what one can see and register.

LouisB

PAndy,
I LIKE your signature quote!

Puncher

Shooting trap with the sun in you back and over a dark back ground many times you can see the shot flying and (hopefully) hitting the clay. This helps a lot if you coach somebody.
Regards, Dirk

When lobbing bullets at distant rocks from a 45-70 and 35 Rem Ive seen what appeared to me to be the suns glare off the copper jacketed bullets while in flight. The next time I see it Ill keep the atmospheric disturbance idea in mind.

I was at the range last week with a friend that didn't believe you could see the trace. I was shooting my .22 mag at 100 yards and could see it through my rifle scope. I put him directly behind me with a spotting scope and made a believer out of him. The first time I saw it was at a hp match spotting for the 600 yard prone. We had a stiff cross wind and it was so cool to see the bullet arc 4' to the left before coming back onto the target frame.

Fast Ed