- #1
triple f
- 9
- 0
Greetings all,
I am an avid airsoft enthusiast. For those of you unfamiliar, airsoft is a bit like paintball, but without the gooey mess. In any case, a few friends and I were experimenting with the performance of one of our bolt-action sniper rifles which fires 6mm projectiles weighing .20 grams @ approximately 500fps (give or take a few on the fps, number. Also, the rifle can fire heavier projectiles, but not exceeding .43 of a gram.) During the comparative performance tests, one of the guys noticed that quite a few shots appeared to suddenly veer off target mere inches before striking the bullseye. This occurred in the neighborhood of 150ft, which is the approximate distance just before the bbs begin to drop earthward (total range is probably around 200ft.) We were able to see the effect through the use of binoculars which we were using to help with spotting. I'm wondering if someone knowledgeable in physics/aerodynamic knows of a phenomenon which might explain why the bbs would dramatically veer away meer inches from a flat target (if I had to guess, I would hazard there is some kind of airmass moving ahead of the bb which compresses when interrupted by the target and acts on the bb, but hey, I'm probably way off )
I'm also curious if there is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to performance as it relates to such light projectiles? By that I mean, our natural inclination is to upgrade the internals in order to boost the fps at which the bbs are fired so that they will fly more accurately and with increased range. At what point do the realities of aerodynamics dictate the bbs' flight characteristics won't benefit from more speed?
Thanks in advance for taking the time to consider my questions. Much appreciated!
TF
I am an avid airsoft enthusiast. For those of you unfamiliar, airsoft is a bit like paintball, but without the gooey mess. In any case, a few friends and I were experimenting with the performance of one of our bolt-action sniper rifles which fires 6mm projectiles weighing .20 grams @ approximately 500fps (give or take a few on the fps, number. Also, the rifle can fire heavier projectiles, but not exceeding .43 of a gram.) During the comparative performance tests, one of the guys noticed that quite a few shots appeared to suddenly veer off target mere inches before striking the bullseye. This occurred in the neighborhood of 150ft, which is the approximate distance just before the bbs begin to drop earthward (total range is probably around 200ft.) We were able to see the effect through the use of binoculars which we were using to help with spotting. I'm wondering if someone knowledgeable in physics/aerodynamic knows of a phenomenon which might explain why the bbs would dramatically veer away meer inches from a flat target (if I had to guess, I would hazard there is some kind of airmass moving ahead of the bb which compresses when interrupted by the target and acts on the bb, but hey, I'm probably way off )
I'm also curious if there is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to performance as it relates to such light projectiles? By that I mean, our natural inclination is to upgrade the internals in order to boost the fps at which the bbs are fired so that they will fly more accurately and with increased range. At what point do the realities of aerodynamics dictate the bbs' flight characteristics won't benefit from more speed?
Thanks in advance for taking the time to consider my questions. Much appreciated!
TF