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LeadFistExpress · May 27, 2008, 04:13 PM

I have found two websites that support the notion that a bullet is not perfectly stable upon exiting the barrel. The first one states that on short ranges you can see keyhole impacts in the target. It states that it can happen when the round has not had enough time to stabilize from an initial disturbance. (http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2007...mythology.html)

Now, what could this initial disturbance be? According to the second website, the exiting gases from the muzzle "cause or contribute to three unwanted effects: muzzle flash, recoil/muzzle lift and interference with projectile stability." (http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/55...scription.html) While I would never have believed it, it does appear that a 5.56 round, along with just about any other round, can have a bit of wobble when it exits the barrel, caused mainly by the muzzle blast. It will stabilize itself with the aid of the spin imparted by the rifling. I do not think it has anything to do with the ability, or lack thereof, to penetrate a wall or fragment upon impact, but I now believe that it is not perfectly stabilized upon exit.

May 27, 2008, 04:13 PM	#31
LeadFistExpress Senior Member Join Date: May 9, 2008 Location: Franktown, CO Posts: 121	Projectile Stabilization I have found two websites that support the notion that a bullet is not perfectly stable upon exiting the barrel. The first one states that on short ranges you can see keyhole impacts in the target. It states that it can happen when the round has not had enough time to stabilize from an initial disturbance. (http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2007...mythology.html) Now, what could this initial disturbance be? According to the second website, the exiting gases from the muzzle "cause or contribute to three unwanted effects: muzzle flash, recoil/muzzle lift and interference with projectile stability." (http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/55...scription.html) While I would never have believed it, it does appear that a 5.56 round, along with just about any other round, can have a bit of wobble when it exits the barrel, caused mainly by the muzzle blast. It will stabilize itself with the aid of the spin imparted by the rifling. I do not think it has anything to do with the ability, or lack thereof, to penetrate a wall or fragment upon impact, but I now believe that it is not perfectly stabilized upon exit.