I was talking to a guy the other night and he was explaining how with his .308 " the bullet rises a little bit " when you shoot it . I just smiled and nodded . Pick your battles , son . This one isn't worth it .

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
I just smiled and nodded . Pick your battles , son . This one isn't worth it .

This Is The Way.

we should dedicate this thread to 'gun myths that will never die' and post favorites



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When I have a new hire to get trained and qualified with his/her duty weapon(s) I have them fill out a survey that includes general firearms knowledge questions. One is, “After a bullet fired from a rifle leaves the muzzle of the gun, it will rise above the bore line of the barrel (true/false).”

The vast majority of the people I’ve trained incorrectly answered true, and that includes military veterans and individuals with prior law enforcement or hunting experience. One veteran said, “Well, that’s what they told me in the Army,” so the belief isn’t going anywhere soon.

Almost as common is the belief that a 45 ACP bullet will knock someone off his feet. I demonstrate that one by firing into a small box of sand that hardly moves when hit.

30 carbine? Hell, that could not even penetrate the winter coats of the enemy in Korea (dagnabit)!

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:


The vast majority of the people I’ve trained incorrectly...

You gotta work on that John

For a rifle sighted in at 100 yards for example, the bullet will rise above a horizontal line from the rifle to the target, but it does not rise above the bore line (which will not be horizontal in that case).

In most of the illustrations I've seen it will show a horizontal line from the rifle to the target and a trajectory that rises above that line and then falls to the target. Perhaps this is a source of some of the confusion.

Absent some specialty ammunition (or some issue with the rifling or crown), a bullet doesn't rise above the bore line.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Orndorff:

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:


The vast majority of the people I’ve trained incorrectly...

You gotta work on that John

Oh, I’m not sure: Job security and all that. “He didn't get that from me; looks like he needs some remedial time.”

If you point the barrel higher than horizontal, bullets WILL rise (relative to the ground) after exiting the muzzle. It WON’T rise relative to an imaginary line extending from the bore out from the muzzle.

quote:

Originally posted by Nuclear:
If you point the barrel higher than horizontal, bullets WILL rise (relative to the ground) after exiting the muzzle.

Of course. That’s how sights work: project something up, and it will go up, at least for a time

If the bore line weren’t elevated with respect to the target, then no projectile would ever hit its target. It’s an elementary fact of physics on Earth due to the pull of gravity on everything, including firearms projectiles.

Most people who know anything about firearms and who believe the bullet rises above the bore line believe it because it’s something they’ve heard from other misinformed people. A few, however, may believe it because of something they’ve observed themselves.

My father, for example, was a WW II combat veteran and had seen the paths of tracer bullets and how they rose above the line of sight as they traveled to their targets. Although he was an intelligent man and an experienced hunter and rifle competitor, it evidently didn’t occur to him that the reason a bullet rose and then dropped to the target was because the barrel was tilted up with respect to the line of sight due to how the sights were configured. That’s why I first heard the “bullets rise” claim from him in my teens. Only later did I learn, largely for myself, that the claim was wrong, and why.

It’s also possible that my father, and possibly some other people, weren’t referring to the path of the bullet with respect to the bore line but to the line of sight. In that case they would be correct: the bullet will almost always rise above the line of sight. At the time I did not know enough about ballistics to question him further.

what other ones ....

5.56mm was designed to wound ... not kill

load your mags alternating : FMJ / HP / FMJ / HP, etc

'rest' your magazine springs periodically

the shock wave of a near miss .50 cal can kill a man

as mentioned : .45 acp 'knockdown' power

best gun for a woman is a double action revolver snub nose

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quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:
what other ones ....



the shock wave of a near miss .50 cal can kill a man

Maybe not, but one from a 16" naval gun might. Its all a matter of degree.

quote:

Originally posted by rburg:

quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:
what other ones ....



the shock wave of a near miss .50 cal can kill a man

Maybe not, but one from a 16" naval gun might. Its all a matter of degree.

Yep, I would not want to be by the muzzle of an Iowa class 16" 50 cal went it was fired. But we will never see those again.

I just heard some BS yesterday. Bigger hunting and fishing shop that had little inventory for sale the pistol guy was telling a lady that she didn’t want a hi point ( plus for him) and to choose between a Glock or an XD or a MP shield. Was going well until he then told her to go 9mm because within 5-10 years 40 would not even be made anymore and besides, 9mm has more energy than 40. Started out strong then just went downhill fast.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:
what other ones ....


best gun for a woman is a double action revolver snub nose

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Operation wise I know a lot of women 50+ have problems with a semi-autos while revolvers were much easier for them.
Slide operation was often a big problem, but clearing jams was a hard thing to teach.

Not just women. Some men have trouble too. One friend, and a machinist too. He goes into a melt down when he has a jam. Screaming for our other buddy, Mike. He hasn't figured out yet that a jammed pistol is pretty harmless. Just point it at the ground. Then dump the magazine out. Then its even more harmless.

Maybe its scary because they can't see all those inner workings.

How about this one? People who think if you shoot a bullet straight up it comes down just as fast?

Or this one? Watching an episode of Chicago Fire the other night. Fireman and civvies trapped on 7th floor in elevator that is threatening to fall. She seriously asks me would they survive if the elevator cable broke. I love that woman but I had a hard time with that one. Lol

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
She seriously asks me would they survive if the elevator cable broke.

Sure: All that you have to do is jump up into the air just before the elevator hits bottom. Everyone knows that, don't they?

Just climb out the top and don't look down...

Elevators have had brakes for about a hundred years or so.