Bullets.My 8 year old son asks me what is an average velocity of a bullet?

Answer 1

It varies very widely - it all depends.

Some handgun projectiles are as slow as 600 feet per second.

Some rifle projectiles are as fast as 5000 feet per second.

(Tell him much faster than a race car!)

Answer 2

Average velocity depends on whether it is a rifle or pistol. But any bullet? Around 1000 feet per second. A 22 cal. long rifle bullet(40 grain) runs at 1125 fps, a 30-06 about 1745fps, a handgun that isn't a magnum runs 900to1000fps. Also the advertised speed of the new Ruger 204 is about 4000fps!!!!! It all depends on the load, and there are many different loads. Of course the cute answer is , faster than you can run.

Answer 3

An average velocity for a handgun round would be about 1100fps and a rifle round would be around 3000fps.

For pistol the slowest factory rounds I've seen are the 38 hollow base wadcutter target rounds at around 750fps and the fastest are Tokarev 7.52x25 at 1650fps, but in between the majority are in the 900-1250fps range with around 1100 being most common. Magsafe aren't average though, where most people load 10mm rounds to about 40S&W levels or below Magsafe are kicking out at 2400fps and even have a 2000fps 9mm.

For rifle there is huge variation, but there are relatively few factory rifle loads below 2500 or above 3500/ That isn't to say none, but the 7mm and 300 magnums at around 3200 balance out the 308/30-06/30-30 at 2500-2800. And the 220/22-250/204 are balanced out by the 30 Carbine, 45-70, 416 Rigby and 470 Nitro Express.

Answer 4

Children are naturally interested in firearms, so it's a good idea to give him good information early on.
Most of what's been posted is correct. However, I'm unaware of any standard, commercially available rifle bullet that goes 5,000 feet per second. The fastest top out about 4,000 feet per second.
The speed depends on the cartridge.
A little .22 Long Rifle cartridge --- commonly called a "22" --- will do about 1,200 feet per second from a rifle, and about 1,100 feet per second from a pistol. The shorter barrel of pistol doesn't allow all the powder to burn, as it does in a rifle.
A .30-30 rifle bullet of 170 grains weight will leave the muzzle about 2,100 feet per second. A .30-06 rifle bullet of 150 grains leaves the muzzle at about 2,800 feet per second.
There are different loads for the same cartridge, so it's impossible to give an average.

Has your son ever watched an old war documentary? See those points of light steaking from the machine gun to the enemy plane? Those are tracer bullets --- they have a small amount of burning substance on the back of the bullet. This guides the machine-gunner to his target.
Typically, tracer rounds are loaded on machine gun belts of one tracer for every four rounds of regular bullets. So, when you see those documentaries that show a Kamikaze airplane flying through a hailstorm of tracers, stop and consider that you're only seeing 1/5th of the bullets actually in the air!
Anyway, watching those tracers will give your son an idea of a bullet's speed.
To roughly convert feet per second to miles per hour, divide the feet per second by 3 and then multiply by 2.
Thus, a bullet at 3,000 feet per second is traveling about 2,000 miles an hour!
But bullets don't remain aloft very long. A long time for a bullet is one second. Most embed themselves into the Earth, a tree or wheatever in hundredths of a second.
Bullets have a very short time of flight, in most instances.
If you son is really interested in firearms, contact the National Rifle Association. It can tell you where there are youth firearms safety and marksmanship courses in your area.
The NRA was created in 1871 and has taught millions of youths and adults proper gun safety.

Answer 5

REMINGTON .300 ULTRA MAG.
Remington and Federal offer factory loads with 180 grain bullets (SD .271) at a muzzle velocity (MV) of 3,250 fps and muzzle energy of 4221 ft. lbs. Remington's 200 yard figures for the Nosler Partition spitzer bullet are 2834 fps and 2503 ft. lbs.

Remington also offers a 150 grain Swift Sirocco bullet (SD .226) at a MV of 3450 fps with ME of 3964 ft. lbs. The 200 yard numbers are 2980 fps and 2956 ft. lbs. This bullet seems pretty light for such a big case, but qualifies the .300 Ultra as an ultra-long range cartridge, which is probably the point of the exercise.

Answer 6

NOT AS FAST AS SUPERMAN!


Everyone knows that Superman is faster than a speeding bullet, but how fast does a speeding bullet travel? Speeds fluctuate and depend upon several factors.

Gravity makes a projectile fall toward the earth while in flight. The projectile's size, shape, and the air density affect the speed by which it travels. Air resistance slows the speed of a bullet and reduces the distance by which it travels.

The velocity of a bullet is given in feet per second (fps) in the United States. The 0.22 rimfire cartridge, which has a very small powder charge, sends its bullets on their way at between 370 m/s and 460 m/s. Cartridges in rifles -- centerfire cartridges -- propel their bullets at a much faster rate. The 0.220 Swift, which drives a very small bullet at over 1220 m/s, is the cartridge with the highest velocity.

Shotgun pellets vary very little in velocity. The slowest speed at 335 m/s, while the fastest travel at close to 427 m/s.

Given all the above information about bullet speeds, I can't help but feel amazed at how fast Superman flies, considering that he travels faster than a speeding bullet -- if there is a Superman.

Answer 7

The Average?

Tell him 1000 feet per second or the speed of sound.
I don't think he needs a math answer for this one? It varies widley due to the number of rounds and power levels of each. From a few hundred FPS to 4000fps.

Answer 8

Depending on the firearm and load, anywhere from 600fps to 4800 fps.

Answer 9

Good for him and you. He sounds pretty smart! Good luck!