Muzzle flash with bullet?

[Tim the Teacher]

I posted this in another forum category but wanted to get a few opinions. Could we have gotten lucky enough to get the bullet in the picture? You can see the object in front of the trail.

[Greybeard]

Looks like ya captured it. Also maybe a little vapor trail. What "shutter speed" on camera?

[MasterOfNone]

Nice shootin', Tex. And I'm sure the handgun use was good too.
I recognize that fine new range you're shooting on there. I think I helped break in that same lane. And the next one. And...

[Tim the Teacher]

Yes..it was the new one in Grand Prarie. The fIrearm was my Springfield Champion on it's maiden voyage to the range. The camera was a 50 dollar Kodak Coolpix.

[flintknapper]

Its a flake of unburned powder, just happens to be inline with the muzzle, most of the time they appear as a streak that curves one direction or the other.

[Excaliber]

I agree with Flint.

When firing at distant targets on an outdoor range, if the lighting angle is just right you can sometimes catch a glimpse of some handgun bullets as they travel to the target if you're standing behind the shooter.

[WildBill]

Tim - Nice picture!

[glbedd53]

Like Excaliber said. We used to see bullets going downrange all the time. When you stand behind the shooter with the sun behind you, over your shoulder at just the right angle you can see every one. The ones we used to see were .357 mag even. The funny part was they didn't even look they were going that fast.

[Tim the Teacher]

Thanks for the replies and info. I teach 8th grade science and all of my students know of my gun ownership and have seen pictures of the collection. They were amazed at the picture. It led into a discussion of Newton's Laws and forces that act upon us.

[Dave2]

Like Excaliber said. We used to see bullets going downrange all the time. When you stand behind the shooter with the sun behind you, over your shoulder at just the right angle you can see every one. The ones we used to see were .357 mag even. The funny part was they didn't even look they were going that fast.

I can see my friends' .45s and .40s if I... think about it, but I can't see any of the 9mms. Though, I haven't given anybody any of my low-recoil 9mms to see if the (presumably) lower velocity helps.

[MadMonkey]

Edit: Oki, did a quickie. Assuming a 230gr .45ACP at 850 fps... the bullet would have moved about 28 feet for the duration the shutter was open

Also assuming that the bullet was already in motion when the shutter opened...

[b322da]

I agree with Flint.

When firing at distant targets on an outdoor range, if the lighting angle is just right you can sometimes catch a glimpse of some handgun bullets as they travel to the target if you're standing behind the shooter.

Nigh on 60 years ago my first handgun instructor, a typically tough drill instructor, told me that if I eventually trained myself to keep my eye open, locked on the front sight, and had eliminated the slightest anticipation, I would occasionally see the back end of the bullet in the center of the flash as it exited the muzzle of the M1911. He went on to say that this is seen more often by an observer behind the shooter than with the shooter himself, as an observer is less likely to close his eyes and anticipate the shot, not having any clue as to when the gun will fire. I of course thought this was another DI windy.

It took a while, firing a 2700 match almost daily, but finally it happened! And it still happens when shooting my several 1911s, even when approaching senility, with the old-timer's jitters, failing eyesight, and unable any longer to hold a good sight picture even using two hands, not the case in the day. It doesn't happen always, but occasionally, as the DI promised so long ago.

And when it does, I still get a shot of that adrenaline I felt the first time it happened so long ago.

Elmo

[The Annoyed Man]

I agree with Flint.

When firing at distant targets on an outdoor range, if the lighting angle is just right you can sometimes catch a glimpse of some handgun bullets as they travel to the target if you're standing behind the shooter.

Nigh on 60 years ago my first handgun instructor, a typically tough drill instructor, told me that if I eventually trained myself to keep my eye open, locked on the front sight, and had eliminated the slightest anticipation, I would occasionally see the back end of the bullet in the center of the flash as it exited the muzzle of the M1911. He went on to say that this is seen more often by an observer behind the shooter than with the shooter himself, as an observer is less likely to close his eyes and anticipate the shot, not having any clue as to when the gun will fire. I of course thought this was another DI windy.

It took a while, firing a 2700 match almost daily, but finally it happened! And it still happens when shooting my several 1911s, even when approaching senility, with the old-timer's jitters, failing eyesight, and unable any longer to hold a good sight picture even using two hands, not the case in the day. It doesn't happen always, but occasionally, as the DI promised so long ago.

And when it does, I still get a shot of that adrenaline I felt the first time it happened so long ago.

Elmo

So Elmo, does it seem to matter whether the target is a contrasting color or not for you to be able to see the bullet?