Ricochet Sound

I did this as a kid many years ago and I do not recommend it.
Bullet fragments can blast down to the shooter.
I know from experience.
Sometimes I wonder how I survived my childhood years however I have the scars to remind me.
Thanks for the heads up, although I am sure it is a lot safer than the 100,000 psi I am apparently loading at.

Dean
 
I believe the sound is caused by the bullet tumbling after deflecting.
You got it- when it tumbles the air dragging around the uneven edges give you that ZZZZZZZZZZ. There is also a special sound from a perfect round spinning next to your head at 2,500fps.
 
FINALLY! A penny is worth something! So what is a dime sound? Nickel? Quarter, or do you get change?
Luccky the penny didn't do a "Boom-A- Rang" and come back to you. I was with a fellow Marine he shot into the ice, the bullet flew up. hit a rock, and flew right back at us. The penny,on the top of the barrel, could have taken a "Sauser shape" and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZingd around. You were a very adventurous youth. Bet you tried playing chicken with trains.
 
As stated, it is from the bullet flattening and deforming causing an obscure shape cutting through the air unevenly.

As a kid I would take a small flat pebble (flatter the better) and be able to cup it in my left index finger and using my right index to flick the rock in a catapult fashion pretty dang hard. it makes the same ricochet sound and would really fascinate all the others. Pretty cool. Haven't tried it in years but may see if I've still got it haha.

My black powder flintlocks make some pretty dang good ricochet sounds after smashing through an animal, then ricocheting off a rock. My best was my .62 cal 360ish grain round ball passing through a Javelina then the ricochet, heard that thing for like 10 seconds it felt like haha. Got it on video somewhere.
 
In my experience, I never hear a high power rifle ricochet when shooting, or in close proximity to the shooter. That may be because we are 300 yards or more from the initial impact.
22LR and pistol bullets are a whole different story, and I feel MV plays hard here.
I frequent a range where guys will step outside of a shop and bang a steel plate with handguns, given the angles involved, bullet jackets will what we think wiz overhead or close by the shooting location. That sound can be unnerving.
 
You got it- when it tumbles the air dragging around the uneven edges give you that ZZZZZZZZZZ. There is also a special sound from a perfect round spinning next to your head at 2,500fps.
I have fond memories of rifled slugs flying by me while sitting in a stand one cold mornin... I warmed up in a hurry when I found those gentlemen
 
Growing up shooting silhouette I also got to set targets.

So target setters are set up a few yards away next to the targets which are at 200m, 300m, 385m and 500m and when the competitors are shooting you hear the bullet impacts before you hear the shot.

You will hear the bullet's lound bang when it impacts the silhouette and then the boom of the rifle. You'll also hear like a firecraker noise when the bullet misses the silhouette and hits the dirt mound.

And you'll hear a lor of ricochets from bullets hitting both the dirt and the metallic silhouettes. Now what creates this noise I have no idea.
 
Luccky the penny didn't do a "Boom-A- Rang" and come back to you. I was with a fellow Marine he shot into the ice, the bullet flew up. hit a rock, and flew right back at us. The penny,on the top of the barrel, could have taken a "Sauser shape" and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZingd around. You were a very adventurous youth. Bet you tried playing chicken with trains.
Chicken with trains? Nah, Frogger on I-75 around Atlanta much better!

When I first moved in to our new built house on 5 acres in country, heard shot and whizzzzzzz past my head in driveway. Slugs make unique sounds as well. Neighbor's elderly dad who took the shot and I came to a reasonable understanding. We all know what that was.

When kid, someone was shooting at floating cans on lake with .22, they were ricocheting all thru trees around us and we were other side of lake.!!!
My dad went nuts driving around lake to them, mile away and we could hear him! That noise is something you don't forget!
 
What exactly happens for it to make that sound. I know you can't have a western movie without them, I actually think there are laws against that.LOL This last weekend Some one asked me why it makes that sound and I had no answer.
I know the bullet is deflecting off of something, but it still does not explain the sound it makes.

Dean
The sound is a doppler affect. All objects moving the atmosphere create sound waves. The objects shape has a lot to do with this as well the velocity being SuperSonic, transonic or subsonic and all sub sonic velocities. As a kid did you ever hold a coke bottle out of the car window to create a whistle sound? The velocity of the car determined the tone of the whistle as did the volume of the bottle. The misshaped bullet, yaw and pitch create the variations of sound waves while going through the atmosphere. Does that make sense? Or just Google "sound waves"
 
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