5.56/.223 ballistics

[Guest Len]

Possibly an odd question...

I'm wondering about the nature of the flight of a .223 bullet after it leaves my AR. Specifically, at what distance from the muzzle does the bullet start to show an appreciable drop? I'm trying to figure the max distance I can assume the bullet is traveling more or less in a straight horizontal line from the muzzle to the target. Anyone have any idea or could point me to a resource?

[Guest mtsusean]

Not the perfect answer but this will get you started

[Guest Len]

That's EXACTLY what I needed! Thanks!!

[Guest mw.]

http://www.winchester.com/products/catalog/rifle.aspx

http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/

Remingtons ballistics software is pretty neat too.

[Guest Mugster]

Bullet drop doesn't mean much out to 350-400 yards. Probably what you need is a good zero or there's a better zero for A2 style sights to keep the range on the elevation wheel accurate. I'm pretty lazy, so i just zero at 200 yards and shoot a foot or so low at 300. On iron, it doesn't make that much difference:

http://groups.msn.com/TheMarylandAR15ShootersSite/zeroingmethods.msnw

ibz zero:

http://groups.msn.com/TheMarylandAR15ShootersSite/improvedbattlesightzero.msnw

double improved ibz:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=18&t=328143

Also, here's a ballistic calculator if you know the velocity and your bullet's bc:

http://www.handloads.com/calc/

Edited August 6, 2008 by Mugster

[Guest Todd@CIS]

Not sure if this this applies to what you were asking, but it depends on your zero somewhat.

For anyone interested...

We recommend a 50 yard/meter zero for defensive ARs (optics and iron sights).

Below is an example of why we do not like a 25 yard/meter zero.

With a 50 yard/meter zero, poin-of-impact will never be more than 2.5 inches low or high from 0-225 yards/meters. That's pretty good for a 16" AR.

16” AR-15 with 55gr. 5.56mm M193 (approx.)

50 YARD ZERO* (recommended)

Range (yards) Point of impact

0 -2.5”

25 -1.1”

50 ZERO

75 +0.9”

100 +1.4”

125 +1.7”

150 +1.6”

175 +1.2”

200 ZERO

25 YARD ZERO

Range (yards) Point of Impact

0 -2.5”

25 ZERO

50 +2.2”

75 +4.2”

100 +5.9”

125 +7.3”

150 +8.3”

175 +9.0”

200 +9.3”

Edited August 6, 2008 by Todd@CIS

[nightrunner]

great info!

[deerslayer]

Many people misinterpret these charts to mean that bullets actually "rise." They do rise, but only because they are being started on an upward trajectory so they will fall down on target at a specific range. If the barrel were perfectly parallel to the ground, the bullet would start to drop as soon as it left the barrel.