Did you know that the longest confirmed sniper shot was over 2,000 meters in distance?

The modern rifled barrel design has been around for over 100 years, and for good reason. It makes use of physics to give shooters impressive accuracy at jaw-dropping distances. But not all bullets are equal, and a bullet’s ballistics and build can determine its success.

For those who love to reload ammunition, you want to ensure your bullets perform as expected. Using quality once-fired brass is only one part of the equation. 

In this article, we’ll discuss how to get optimal bullet performance from your rounds.

A Brief Look at Firearm Physics in Relation to Bullet Performance

To understand bullet performance, we need to take a look at how modern bullets work.

Before modern rifling, lead shot was standard. These are the metal balls that shooters would tamp down into their muskets. The inside of these musket barrels was smooth to allow the ball to slide out.

The problem is that balls have very poor accuracy. This limited the range that one could get a successful shot. Thanks to air resistance and other physical phenoma, a lead ball does not maintain a straight flight path nor does it fly very far.

To counter this, gunsmiths invented barrel rifling. These are the spiral grooves on the internal surface of a barrel. They cause a bullet (rather than a ball) to spin on its way out the barrel.

This spin induces angular momentum, resulting in a projectile that goes farther, is stable in flight, and is accurate. This design was immensely successful. Even now, over a hundred years since its invention, most firearms make use of it.

However, there are still a number of challenges that affect bullet performance.

Air Resistance, Gravity, The Coriolis Effect, and More

There are a ton of physical forces acting upon a bullet in flight. For starters, gravity.

Gravity plays a much larger role than many might assume. Contrary to popular belief, bullets do not travel in a straight line. They travel in a parabola, curving down toward the earth as they reach their target.

Further, there is air resistance. A bullet has to push through the air to reach the target, which slows it down a great deal. Wind can also do a lot to influence a bullet’s flight path.

Then there are lesser-known phenoma like the Coriolis effect. In essence, this is when the earth turns beneath a bullet on the way to the target. This makes the target “move” out of the way of the flight path.

We could go on, but suffice it to say that a lot goes into determining a bullet’s accuracy. If range and accuracy are paramount to you, you should look for bullets with a high ballistic coefficient.

Bullet Performance Before Impact: The Ballistic Coefficient

You want a high ballistic coefficient to get a bullet with the best accuracy and lowest air drag. This means that a bullet will go farther, stay on target, and its accuracy won’t decay due to wind.

This also means a bullet will land sooner and with a heavier impact. Since it spends less time in the air, drag and gravity won’t steal as much of its stopping power.

Do You Need Bullets With a High Ballistic Coefficient?

That really depends on what you are going to do with the bullets! Accuracy is important no matter what you use a bullet for. However, at shorter distances, a high BC does little to improve accuracy.

For long distances, such as over 100 meters, a high ballistic coefficient will be essential. This is especially the case with hunting or target shooting. Physical forces will lead to drastic degradation of your bullet accuracy the further out you are.

Bullet Performance After Impact

Another aspect to keep in mind is how bullet materials affect the damage it does to the target. 

Here are a few examples of common bullet types:

• Full metal jacket (FMJ): a bullet with a copper or steel coating that allows it to penetrate thick materials such as armor
• Hollow point: a bullet that “blooms” open on impact, doing devastating damage to flesh targets
• Plastic-tipped: similar to a hollow point, the bullet flowers open, and the plastic expands from the heat to do damage

You need to choose which bullet is right for your use case when reloading. Hollow points are ideal for self-defense, while FMJ is better for target practice and military applications. If you go hunting, you’ll want plastic-tipped bullets since they’re ideal for taking down game.

Can You Reuse Bullets?

No. Bullets suffer a lot of stress and deformation during and after hitting their target. It would be difficult to recover shot bullets, and they’d be lumps of metal when you found them.

Can You Reuse Brass?

Absolutely. You can reload brass multiple times and still get excellent bullet performance. As long as the brass is clean and has good structural integrity, you’re safe to reload it again.

Of course, making sure to use high-quality brass such as Starline will improve bullet characteristics. 

Bullet Performance and Reloading

Reloading is a great way to save money on ammo and appreciate the engineering of modern bullet ballistics. That said, there are a few things you should keep in mind when reloading to ensure the best bullet performance:

1. Inspect your brass for splits, dents, or bends, and discard such brass
2. Make sure your brass is free of rust and corrosion
3. Make sure to trim overlong brass and debur it before bullet insertion
4. Use the right powder type and amount (grain) when reloading
5. Make sure the bullets are seated snugly but avoid over-pressing or under-pressing
6. Research the particular round you are using for details on what to do in edge cases
7. Make sure your bullets are clean, free of buildup, and not crushed or dented

It’s important to keep everything clean during the reloading process. Ammunition needs to be stored in a clean, dust-free environment. Make sure your weapon and magazine/clip are clean as well to ensure the best bullet performance.

Find Once-Fired Brass for Your Reloading Needs

Despite the landslide achievement of barrel rifling, bullet performance still depends on a lot of factors. These can be physical factors, such as air drag and gravity. But using a bullet with a high BC and quality brass also plays a role in successful bullet ballistics.

If you plan to reload, you’ll want quality brass. Check out Diamond K Brass to order in bulk.