Hello everyone
I have read much about supersonic range, and that when a bullet goes into the transonic-zone, and in the end going subsonic, it looses much of its stability and the BC drops to a much lower number. But what does excactly happend to the bullet, I mean, other than being more affected by wind? Will the accuracy decrease, even if there was no wind to affect the bullet? And is it possible to calculate and predict the path of the bullet during the transonic area, using some kind of formulas or a ballistic computer?
I have read somewhere that some 50 caliber bullets, like the 750 grains AMAX (with a BC of 1.050), are very stabilized compared to other bullets when going transonic. Is this true? I have also heard the same thing about the M33 Ball, but the M33 Ball does only have a BC of 0.670. But I think that Carlos Hathcock (the legendary USMC sniper) had a confirmed kill at 2500 yards, using a 50 cal M2 machinegun firing M33 Ball ammunition (or pherhaps it was M2 ball, but these two bullets have the same BC), and at 2500 yards, the M33/M2 ball would have been in the transonic zone for a long time? How did he manage this shot in that case?
Sako75
I have read much about supersonic range, and that when a bullet goes into the transonic-zone, and in the end going subsonic, it looses much of its stability and the BC drops to a much lower number. But what does excactly happend to the bullet, I mean, other than being more affected by wind? Will the accuracy decrease, even if there was no wind to affect the bullet? And is it possible to calculate and predict the path of the bullet during the transonic area, using some kind of formulas or a ballistic computer?
I have read somewhere that some 50 caliber bullets, like the 750 grains AMAX (with a BC of 1.050), are very stabilized compared to other bullets when going transonic. Is this true? I have also heard the same thing about the M33 Ball, but the M33 Ball does only have a BC of 0.670. But I think that Carlos Hathcock (the legendary USMC sniper) had a confirmed kill at 2500 yards, using a 50 cal M2 machinegun firing M33 Ball ammunition (or pherhaps it was M2 ball, but these two bullets have the same BC), and at 2500 yards, the M33/M2 ball would have been in the transonic zone for a long time? How did he manage this shot in that case?
Sako75