Shooting in rain.
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I have done testing out to 600 yards in hard rain, I could barley see the target to my surprise there was no difference. This was tested with 6.5/142gr. and 300/180gr. ultra mag.
65WSM
Well-Known Member
One time I was shooting .17 Remington at 300 yards on an overcast day at Upper Nisqually range. Using a target camera, I shot and could not account for a bullet. Since I was the only fool there, I walked out to the target, still no Idea why I missed the target. On the way out I felt a few drops. I decided to pull the camera and target stand and got soaked on the walk back..
I like to shoot under overcast (formerly normal Westside Washington climate) because it eliminates mirage and barrels cool faster. Local winds are driven by energy from the sun and funneled by the mountainous topography. With .22 BR shooting 77 and 80gr bullets, (7 Twist), I can report expanding groups and unaccounted for bullets at the back of our range 540 yards that I attribute to raindrops.
I like to shoot under overcast (formerly normal Westside Washington climate) because it eliminates mirage and barrels cool faster. Local winds are driven by energy from the sun and funneled by the mountainous topography. With .22 BR shooting 77 and 80gr bullets, (7 Twist), I can report expanding groups and unaccounted for bullets at the back of our range 540 yards that I attribute to raindrops.
An old Master Sergeant once told me that rain does not affect a supersonic bullet in flight. If you ever saw a picture of a supersonic aircraft flying through the sound barrier you will notice a thin layer of what appears to be super compressed air surrounding the fuselage. This super compressed air layer is also present in supersonic bullets which keeps the rain from coming in contact with the bullet. As the bullet drops below the speed of sound this super compressed air layer dissipates which allows the rain to come in contact with the spinning bullet. This in turn can upset the flight path as the rain drops now cause a disruption and instability to the flight path. We used to shoot M-14's across the National Match Course and 600 yard matches during the rain and I never noticed the rain affecting the zero of the rifle, which followed this theory since the 7.62 match ammo did not go sub sonic until well past 600 yards. The bigger factor was having to blow the water out of the aperture of the sights between shots. So some might dispute this, but it appears to me at least that the Master Sergeant was right.
Anything that touches your bullet while in flight is going to affect the point of impact.
Lenny Foffa
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I just shot in a Drizzle last week at the shooting range. 270 Weatherby mag, 130 Grn Nosler Ballistic tip at 3300fps. Range to target was 300 yards. I saw very little difference. It wasn't the best group I ever shot, and I had to flyers in the 21 Rounds session So...... IT HAD TO BE THE DAMM RAIN!!!!!!! or The tide was changing !!! LOL!!!!!
Haven't shot in the rain. That being said, I purchased a rifle for my recoil-shy wife to shoot when I went to the range. It was a Remington 700 BDL in .17 Remington. On the 1st outing, we could not see any hole in the target with the spotting scope. During the cease-fire, we checked the target and found a lot of minor tears in the paper. She was using factory ammo and the range master postulated that perhaps the heavy air was causing the bullets to explode in flight. Never could visually see it from the bench. I do know that the tiny 25gr projectile doesn't "buck brush". On a varmint shoot, I took a shot at a ground squirrel at about 50 yards, and no impact. Checking through the scope I could see some grass way. I do know, that when it did connect. it did more damage than any other round I was using. Recoil is virtually 0 but it is a pain to load for, the tiny bullet doesn't like my sausage fingers.
abstewart66
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The folks at Barbourcreek will give you a definitive answer on this. When I took a class with them, it rained hard during the afternoon session on dsy 2, and we kept shooting out to 1,000 yards at clays and golf balls. It was a great experience with them.
VLD Pilot
Well-Known Member
I'll be doing it tomorrow. Not because I want to shoot in the rain but because it's cooler and no sun. Both a plus when shooting. Lots of mirage at the long ranges and I prefer a little rain over sun when it cools down.
Varmint Hunter
Well-Known Member
What we'd really like to know is what was your observation at the time.
abstewart66
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No difference.
Varmint Hunter
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Interesting - That kind of says it all if you can shoot out to 1,000yds in a hard rain with no discernable difference.
abstewart66
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It was a 6.5 CM shooting 140 gr. Hornady Match ammo, so it was supersonic out to 1000. I have no experience with what happens sub-sonic.
