Ricochet

[mick miller]

It could have ricocheted up, hit a pigeon, the pigeon though fatally injured continued to fly on, until 590 yards later it collapsed, and crashed into the ground and promptly died?

[kent]

Maybe so grasshopper . But 600 yrds ? Have you got a link to these tests?

Search it yourself it was quite a while back and likely pre- broadband

 

I am trying to remember where it was last spoken about in the press and I can see the guy and hear his voice but just can't recall the guys name presently

Taking this stuff as BS or making light of it shows a lot about who not to shoot near

[Guest stevo]

it shows a lot about who not to shoot near

 

Couldnt agree more mate !

[old man]

it shows a lot about who not to shoot near

 

Couldnt agree more mate !

More importantly who not to shoot with, maybe?

[mick miller]

More importantly who not to shoot with, maybe?

 

Exactly.

[colin lad]

As above, you cannot discount the hmr, or any small frangible bullet, from ricochets; they can and do happen.

 

Normal rules regarding safe direction and back stops apply. That's the preachy bit of of the way...

 

However, the tiny hmr pill is designed to fragment which it does 99% of the time on hitting a solid object, it's also the smallest of any projectile and due to its weight and coefficient, loses its energy relatively quickly.

 

In the 7 years of shooting it, two or three times a week, I have only heard it ricochet twice. Yes, the crack could mask the whine of a ricochet but I don't think this is the case.

 

Compared to my old 22lr, which tended to ricochet frequently in an evenings shooting, it is preferable. Also, a 22lr has a large, solid lead lump designed to deform and moves relatively slowly. I imagine it would carry more energy for longer when compared with the 17.

 

I love the little hmr, it's a great bunny getter, but I'm frustrated by the inconsistencies in the cartridge. For this reason I've just purchased a 17 hornet.

it's also the smallest of any projectile

 

you sure what about that what about the 14,12 or 10 wildcat lol

 

colin

[kent]

Hearing a ricochet don't mean they don't happen unheard. I once watched a 140 gun bullet pass through a dew soaked meadow never made a sound but one came from my trousers

 

It went through a roe hit the ground but must have caught something at s funny angle

 

Taught me a lot and no harm done. It's a reason to look at the backdrop as much as the backstop

[zipdog]

Hearing a ricochet don't mean they don't happen unheard. I once watched a 140 gun bullet pass through a dew soaked meadow never made a sound but one came from my trousers

 

It went through a roe hit the ground but must have caught something at s funny angle

 

Taught me a lot and no harm done. It's a reason to look at the backdrop as much as the backstop

Couldn't agree more. I once had a ricochet from my HMR off a sandy field. The bullet made no noise but it must of bounced as you could hear it crackle its way through the wheat crop. Just demonstrates the need to have a safe fall out area.

[Remimax]

i seemed to get a lot of ricochet when i tried some 20grain hmr so i stopped using them and went back to the 17grain plastic tip.

[OffAim]

When we were kids we would deliberately fire at the garden path (concrete slabs) just to hear the ricochets..........that was using .177 and .22 air rifles and webley pistols...........obviously the rifle pellets travelled further.....easily same distance of the first impact from the rifle...........so probably 50 yards or more (the rounds went into the field at the bottom of the garden).

 

We could also do it with catapaults and small stones.

 

Later on, I used to zero in my HW80 .22 at the top of a telegraph pole..........just clipping it would send the pellets of at any angle with a loud whine.

 

I still do it with my HW97K .22 on the pole in my rear garden (field behind, again).

 

As has been said, it is all dependant on angle and hardness of the surface...........It can happen on soft mud, if the angle is very low.

[kent]

When we were kids we would deliberately fire at the garden path (concrete slabs) just to hear the ricochets..........that was using .177 and .22 air rifles and webley pistols...........obviously the rifle pellets travelled further.....easily same distance of the first impact from the rifle...........so probably 50 yards or more (the rounds went into the field at the bottom of the garden).

 

We could also do it with catapaults and small stones.

 

Later on, I used to zero in my HW80 .22 at the top of a telegraph pole..........just clipping it would send the pellets of at any angle with a loud whine.

 

I still do it with my HW97K .22 on the pole in my rear garden (field behind, again).

 

As has been said, it is all dependant on angle and hardness of the surface...........It can happen on soft mud, if the angle is very low.

Wow that's likely while Scotland put airguns on ticket

Do you mean power line on phone line then? Beggars belief

[OffAim]

Wow that's likely while Scotland put airguns on ticket

Do you mean power line on phone line then? Beggars belief

 

No, it's defunct.......just a convenient target on my land...........but there is no other description that describes a telegraph pole other than telegraph pole.

 

I appreciate it is hard to picture it, but don't try to make something out of it, when it isn't anything.

Edited March 4, 2016 by OffAim

[Bewsher500]

I had a ricochet on a golf course

.22lr subs into soft earth off sticks

probably 30deg down angle

 

I heard that little **** buzz off into the distance for a good 4-600yds

 

think about it

even if it loses half its velocity down to 500fps

if it springs back up at 45 deg at an optimum angle

assume its shed some weight maybe now it only weighs 30gr

 

its still doing 100fps at 300yds but look at the energy:

 

http://www.shooterscalculator.com/ballistic-trajectory-chart.php?t=b941e522

Edited March 4, 2016 by Bewsher500

[drut]

IIRC "Baz" of BBs fame did some 22lr richochet testing years ago and could not get a ricochet 22lr bullet to travel more than 200yds whilst other sources quote 400yds.

[Alycidon]

Centerfire bullets do sometimes ricochet especially if the ground is frozen, stoney or you are shooting down hill. But the shooter seems rarely aware of this. I have had a centerfire bullet come past me when loading a trailer, I was at least 500 yards from the probable firing point not that I ever found out who launched it. I think that at very long distances velocity is a lot lower so the tendency to bounce is increased as the bullet is less likely to break up on impact.

 

A

[OffAim]

Anything flung at a surface wiil bounce off if at the right angle..........

[m3vert]

I am interested in reading all this having just recently collected my .22LR. Whilst zeroing I had major issues with it and after many wasted rounds confirmed the MOD was causing my zeroing problems. In total I must have shot in excess of 100 rounds at targets over the period of a couple of days. In that time I had an alarming amount of ricochets :-( to the point I started wondering if I had done the right thing even asking for the .22LR and was starting to think I should have gone HMR. However if nothing else it has now made me super aware that backstop is critical (not that I would ever take any chances, but this reinforced the need for being 100% happy before pulling the trigger)

I did wonder though where the hell they ended up? Surely its impossible to predict which direction it will go?

I have had a ricochet strike me with my .22 air rifle, it was shooting at a target made of a particularly hard wood, the pressure of the gun was nearing the lowest point for shooting, the pellet struck the target but did not have enough energy to penetrate the hard wood, the pellet came back and struck me on the shoulder, hardly felt it to be fair. Stupid question but is it possible for a ricochet of a .22LR to come straight back at you, or is that highly unlikely?

[old man]

Is possible, that's some 25 mtr indoor ranges have a splash back curtain?

 

A .22 rimfire the most likely to ricochet, due to missile weight and lower velocity?

Edited March 5, 2016 by old man

[kent]

This is the thing.

 

How far can a ricochet go? Potentionally the range of the round under normal conditions! Rare but totally possible

 

For reference try skiming stones sometimes they go further then you can toss them for a clean plop

[kent]

Of course it can come back at you or fragments off it.

 

Put it like this could you keep dry underpants shooting at a vertical plate 6 ft away?

 

Just incase there is someone reading this who has issues in the head DONT DO THIS!

[39TDS]

This is the thing.

 

How far can a ricochet go? Potentionally the range of the round under normal conditions! Rare but totally possible

 

For reference try skiming stones sometimes they go further then you can toss them for a clean plop

From everything I can understand it is likely to be within the 200-400 yards range.

[kent]

From everything I can understand it is likely to be within the 200-400 yards range.

Well I would not stand in that fall out range certainly at a more acute angle than 90 degrees in the backdrop

Neither might I fire such a shot with another stood in it

Ricochet deaths are actually very low in shooting accidents most are shooting were you can't see. Miss identification or accidental discharge

But then most of us don't take the risk

Edited March 5, 2016 by kent

[OffAim]

Well I would not stand in that fall out range certainly at a more acute angle than 90 degrees in the backdrop

Neither might I fire such a shot with another stood in it

Ricochet deaths are actually very low in shooting accidents most are shooting were you can't see. Miss identification or accidental discharge

But then most of us don't take the risk

I was hit in the back of the thigh by a few pellets on the third driven shoot I was on..........That was the last drive I ever went on.

 

Much prefer pigeons and walking up shooting.

[Rimfireboy]

I was interested to find .22 subs embedded sideways in 3/8inch 8x4 plywood sheet after skimming off short grass behind a target at fifty yards and the plywood was another fifty yards beyond the target, 100 yards in total and the bullets hadn't gone through the plywood, so they'd lost most of their energy by then. There was a much larger safe backstop behind the plywood I should add. These were Winchester hp subs.

[Rem223]

I had a ricochet on a golf course

.22lr subs into soft earth off sticks

probably 30deg down angle

 

I heard that little **** buzz off into the distance for a good 4-600yds

 

think about it

even if it loses half its velocity down to 500fps

if it springs back up at 45 deg at an optimum angle

assume its shed some weight maybe now it only weighs 30gr

 

its still doing 100fps at 300yds but look at the energy:

 

http://www.shooterscalculator.com/ballistic-trajectory-chart.php?t=b941e522

 

 

What that analysis fails to take into account though is that the bullet is no longer rotating about its axis. The reason for the whine is the bullet is tumbling and therefore the ballistic coefficient in that chart is invalid. If the 30gr bullet is still moving at 100fps that's under a ftlb of energy it wont be airborne for long.