Thread: Short-Range MOA
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Old September 26, 2013, 06:32 PM   #20
dayman
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Join Date: April 18, 2011
Location: The Woods
Posts: 1,197
Quote:
Did you know that with handguns, lighter bullets will generally strike the target lower than heavier ones, with the same point of aim?

This would seem to be the opposite of what one expects to happen, but I assure you it is true. Heavier bullets move slower than lighter ones, so they ought to hit lower, but that is not the observed result. Why?

A lot of experienced pistol shooters know the answer, but your physics teacher may not. I'm not going to tell you the answer (not yet, anyway) but it does involve the mass of the bullet, along with other factors. It is an application of physics, and ought to satisfy your school project requirements about that.
As both a teacher, and as a firearms enthusiast, I like it.
Also, it will be much easier to cover effectively within the bounds of a high school physics project, which - based on your age - I'm assuming is descriptive physics rather than anything calculus based.
And as a bonus, if/when you do take calculus based physics, you could re-hash it, and actually come up with an equation for where a bullet of a given weight would wind up.
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