What happens when a bullet is fired from a gun?

When the firing pin strikes the primer the powder is ignited and pressure builds from the gasses created by the burning powder. Those gasses force the bullet down the barrel, the path of least resistance, until the bullet leaves the barrel and they dissipate into the air.

Can a bullet be set off without a gun?

This isn’t a bullet, this is a cartridge. You can set it off in the sense that it will go bang, by striking the primer with something hard with sufficient force. Without a gun to contain the pressure and guide the bullet, the casing will rupture and the bullet will fly a short distance without much force.

Why don’t modern powders burn as fast as they used to?

Modern powder does not burn this way but still burns quickly enough. Here is the problem; Pressure builds up in the case and splits it because the projectile is heavy and the build up of gases will seek the area of least resistance. This means burning gases will exit the side of the case after being struck with a hammer.

When the gas from the explosion shoots the bullet forwards with force, the whole gun jolts backwards with an equal force in the opposite direction. The explosion that fires a bullet happens in the confined space of the gun barrel. As the bullet flies out of the gun, the pressure of the explosion is suddenly released.

Why do guns wobble when fired from long distances?

Over longer distances, they follow a slight downward curve because gravity tugs them toward the ground as they go along. Air resistance and the spinning, gyroscopic motion of a bullet complicate things too. Usually, because of recoil, the person firing wobbles the gun slightly when the bullet emerges.

What is the difference between rifling and rimfire?

Rifling: The spiral grooves cut or swaged inside a gun barrel that gives the bullet a spinning motion. The metal between the grooves is called a “land”. The spiral can have either a left or right twist. Rimfire: The cartridge has the primer distributed around the periphery of the base. Round: A military term for a cartridge.

How does a spinning bullet fall to the ground?

A fired, spinning bullet will tend to spend most of its flight horizontal to the ground, and so the vertical component of its fall to the ground is on the higher-drag SIDE of the bullet, not the base. This drag won’t become meaningful unless the height above ground is sufficient for measurable drag differences to occur closer to terminal velocity.