1911Forum banner

Why did the heavier bullet go lower this time?

1K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  Cappi 
#1 ·
I went to the range and shot some Aguila 124 9mm and some WWB 115 9mm.

Each brand was shot from the same gun and the gun was aimed with the front sight centered and the center point of the red bullseye sitting on top of the front blade. I was hoping that the point of impact would be the center of the red bullseye.

I was out twelve yards. I am new.

The Aguila grouped nicely but a little low.

The WWB grouped decently but a little high, roughly an inch higher.

Past threads I read say heavier goes higher, but this did not happen.

SO:
Is it likely that the Augila is a bit lower powered and that accounts for the lower hits?

Could the WWB be a bit snappier and maybe I flinch or the muzzle flips up a bit before the bullet leaves?

Or was I too close to the target?


Obviously I am no marksman, but these two brands in these two weights clearly resulted in slightly lower hits for the heavier.

I don't want to start an argument and there are many threads on the heavier higher and lighter lower issue. I am just trying to find one ammo that I can buy a lot of and try to focus on how that one ammo performs as I try to move back to 15 yards, where I hit the target easily but not with consistent groups.

The Augila seems to group more consistently for me in this gun so maybe I just need a case of Augila and then to focus on getting better groupings.

I will say thanks here.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Post threads are wrong. All things being equal, the heavier bullet will drop more which you just proved. Perhaps they were talking about the high point of the trajectory, which typically is higher for a heavier, slower bullet.
There is a constant, and that is max pressure allowed in the gun. The lighter the bullet, the faster it will go. The heavier, the slower, at that same pressure.
 
#5 ·
All else being EXACTLY equal, the point of impact WILL be lower for a lighter bullet. This has to do with recoil impulse and the time it takes for the bullet to exit the barrel. We're not talking long range trajectory here, just short range point of impact. The effect of gravity in this case is nil.

The two rounds are not equal. The Aquila, although SLIGHTLY heavier, was probably a bit faster, accounting for a SLIGHTLY higher POI. And, your aim might have been SLIGHTLY different for the second set of shots. This is hand held shooting, not from a Ransom Rest.

Actually keeping groups within an inch of each other is darn fine shooting. The inch difference at that range is really meaningless. Try some more brands and you'll see.
 
#6 ·
What Moxie said, the bullet that stayed in the barrel the longest is the one that hit high because there was more muzzle climb when it left the barrel, so the 115s were milder loads than the 124s.
If both had the same powder load the 124 would have been the one to print higher.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top