Does rain affect bullet flight?

[Yarome]

He hit all targets out to 1000yds in the rain calculating wind and drop, ...thats using science.

Yeah... it's not the rain but barometric pressure/air density that can.... which tends to vary during weather changes. Shots fired within a short span of time I highly doubt air density would change enough to matter... currently raining or not.

More like... you got dialed in a couple few hours ago, it's raining now, and now you're shooting a hair low... type thing. Of course, even if the rain suddenly stopped... you;de likely still be shooting just a hair low.

Enter ballistics and distances into the mix and some may be affected while others won't to any noticeable degree.

Interesting questions, but so much is involved it'll twist your brain trying to extrapolate a simple set of rules. Like, shooting in the rain will or will not affect shot placement. Kinda like a "chicken or the egg" problem.

 

[MikeInOr]

Raging debate going on right now while we are waiting for a heavy shower to pass (no one wants to get wet changing targets).

Question:
Is a bullet's flight trajectory impacted by colliding with a raindrop as it travels toward a target.

I think the answer is yes, but to varying degrees based on size and number of impacts.

Others here say it makes little or no difference.

Thoughts?

E

I agree with both sides. Of course rain will have an impact on the flight of a bullet. How much impact, I would expect to be very little. Other factors will have a much bigger impact on the bullets flight making rain mostly inconsequential.

The only time that I know for sure that rain has had a significant affect on the flight of bullet is when I shot a crappy score!

 

[RX-79G]

I would have to wonder if the amount of rain necessary to matter would make it impossible to see the target accurately enough to tell.

 

[JohnnyMac]

When I was in the CG, our Gunner's Mate would only take us to the range for re-qual while it was raining. He insisted that shooting on a nice day was too easy and if it was raining/blowing like it normally was we'd be screwed..... "I'm giving you the edge Johnny!" he'd say. All I got was wet.

 

[Spitpatch]

Shortly after I got a bench set up with a 100yd range here at the house (about 25 years ago) and began shooting WAY more often, I definitely noticed my group sizes on rainy days increasing to the extent that subsequently if I have precise bench work to do, I avoid doing so when it is raining.

I cannot tell why this happens, but it is certainly an observable, repeatable phenomena.

 

[Koda]

Yeah... it's not the rain but barometric pressure/air density that can.... which tends to vary during weather changes. Shots fired within a short span of time I highly doubt air density would change enough to matter... currently raining or not.

More like... you got dialed in a couple few hours ago, it's raining now, and now you're shooting a hair low... type thing. Of course, even if the rain suddenly stopped... you;de likely still be shooting just a hair low.

Enter ballistics and distances into the mix and some may be affected while others won't to any noticeable degree.

Interesting questions, but so much is involved it'll twist your brain trying to extrapolate a simple set of rules. Like, shooting in the rain will or will not affect shot placement. Kinda like a "chicken or the egg" problem.

my guess if the rain suddenly stopped youd still be shooting low because the barometric pressure is slower to get back to where it was when you zeroed.

 

[Koda]

I would have to wonder if the amount of rain necessary to matter would make it impossible to see the target accurately enough to tell.

I think this is what it comes down to.
The pressure wave surrounding the bullet seems scientific enough to not matter in any rain density light enough to see thru, also seems scientific enough.

 

[RX-79G]

I think this is what it comes down to.
The pressure wave surrounding the bullet seems scientific enough to not matter in any rain density light enough to see thru, also seems scientific enough.

The thing is, a pressure wave works both ways. If it dense enough to push rain out of the way, it is dense enough to transmit the force of the rain back to the bullet. It isn't a forcefield - it's attached to the bullet.

 

[slimmer13]

You can hit a raindrop and it will deflect a bullet. It's rare and it's not something you can account for.

Effects of Rain on Bullet Trajectory - Guns and Ammo

Does shooting in the rain affect a bullet's trajectory?

www.gunsandammo.com

Other than that, here's a couple comprehensive videos on humidity and barometric pressure.

 

[Koda]

The thing is, a pressure wave works both ways. If it dense enough to push rain out of the way, it is dense enough to transmit the force of the rain back to the bullet. It isn't a forcefield - it's attached to the bullet.

could very well be. My guess is that would depend on the weight/speed/density of the raindrops compared to the weight/speed of the bullet. Perhaps somewhere there's a tipping point.

I just thought the video was a pretty good real world example of a good rainstorm not affecting hits. 700, 800, and 1000yd hits is a good metric.

 

[moose]

He hit all targets out to 1000yds in the rain calculating wind and drop, ...thats using science.

Im guessing you disagree but your being vague. Feel free to elaborate on the science.

A hundred years ago, Rutherford fired alpha particles into gold only to find it mainly empty space.

Did the hit a water droplet or not? Rain itself is an uncontrolled input variable, and one shot is not data.

How about a lot a shots in a controlled setting with a statistical analysis of angular and velocity variations at the end. Having a statistical database is the only way one can ensure one has bullets that both encountered and did not encounter a water droplet, and whether or not those encounters present themselves in the data.

That's the sci method a nutshell. Do that and I'll believe your data.

 

[Jim Horn]

Assuming 20 raindrops per cubic centimeter (those are big drops!) and a one inch of rain per hour (quite heavy rain!), a .223 caliber bullet travelling an average of 3000 feet per minute for 100 yards would average about 2 drops on its trip. Larger calibers will hit more but have much more mass to shrug it off. And more reasonable rainfall rates will be less. At only 0.8 grains per drop, their mass is tiny compared to the bullet.

I seriously doubt that the shock wave of a supersonic bullet would displace raindrops so they don't hit the bullet as there is negligible distance between the shock wave and the bullet itself. If the shock wave was so high pressure as to be able to do so, it would also stop the bullet itself in short order, much like bullets travelling in water.

Now, serious tropical downpours can greatly exceed one inch per hour. But even seeing a target 100 yards away fails in those cases.

 

[Koda]

A hundred years ago, Rutherford fired alpha particles into gold only to find it mainly empty space.

Did the hit a water droplet or not? Rain itself is an uncontrolled input variable, and one shot is not data.

How about a lot a shots in a controlled setting with a statistical analysis of angular and velocity variations at the end. Having a statistical database is the only way one can ensure one has bullets that both encountered and did not encounter a water droplet, and whether or not those encounters present themselves in the data.

That's the sci method a nutshell. Do that and I'll believe your data.

Technically he fired 4 shots all hits at long distance in the rain, is the theory of the pressure wave surrounding the bullet deflecting the rain not true?

 

[titsonritz]

Does rain affect bullet flight?

Of course it does, every external force does...wind, gravity, elevation, humidity, blades of grass, the list goes on and on...

The question is does it make enough difference for the intended application?

 

[moose]

Technically he fired 4 shots all hits at long distance in the rain, is the theory of the pressure wave surrounding the bullet deflecting the rain not true?

I wonder where I can read his peer review papered on the theory then.

 

[CamoDeafie]

I wonder where I can read his peer review paper on the theory then.

Are there any peer reviewed papers that says rain does impact bullet trajectories to a degree that's statistically significant?

Edit. I'm just applying the same "logic" to the notion that rain impacts bullet trajectories in a way that's significant.

Otherwise it's all just napkin physics/hypotheses.

 

[Juniper9mm]

When it's raining I always spray my bullets with WD-40 before sending them downrange. It acts like a bullet raincoat.

 

[moose]

Are there any peer reviewed papers that says rain does impact bullet trajectories to a degree that's statistically significant?

Edit. I'm just applying the same "logic" to the notion that rain impacts bullet trajectories in a way that's significant.

Otherwise it's all just napkin physics/hypotheses.

Very probably. The thicker the soup something is fired through, the slower and more random its motion.

Edit: there is stuff that the Navy and the Army study ad nauseam for firing their guns in all conditions so they would know for sure.

 

[RX-79G]

Scientists aren't doing studies to demonstrate how the particulars of your hobby works. But there are likely aerodynamic models that factor in water droplet impact at transonic speeds.

 

[Koda]

Very probably. The thicker the soup something is fired through, the slower and more random its motion.

Edit: there is stuff that the Navy and the Army study ad nauseam for firing their guns in all conditions so they would know for sure.

but if they dont release that info publicly then we are out of luck. And even if they did, finding it might still be difficult...
The military might be the only source for such a study. Maybe we can convince Mythbusters to do an episode....

Sounds like whichever theory we subscribe to, anecdotal evidence is the best we have. All I know is I watched that guy make 4 hits in a pretty heavy rain storm out to 1000yds and all he did was calculate for drops like any sunny day. 1000yds is a good [scientific] metric for increasing the probability the rain would affect the hits, and it didnt.
that day anyways.