|
James,
The answer to why and how fast bullets drop is simple - gravity.
All objects, even bullets, drop at the same rate regardless of weight.
With a bullet, the question may more precisely, how much drop will a bullet of a given weight and velocity drop over n yards'
The drop rate is identical with all bullets since they never achieve their terminal velocity in a downward direction unless they are shot straight up.
Then they achieve their terminal velocity on the way down.
However, a bullet traveling faster than another bullet towards a target will be covering the distance to the target in less time so it will be dropping less time before it hits the target. Therefore, it will have dropped less distance before it hits the target, so it appears that it drops less. The time it is in the air determines the amount of drop.
That is why there are "flat shooting bullets" like a .22-250 40 grain bullet that leaves the muzzle at over 4000 fps and bullets that shoot in big arcs like a 22LR that is travelling at 1100 fps out of the muzzle.
|