How far can a ball travel?

[Skychief]

How far can a .440 roundball fired with 70 grains of 3f black powder, from a 42" barrel travel? Talking about maximum distance with the barrel angled to achieve it.

A couple buddys and I had the question crop up during a BS session.

Anybody? :idunno:

Best regards, Skychief.

 

[necchi]

From muzzle to hitting the dirt.
5-600yards max, and likely much less then that.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

The question of terminal range has come up before. A study was commissioned for the PA Game Commission and they allegedly studied the distance a ball can travel. And without shooting a single round, concluded by computer program, that the bullet would travel miles after shot level at a height of three feet. Stupidist most false waste of money ever conceived.

 

[coloradoclyde]

A couple buddys and I had the question crop up during a BS session.

Anybody? :idunno:

Best regards, Skychief.

Take your buddies and your gun and go down to the river in the early morning when the water is like glass......Fire a few shots and you'll have an answer to tell us all.

 

[Britsmoothy]

It'll keep going until it hits something.....like aircraft :hatsoff:

B.

 

[Juice Jaws]

With your barrel at a 3% angle using CCI caps with 77 grains of powder under a loose patch using possum lube your ball should go about 521 1/2 yards, give or take 100 yards.

 

[hawkeye2]

The question of terminal range has come up before. A study was commissioned for the PA Game Commission and they allegedly studied the distance a ball can travel. And without shooting a single round, concluded by computer program, that the bullet would travel miles after shot level at a height of three feet. Stupidist most false waste of money ever conceived.

The problem is that we had a bureaucrat using a computer to solve a Physics 101 problem that requires only high school math and 30 seconds of time. :idunno:

 

[FishDFly]

The problem is that we had a bureaucrat using a computer to solve a Physics 101 problem that requires only high school math and 30 seconds of time.

And what is your answer is?

 

[Katahdin]

65 yards +-,,, FROM BARREL TO TARGET.What good is a projectile fired, at an angle, into the air unless you are dove hunting?? Then it never reaches the target before the bird swaps ends and flies off. .

 

[George]

980 yards.

Spence

 

[Jimbo47]

The question should be, "if I fire my rifle at a target at 100 yards, and the round ball continues on after I missed, how far would the ball travel?" :idunno:

 

[Skychief]

980 yards.

Spence

Thank you Spence for responding to my question. :thumbsup:

Stay cool, Skychief.

 

[longcruise]

The question should be, "if I fire my rifle at a target at 100 yards, and the round ball continues on after I missed, how far would the ball travel?" :idunno:

At my club, about eight feet. :grin:

I think Spence is pretty much on. I have shot my .50 at 500 meters and get that far without anywhere near the angle of departure required for a Max distance shot.

 

[54ball]

Miles!

A Fredericksburg area man was sentenced to jail Tuesday for negligent homicide in the death of a 15-year-old Amish girl as she drove a horse-drawn buggy home from a Christmas party. He discharged his muzzle-loading rifle into the air after a hunting trip, and the shot struck the girl, who was about 1.5 miles away.

Link Man kills Amish Girl

 

[smo]

That story came to my minds as well

I don’t recall if it was a round ball or not?

Think it my have been an unmentionable . :idunno:

 

[MSW]

let's see ”¦ about 1900 feet per second, with an angle of deflection of 45 degrees... taking into account ambient air temperature, humidity of the surrounding atmosphere, the rotation of the earth while the projectile is in flight, the ballistic coefficient of a sphere (I assume that roundball is in play). (you need to account for the phase of the moon, I would guess) ”¦

about a mile and a half

I heard about this case (2012 if memory serves) ”¦ the only similar case I've read about was a woman driving on the Jersey short who was struck by a 30-06 round fired from a boat nearly in international waters. (then 3 miles from shore) ”¦ the coroner said that if her window had been up, the bullet would probably not have killed her.

I was taught to fire into the ground - then you're sure of where it goes ”¦ know your backstop and all that...

 

[54ball]

That story came to my minds as well

I don’t recall if it was a round ball or not?

Think it my have been an unmentionable . :idunno:

Indications lead to it being a side lock.
Does it really matter?
As far as this thread subject goes.......
It's a hell of a lot further than a person can see no matter what they are using.
A box of 22s states 1 1/2 miles.
A box of 30-06..... excess of 3 miles.
Just about any firearm can send a projectile further than a person can see even with optics.
I do believe the optimal angle to be about 70 degrees specifically 72.....
You would have to have battleship gun directors to figure the shot!

 

[tenngun]

Wouldn’t it be 45 degrees for longest range? It seems old mortars would increase the angle to decrease range.
From a level shot a progectile will hit the ground in about 1/2 if helt four feet high. A round ball will go below 1100 FPS at a hundred yards. So say 1800 FPS at the muzzle 1100 FPS at a hundred yards average 1400 FPS divides by two say seven hundred feet or one hundred and thirty yards give or take. But.... we don’t shoot level :wink:

 

[Skychief]

That story came to my minds as well

I don’t recall if it was a round ball or not?

Think it my have been an unmentionable . :idunno:

Indications lead to it being a side lock.
Does it really matter?
As far as this thread subject goes.......
It's a hell of a lot further than a person can see no matter what they are using.
A box of 22s states 1 1/2 miles.
A box of 30-06..... excess of 3 miles.
Just about any firearm can send a projectile further than a person can see even with optics.
I do believe the optimal angle to be about 70 degrees specifically 72.....
You would have to have battleship gun directors to figure the shot!

Yes it matters, or should in this discussion. I asked specifically about roundball.

The conversation that inspired the question evolved because of the upcoming squirrel season. None of us plan to use elongated bullets and for sure no mortars. We also don't plan on taking dangerous shots in populated areas. One of our bunch uses his 45 with his deer load, hence the 70 grain/.440 roundball reference.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Yes it matters, or should in this discussion. I asked specifically about roundball.

The conversation that inspired the question evolved because of the upcoming squirrel season. None of us plan to use elongated bullets and for sure no mortars. We also don't plan on taking dangerous shots in populated areas. One of our bunch uses his 45 with his deer load, hence the 70 grain/.440 roundball reference.

Skychief, I use a .45 with 60 grains of 3fff for squirrel hunting. The solution is simple.
"know your target and beyond"

Be a disciplined hunter.

I rarely shoot a squirrel in the tree tops. most are on the ground and ones in the tree are still below the horizon. Know your terrain....chose your shooting position, I usually hunt from the high ground. pick your shots.

No firearm, caliber, or powder charge can be made to safeguard against an errant shot.