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Maximum range details and catchment areas of Small arms ammunition.

BMG50

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
I am doing some research on an old Canadian anti tank moving target range that i recently discovered which now involves army archaeologists.
I am a bit miffed about this range location compared with three other ranges that face opposite in the same area. I am trying to work out why they chose the location bearing in mind that the area this range points to is an active location which seems strange.
I have worked out the likely firing line of the range with other locations in the area but i need to know how catchment areas are calculated and details about the maximum range of certain rounds, the .303. 30-06 and 7.92 Besa that was use.
I assume when firing say a .303 round at a 45 degree angle it would give its maximum range to a point where the projectile dropped in the ground depleted of all energy that would be harmless to life and property. I have looked on the web and found that a .303 round maximum range is 3,000 yards, not maximum effective range which is different. How are range calculations of projectile made for catchment areas.can someone enlighten me.
 
Royal Engineers used to have a section at Warminster responsibe for range construction etc, but I think they have gone now, and certification is carried out by civilian contractors, who, of course, charge for their services. Seem to remember that the "bible" in the old days was JSP 403, wch might be available on line. This gave safety traces etc for all categories of small arms. Quick phone call to NRA at Bisley will give you latest info re private range construction and that should include danger areas etc. Central danger area with a number of ranges firing inwards, as it were, was not uncommon. May have an old copy of JSP if you really get stuck, and need further reference.
Alan1.
 
Thanks Alan1, i will have a look for JSP 403 and let you know if i get stuck. I am very interested that you mentioned the RE range construction section at Warminster as i also need to find the paper trail of this moving target range of how it was constructed, plans blueprints etc and what happened on this range.
 
max range is achieved at 33deg elevation not 45. NRA may well have info on range construction, 3000yds does not sound like max range for .303, will look and see what I have on it.
 
According to the Textbook of Small Arms 1929, experiments with the 7.5mm Swiss round gave a maximum range of about 4,400 yards, at an elevation of just under 35 degrees. The bullet had a MV of 2,600 fps, and weighed 174 grains, and was boattailed. The .303" Mk.8z ball round would have approached this; but the Mk.7 bullet (being flat-based and with a MV of about 2,400 fps) would be somewhat less.

Roger.
 
The maximum ballistic range of 7,62 mm NATO ball is given as 3,725 m; for 5.56 mm NATO (SS109/M855) it is 3,300-3,600 m, for the 5.56 mm M193 it is 2,650 m and for the .50 cal M33 ball it is 6,800 m (all manufacturer info - from Poongsan, South Korea).

Range safety requirements also have to take into account the possibility of ricochets, which can add to these distances.

It is wrong to assume that bullets at maximum range will be harmless. As the trajectory curves back down to the ground, the bullets pick up speed via gravity and can inflict a lethal injury. This is particularly the case if they are still stable and travelling approximately point-first - if they are tumbling they are less dangerous.

Some interesting data on this from the NRA Firearms Fact Book: if a 180 grain soft point is fired vertically upwards from a .30'06, it will reach a maximum altitude of 3,080 m. By the time it hits the ground again it will be travelling at 55 m/s (terminal velocity if tumbling); 98 m/s (if falling base-first); 140 m/s (point first). This is velocity due only to gravity - in real life there would also be some extra residual velocity from the forward motion.


Some other maximum range figures from the NRA Firearms Fact Book: .22 LR rimfire solid point = 1,480 m; 9 mm Parabellum = 1,740 m; .44 Magnum = 2,300 m
 
A bullet fired vertically should still be spinning so will be gyroscopicly stable, so why would it tumble as gravity will only be pulling it back down so it should land base first unless it is designed to tumble at reduced velocity. Artillery fuzes are tested by vertically firing shells which land base first so preserving the fuze. If fired vertically the only velocity a bullet can have is due to gravity unless one considers the very small horizontal component due to wind and the Earths rotation.
 
how can a ricochet travel further than maximum range? it will loose energy on impact with whatever it hits so cant go further. Laws of physics.
 
how can a ricochet travel further than maximum range? it will loose energy on impact with whatever it hits so cant go further. Laws of physics.

Yes, you are right. Ricochets come into play when determining how wide the safety zone needs to be - the bullets can go all over the place if they hit something hard.
 
A bullet fired vertically should still be spinning so will be gyroscopicly stable, so why would it tumble as gravity will only be pulling it back down so it should land base first unless it is designed to tumble at reduced velocity. Artillery fuzes are tested by vertically firing shells which land base first so preserving the fuze.

I just copied the information from the NRA Factbook, which was almost certainly based on theoretical calculations (e.g. the average BC of a tumbling bullet).

If fired vertically the only velocity a bullet can have is due to gravity unless one considers the very small horizontal component due to wind and the Earths rotation.

I know. That's why I said "This is velocity due only to gravity - in real life there would also be some extra residual velocity from the forward motion." By "real life" I meant not firing vertically upwards, but firing at an angle. I think there are some data tables in the 1929 Textbook of Small Arms referred to above, which give impact velocity figures for bullets fired at extreme range, but I can't find my copy. IIRC, at maximum range the bullets are falling at an angle of about 80 degrees.
 
If on-line search proves negative, you might try the R E Museum at Chatham, who may, or may not, have the archives for this period. Curatorial staff are most helpful, if they don't hold them they will know a man who does! But be aware that much was weeded out in the MoD. So far as artillery ranges are concerned, the archives are in store but probably available on request, the museum exhibits, Rotunda and then Firepower, are all in storage at present, they hope to have a new museum at Larkhill at some point in the future. Alan1.
 
text book small arms 1929 page 277 halfway down '' It is an observed fact that the greatest range of any hand held gun occurs at an elevation of about 33deg., and not the conventional 45deg....their shot fall nearly vertical at any elevation which approaches or is greater than that angle. Artillery can use higher elevations and get the shell into less dense air to achieve max range...... The terminal velocity of rifle bullets is very low due to air resistance. '' Might be low but still lethal IMHO
 
Thank you. That explains a lot. I wonder if at greater elevations, the flight time is sufficient for the spin imparted by rifling to have fallen to a point where it is insufficient to maintain stabilisation causing the bullets to tumble and fall to the ground - "their shot falling vertically"

TimG
 
The danger area for a regular classification range (coming from the 1952 Infantry Training manual, this will be equivalent to WW2 regulations) was 2000 yards to the rear of the targets, with a width of over 800 yards for eight targets. A field firing range, which may not have a stop butt, has an increased danger area of up to 3000 yards. If LMG, MMG or rifle are firing from moving vehicles and using Mk8z ammunition, the danger area extends to a huge 6,200 yards and a width 1,760 yards. The same manual also notes that 'it is on record that bullets striking the ground 400 yards from the muzzle of the rifle have travelled 1,700 yards'. While 6,200 yards is not the range of Mk8z .303 bullets, it gives the general idea of the area in which a small arms range must be contained.
 
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