Thread: sideways bullets

ive got an ex mil sporterised 7x57 98mauser it was like this when i got it its got a really short barrel and is suppressed i had a gong set up at 330m that i was shooting at with another rifle and decided to have a shot at it with the 7x57 the shots were going everywhere and finally it fluked it and hit the gong a bit later it was time to go so went and got the gong when i checked it i see the 7x57 pill was sideways from the mark it left in the paint would a short barrel do this it was a 150gr projectile and its about a 12inch barrel

It could possibly be from the short barrel. Stability is a function of projectile length, velocity and weight. If the short barrel means the bullet is travelling a lot slower it may be unstable. To increase stability push projectile faster, or make it shorter and lighter (e.g try 120gr ammo)

What's the crown like?

ok might need to see if i can get half a dozen pills to try or rebarrel at 100m its fine as far as going sideways goes

It's a function of speed, as the bullet slows down the rpm decreases and gyroscopic stability is lost. Think of a child's top, as it slows it starts to wobble (precession) then falls over even though it's still spinning slowly. Bullets are no different to tops in that regard.

Yea it was probably set up to be a Bush gun it's nice and short would prefer to shoot heavy bullets in it

Has it got any rifling left in it?

While speed is a factor stability is mostly a combination of bullet lenght vs twist rate.

https://bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/

Rebarrel it.

Flatbase and more crayon shaped might help but also lighter weight
Slow twist short barrels arnt the best for stabilising long bullets
It probably won't be worth rebarreling unless you can find a take off otherwise it will cost about a grand

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cUXJ4icGjtI

Using similar powders to him might net you some more speed

I'm sure a sideways hunting bullet would work quite effectively, part of me wants to say it may have been designed to tumble milsurp

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Has it got any rifling left in it?

While speed is a factor stability is mostly a combination of bullet lenght vs twist rate.

https://bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/

yep plenty of rifling its a 14" barrel crowns good

Mate had a 303 that would shoot them sideways at 30 meters...barrel was a tad to short also my 22-250 when I was developing a load was shooting some of the heavier projectiles sideways , twist rate wasn't enough for anything over 55g

not sure what the twist rate would be its an ex mil one if i rebarreled it i would do same cal i quite like it but then im known for liking the old school stuff

With time on your hands, slug the bore and measure the freebore as well you could also measure the twist rate which would fill in a few more minutes. At the end you may have some answers

Originally Posted by Cigar

It could possibly be from the short barrel. Stability is a function of projectile length, velocity and weight. If the short barrel means the bullet is travelling a lot slower it may be unstable. To increase stability push projectile faster, or make it shorter and lighter (e.g try 120gr ammo)

Had this with 162g and trail boss loads in 7x57 mind you it only happened when I used these loads on a running boar target. Fine when sighting in, no barrel movement. But as soon as I added swing