Are Bullets supersonic?

[ViperMagic]

Like a regular old .30-06. Is it supersonic?

 

[Scouzer]

Yes.. You can buy subsonic bullets for silenced weapons though.
(I believe...I vaguely remember this)

 

[Viper GTS]

A quick Google search found muzzle velocities for a .30-06 to be around 2800 fps, which is definitely supersonic.

Viper GTS

 

[GermyBoy]

I think that they are usually not. Try www.askjeeves.com?

 

[Russ]

<< I think that they are usually not. >>



They nearly all are. Even the .45ACP at 230Gr has a muzzle velocity that exceeds the speed of sound.

Russ, NCNE

 

[ggavinmoss]

<< A quick Google search found muzzle velocities for a .30-06 to be around 2800 fps, which is definitely supersonic.

Viper GTS >>



That's definitely supersonic, but is that normal?

-geoff

 

[HappyPuppy]

You don't need to worry about all the bullets you hear. It's the one you don't hear that you have to worry about.

 

[4WHLDFT]

yes most bullets are supersonic.

re: silencers for super sonic bullets....wouldnt the bullet make noise as its breaks the sound barrier after it exits the barrel? what would the point be? I dont get it. Unless the silencer slows the bullet down below the speed of sound...but then..what would the point of that be. It would still have the same energy of a subsonic round.

 

[Russ]

<< That's definitely supersonic, but is that normal? >>



It's normal for a 30-06.

Russ, NCNE

 

[ViperMagic]

Yeah, 2800 fps is normal. Now let me explain the situaton:

Kid at school, Todd, is a f'ing genius. He understands things any normal person wouldn't. I made a comment about subsonic ammo with scilencers today, and he proceeded to say how all ammo is subsonic, and if it wasnt, youd hear two sonic booms. I said that its a small chuck of lead, it isnt going to make that much of a boom. Could someone help me defeat his WRONG arugument? Thanks

Oh man, I BEAT TODD! This feels great!

 

[Viper GTS]

<< Yeah, 2800 fps is normal. Now let me explain the situaton:

Kid at school, Todd, is a f'ing genius. He understands things any normal person wouldn't. I made a comment about subsonic ammo with scilencers today, and he proceeded to say how all ammo is subsonic, and if it wasnt, youd hear two sonic booms. I said that its a small chuck of lead, it isnt going to make that much of a boom. Could someone help me defeat his WRONG arugument? Thanks

Oh man, I BEAT TODD! This feels great! >>



The bullet would hit it's target before re-crossing the sound barrier. (presuming his logic was that it had to cross on it's way up to speed & on it's way back down...)

Viper GTS

 

[Russ]

ViperMagic,

I'll give that a try. It has already exceeded the speed of sound before it exits the barrel, so the sonic "boom" and the noise from the explosion of the gases seem, to the human ear, to occur at the same time.

BTW, ignore my comment about the 45ACP. I thought the speed of sound was only 700FPS.

Russ, NCNE

 

[schmedy]

Yes most all ammo is supersonic, but most also can be bought or loaded in subsonic, to do that they either use a heavier grain bullet or lighter load of powder or both. For using a suppressor, if you use it with supersonic ammo all you would hear is the "crack" of the bullet breaking the sound barrier, much like you hear when a .22 goes off. What the suppressor does it rechannels the escaping gasses coming out of the muzzle of the weapon and quiets generally about 20-40db depending if it is a wet or dry suppressor and the caliber of the weapon. So yes there is a point to use normal (supersonic) ammo and a suppressor, but ideally use subsonic. If both are used there is still noise, the larger the caliber the more noise, also depending on the quality of the suppressor. Best case, or quietest, would be a .22 with subsonic and suppressed, still makes a much noise as an air gun, as well the noise of the action if it is a semi-auto weapon. Class III weapons are nice to shoot, you should go to a shoot if you ever get a chance. There is one coming up at Knob Creek in Kentucky in the next few weeks I think. If you ever want to try ask a local gun club of when they have class III shoots or if they know of any. BTW, boycott Dell they support HCI, aka Handgun Control Inc, Sarah Brady's pet project to disarm law abiding citizens.

 

[Russ]

<< BTW, boycott Dell they support HCI, aka Handgun Control Inc, Sarah Brady's pet project to disarm law abiding citizens. >>



Not that I'd ever buy anything from Dell anyway, but do you have some evidence of that?

Russ, NCNE

 

[Viper GTS]

<<

<< BTW, boycott Dell they support HCI, aka Handgun Control Inc, Sarah Brady's pet project to disarm law abiding citizens. >>



Not that I'd ever buy anything from Dell anyway, but do you have some evidence of that?

Russ, NCNE >>



This is what he referred to

Viper GTS

 

[Russ]

Damn. If that story is true, it should be front page news. That's as ridiculous as it gets. Every computer buying gun owner I know, is getting that link.

Russ, NCNE

 

[schmedy]

Not that article, but similar. Let me find it and I will link it. I feel the same way about all prebuilt ones too, easier to do it yourself.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

The Dell story sounds a bit overblown - it sounds more like an overzealous employee got carried away with security screening. According to this, even the NRA has stated that "Dell as a corporation does not support an anti-gun agenda, as some have been reporting." According to Michael Dell, Dell's cancellation of an order by Weigand Combat Handguns was undertaken because the company's name included the word "combat," and they wanted additional time to investigate the buyer. He has apologized for the SNAFU.

 

[Heisenberg]

No, the bullet wouldn't make two sonic booms. AFAIK, a sonic boom is the result of the buildup of standing waves - that only happens when something is accelerating, not decelerating. BTW, jets do make two sonic booms when they break the barrier, but that's because one is from the front and one from the back of the airplane. I wish I could explain it better, but the whole fluid dynamics thing is still a little fuzzy to me.

 

[Russ]

Don_Vito,

Thanks for the additional info. Doesn't look as bad as it did at first blush, but there may be more back-pedalling then honest mistake here. At the very least, Dell is making some arbitrary decisions based on very broad-based assumptions.

Russ, NCNE

 

[Russ]

Okay, I've now read through everything I could find on this issue, and I believe Dell to be credible. I think it was an honest screwup based on a screening and ordering system that's a bit sloppy. Hell, they even gave Weigand a free computer as compensation for their mistake.

Russ, NCNE

 

[Jzero]

<< No, the bullet wouldn't make two sonic booms. AFAIK, a sonic boom is the result of the buildup of standing waves - that only happens when something is accelerating, not decelerating. BTW, jets do make two sonic booms when they break the barrier, but that's because one is from the front and one from the back of the airplane. I wish I could explain it better, but the whole fluid dynamics thing is still a little fuzzy to me. >>


You might say that heisenberg is uncertain of the principles of fluid dynamics!
wokka wokka wokka!
Couldn't resist, sorry.

 

[MacBaine]

I thought the difference between Submachine guns and Machine Guns was the fact that the SUBmachine guns shoot bullets that are SUBsonic. This is what I was told when I toured the FBI building a few years ago... so correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

<< I thought the difference between Submachine guns and Machine Guns was the fact that the SUBmachine guns shoot bullets that are SUBsonic. This is what I was told when I toured the FBI building a few years ago... so correct me if I am wrong. >>



You are wrong. This is an odd explanation coming from an FBI agent, who one hopes would know better, but I guess not! Generally submachine guns shoot hot-loaded pistol calibers, which are all supersonic. Of course in certain situations a given operator might use subsonic (typically when using a silenced subgun like an MP5SD).

 

[LethalWolfe]

<< I thought the difference between Submachine guns and Machine Guns was the fact that the SUBmachine guns shoot bullets that are SUBsonic. This is what I was told when I toured the FBI building a few years ago... so correct me if I am wrong. >>



Hmmm... I guess the real tour guide had the day off. "Sub" refers to their compact size as compared to "regular" machine guns.


Lethal