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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Rifles, Bullets, Barrels & Ballistics
Twist vs Bullet Weight Question
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<blockquote data-quote="CaneBrake" data-source="post: 2938015" data-attributes="member: 127859"><p>Not quite simple. Sadly, nothing in physics is simple. It's more than just the weight. Length, bullet construction and atmospheric conditions all come into play. Essentially, the twist needs to be fast enough to gyroscopically stabilize the bullet. Imagine spinning a top on a flat surface. If the top is spinning fast enough (high angular velocity) its axis of rotation will maintain 90 degrees to the table. Once it slows down if begins to wobble. If the barrel twist isn't fast enough the bullet will wobble like a top that is slowing down. That wobble increases drag, decreases accuracy, and severely effects terminal ballistics. The heavier and longer the bullet the harder it is to stabilize. Weight is a little harder to visualize. Again, imagine spinning top. Easy right? Now imagine that same top weighed 20lbs. It probably would barely make a few rotations before falling. The heavier top has more mass and a higher moment of inertia. It's much harder to accelerate that bullet to reach the critical angular velocity to stabilize it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CaneBrake, post: 2938015, member: 127859"] Not quite simple. Sadly, nothing in physics is simple. It's more than just the weight. Length, bullet construction and atmospheric conditions all come into play. Essentially, the twist needs to be fast enough to gyroscopically stabilize the bullet. Imagine spinning a top on a flat surface. If the top is spinning fast enough (high angular velocity) its axis of rotation will maintain 90 degrees to the table. Once it slows down if begins to wobble. If the barrel twist isn't fast enough the bullet will wobble like a top that is slowing down. That wobble increases drag, decreases accuracy, and severely effects terminal ballistics. The heavier and longer the bullet the harder it is to stabilize. Weight is a little harder to visualize. Again, imagine spinning top. Easy right? Now imagine that same top weighed 20lbs. It probably would barely make a few rotations before falling. The heavier top has more mass and a higher moment of inertia. It's much harder to accelerate that bullet to reach the critical angular velocity to stabilize it. [/QUOTE]
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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Rifles, Bullets, Barrels & Ballistics
Twist vs Bullet Weight Question
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