A Ballistic Spreadsheet

Using  BallisticSS –  a ballistic spreadsheet           (notes by J. S. Andrew  Dec. 2009)

This public domain (free) spreadsheet file is made available for download by Owen Guns. The Ballistics Calculator will give a lot of answers to questions by shooters who have a computer with either Excel or OpenOffice.org installed. To obtain a copy of the FREE Ballistics Calculator, please send an email to owenguns@spiderweb.com.au with the subject line “Ballistics Calculator”.

DESCRIPTION

By entering values for any practical combination of MV (or velocity at a nominated range), Ballistic Coefficient, Bullet Weight, Sight Height (scope axis above bore axis), a desired Zero Range, and the actual target ranges you are interested in, the spreadsheet will instantaneously display ballistic predictions at those ranges. Remaining velocity and kinetic energy, drop from line of departure, bullet path above or below line of sight, and the bullets time of flight are given …

Ammunition is Effected by Temperature

Temperature has a marked effect on both velocity and pressure. Factory ammunition is, as a rule, rather conservatively loaded so that no danger will result even under extremes of temperature.
Twenty years ago a large quantity of 6.5 x 55 ammunition was imported into Australia, (I was responsible for a few million round of it) It was 139 grain FMJ brass case with a berdan primer I suspect made by Norma in Sweden. In normal conditions it was excellent ammunition. (I once shot a five shot.500 inch group at 200m with it). There were reports that it had blown up guns, on investigation this was not the same ammunition only the same calibre. It got everybody talking though.

A southern importer had imported blank ammunition in this calibre and had replaced the wooden blank projectiles with 140 grain soft points. This would not have been …

Exploding Barrel Blockages

Bore Blockages

Obstructions in a firearm barrel are almost certain to damage the barrel on firing.
The kind and amount of damage depend on location of the obstruction, on its mass (weight), and on the type and thickness of the barrel. A very great variety of results are possible. I have known of them killing the shooter next on the firing line, and only giving the owner of the firearm a sore shoulder. This is the extreme but it can and does happen.

An obstruction close in front of the cartridge in the chamber has the effect of increasing the chamber pressure. An obstruction in the middle or forward part of the barrel produces a local injury.
The action of an obstruction does not depend on trapping air. Experiments with coils of wire and other open obstructions resulted in damage about the same as solid obstructions of …