Episode #50 Bullets Fired up!

[dont_delete_this1]

Terminal velocity of a round musket ball will still be considerably slower than the exit velocity out of the barrel.  It would still be interesting for them to float a round musket ball to see what the terminal velocity would be, as opposed to the muzzle exit velocity.  I find myself wanting ot construct a windtunnel type thing like Adam did just to put things in to find the terminal velocity.
Wolfy

I agree that it will be slower, but will it be enough to kill?  I think this must definitely be tested by the gang. I'm not sure that the terminal velocity will THAT much different than the muzzle exit velocity.

[Wolfyhound]

Given that typical black powder muzzle velocities ranged from 700fps to 1000fps and the terminal velocity of the two bullets was around 100-200fps, I kind of doubt it would be so significantly faster to be lethal.
http://www.willegal.net/iron_brigade/musket.pdf
Gives some really cool information.
Also you must remember that not many black powder rifles actually fired a round ball, as the minie ball was introduced, and the idea of rifling a barrel came into being rather quickly too.  So you have to define EXACTLY what round projectile, which weight, shot from which caliber, with how many grains of black powder, in addition to which kind of black powder as the modern stuff is much more... energetic.
With that many variables it is difficult for them to conduct the experiment.  It would take a week or more just to do this one aspect, which is not feasable in the shooting schedule.
If they did the experiment using the most common of each of the variables I guarentee that tons of emails would result saying that IF they had changed xx to xx then it would be different. 
As nice as it would be, we can't have them test each individual componant to infinity.  Poor guys, they would never get to sleep at all.
Wolfy

[GarandFan]

I don't think anyone knows what would happen with a round ball.  Ballistic coefficients in modern tables are based on the "G1" model, which itself is based on the krupp improved shell of the late 1800s. Most modern bullets require some correction to the table. The muzzleloading ball is assumed to be off the charts. There is some effort to come up with ML charts, but I have not seen the results yet.

[hitmark]

those news quotes here makes me glad i live in a nation that dont allow just anyone to own a firearm, but lets not start a guncontrol debate

Pretty fun episode! Cool stuff got built, some unexpected results (confirmed and plausible and busted!!), and we got watch Jamie and Kari get half drunk. Admittedly, I was hoping to see them silly drunk. But having once put down 6 shots of vodka myself, and nearly having to go to the hospital for alcohol poisoining, I don't blame them one bit for not doing 8 shots!

A good solid episode. Fun to watch, looks like it was at least somewhat fun to make, interesting, relevant. Well done, guys, well done!

hmm, about jamie and kari getting silly drunk. maybe kari, but not jamie. remember when he and adam tests claimed ways to fool the breath test? adam was all over the place. but the best you got from jamie was a silly grin...

[Wolfyhound]

What would the hosts and/or build team members getting drunk have to do with the discussion on Bullets Fired Up or related issues?
Please try to connect your posts with appropiate threads.
Wolfy

[hitmark]

sorry about that, the first part was just a generic statement about the news clippings, and i have now edited in the missing quote...

[Ferret]

That guy, the      international expert on falling bullets   (I find that funny) is my dad. I think it's really cool he got to be on Mythbusters, my favorite show evr!

[BlackWidowNor]

He's your dad?  Well I'm sure you wouldn't mind him emailing me at admin@mythbustersfanclub.com - from his email address - you're under 18 and you're supposed to have your parents email me with their consent to be on the web site (it says so in the Terms of Use that you agreed to when you joined.)

TheBlackWidowNor
Owner/Administrator
MythBustersFanClub.com

[FeZzZz]

    That is so Cool Ferret!!! 

   And Welcome to the board!! 

[spc06]

GREAT EPISODE!  I had it tivo'd from weeks ago, and I just saw it a few weeks ago.  Then I just read this article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/shoe_sale

And I was thinking that the bullet must have been shaped differently than their test firings, as their bullets always fired down rotated on their width, never down on their tip.  They also made the point to say that they only came down like this when fired straight up, as was the case in this article.

Any thoughts?

[Raptor937]

Liked the episode, but one question who provides the lines for the narrator?

In the episode he called the Garand an assault rifle which it isn't.

The definition of an assault rifle is, a weapon capable of firing full-auto and semi-auto (Select fire), firing an intermediate caliber round.

In the "Blown Away" episode he referred to the AR15 as a MP5.

But still it is a great show.

[PretenderNX01]

Well, first it depends on where your watching the series. They have one narrator for the US and Canada and a second one who is British who narates for the rest of the world. Some lines are differnt as the international version is about 5 minutes longer because of shorter commercial breaks and the lack of safety warnings.

As for who does his writing- I think its up to somebody at Beyond who produces the show. Not the Mythbusters themselves, they would know the difference between firearms. 

[Raptor937]

They air the American version here in Singapore, I think. He doesn't have the British accent as far as I can tell.

[lvdennis]

In the episode he called the Garand an assault rifle which it isn't.

The definition of an assault rifle is, a weapon capable of firing full-auto and semi-auto (Select fire), firing an intermediate caliber round.

No, no, no...  You have it all wrong!  In the late 80's (years before the assault ban) they were saying 'if it looks like a machinegun, it must be a machinegun'...  Thats where assault weapons come from.  If they are scary and look like they MIGHT be fully auto, then its an assault weapon...  Besides the ATF classifies them as having 2 or more of the following characteristics:

Bayonet lug
Detachable magazine
forward hand grip
folding stock
barrel threads (for Muzzle Brakes or Flash Hiders)
Night Sights
Grenade


I'll dig up the true atf defenition.  But its basically that...

[PretenderNX01]

I decided to check Merriam Websters defininition (its kind of vague):

http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=assault%20weapon

One entry found for assault weapon.
Main Entry: assault weapon
Function: noun
: any of various automatic or semiautomatic firearms; especially : ASSAULT RIFLE

http://m-w.com/dictionary/assault+rifle

One entry found for assault rifle.
Main Entry: assault rifle
Function: noun
: any of various automatic or semiautomatic rifles with large capacity magazines designed for military use