Whistling balls

[Jaeger]

Has anyone ever tried drilling a round ball crossways to get it to whistle when fired? If so, does it have to be done a particular way? The idea of whistling balls is intriguing.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Never even thought about it. Why don't you give it a try and report back?

 

[erhunter]

Who is going to stand down range and listen for it?

 

[Stantheman86]

I don't know but Maxi Balls out of my ArmiSport CS Richmond whistle when I shoot them at longer ranges. It's like "BOOOM -whistling sound fading into the distance - thwack"

Round balls and Minies just kinda make a whoosh sound occasionally , like a baseball being thrown

I'd guess that a round ball with a hole in it would upset the travel of it and it would violently curve somewhere

 

[Celticstoneman]

Jaeger,
Didn't the ancients put holes in sling shots to make them whistle right out of the sling? A lot of those were cast lead.
John

 

[nkbj]

A bullet designed to whistle... that's a fun idea.

 

[oldwood]

Minnie balls make a hisssssssssssss sound , and when they hit meat.......splatt..... Go shoot a deer with one , and hear what it sounds like.

 

[n3wyu]

Ya I have done that. If you shoot them south they whistle Dixie. If you shoot them north they whistle Yankee doodle.

 

[Packrat]

at our range a number of members have Cohorn Mortars that shoot bowling balls, these make a great whistling sound, it stop when at iys highest point than starts again

 

[ML48]

If you're ever on the receiving end of muzzleloader projectile, you'll find you don't need to drill a hole through it to hear it whistle.

 

[TFoley]

Mr papercartridges has the sound of a few incoming Whitworth bullets on one of his excellent Youtube movies.

Having been in the target pits with Whitworth rifles shooting from the other end, I can vouch for the fact that they have a unique and unmistakeably whirring whistle, probably due to their shape. They don't need holes to whistle.

I can also vouch for the fact that even at 800 yards they go clear through a railroad tie and beyond. Collecting one such bullet in the face - like General Sedgwick did at Spotsylvania Courthouse in May of 1864 - is not something I care much to even imagine. I doubt he knew anything about it.

 

[ML48]

Mr papercartridges has the sound of a few incoming Whitworth bullets on one of his excellent Youtube movies.

Having been in the target pits with Whitworth rifles shooting from the other end, I can vouch for the fact that they have a unique and unmistakeably whirring whistle, probably due to their shape. They don't need holes to whistle.

I can also vouch for the fact that even at 800 yards they go clear through a railroad tie and beyond. Collecting one such bullet in the face - like General Sedgwick did at Spotsylvania Courthouse in May of 1864 - is not something I care much to even imagine. I doubt he knew anything about it.

We weren't in the target pit when it happened. Perhaps I should explain.
We (me and my 2 sons) were hunting during muzzleloader only & archery season. We stopped to take a break and sat on a log for rest and a snack. In back was a pretty good size depression or gully in the mountains. It is usually extremely quiet in the mountains of the Greenhorn Wilderness. BTW: this was back in the late 1990's when I was younger and my hearing pretty damned good. Shortly I heard a faint whistling sound, and immediately grabbed my boys and said "hit the ground". That projectile whitled right overhead. Seemed like I'd been through that situation before. Needless to say, we went looking for the guilty party or parties..."hence Know where you are shooting"....that projectile, even from a smokepole can travel further than you think.

 

[1971fx]

Cannon shoot at Worcester NY June 2016 the balls cast of zinc sound like they tearing their way through the air

 

[Mad L]

True story; back when I used to jump from steel birds on weekends, we had this guy who bragged that he wore "8lbs of metal" in all his face piercings.
I swear it, and Yes, his piercings whistled in free fall at 120mph...I have heard it with me own two ears!!!

Now back to Whistling Balls...

 

[Whitworth]

I keep concentrating but I can't get mine to even hum, much less whistle

 

[Woody Morgan]

I keep concentrating but I can't get mine to even hum, much less whistle

Balls don't know the words.

wm

 

[JamesA]

We weren't in the target pit when it happened. Perhaps I should explain.
We (me and my 2 sons) were hunting during muzzleloader only & archery season. We stopped to take a break and sat on a log for rest and a snack. In back was a pretty good size depression or gully in the mountains. It is usually extremely quiet in the mountains of the Greenhorn Wilderness. BTW: this was back in the late 1990's when I was younger and my hearing pretty damned good. Shortly I heard a faint whistling sound, and immediately grabbed my boys and said "hit the ground". That projectile whitled right overhead. Seemed like I'd been through that situation before. Needless to say, we went looking for the guilty party or parties..."hence Know where you are shooting"....that projectile, even from a smokepole can travel further than you think.

Good reflexes....glad everyone was okay.

 

[Eterry]

12 gauge slugs make a sucking/whistling sound if shot across a canyon. Well, they were Brenneke slugs, that's all my dad hunted with. He was deadly with them.

Minie balls shot long range have a distinctive sound, but I don't recall round ball making much noise.

 

[necchi]

Has anyone ever tried drilling a round ball crossways to get it to whistle when fired? If so, does it have to be done a particular way? The idea of whistling balls is intriguing.

Do you intend to use hyper sonic or sub sonic velocities?
What caliber and ball size used??

 

[Poguetx]

Celticstoneman is correct. I just saw an episode of "Rome's Secret Weapons" on the Smithsonian Channel. They found lots of drilled out pellets the size of large marbles at a Roman battle site in Scotland. The conclusion is that they were sling shots that doubled as a terror weapon, much like the sirens on Stukas (their analogy, not mine).